Secretary-general of the African National Congress (ANC) Fikile Mbalula on Friday criticised Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube who snubbed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law.
Earlier on Friday, IOL reported that Gwarube, a leading member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), had indicated that she would not attend the hyped signing ceremony of the legislation which she vehemently opposes.
“I have taken note of President Cyril Ramaphosa's anticipated signing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill. I have always, and remain opposed to the Bill in its current form and have requested the president to refer it back to Parliament for reconsideration in terms of section 79 of the Constitution. I have also provided inputs on why this should be done,” said Gwarube.
She said she has raised salient issues around the Bill, including the constitutionality of provisions on the implementation of admissions and language policies determined by the governing bodies of public schools, and the need for a phased approach to implementing Grade R as a compulsory and permanent feature of the basic education system, based on the capacity of provincial education departments, public schools, and early childhood development centres to offer access to Grade R to all learners who require it.
Reacting to the snub, Mbalula said Gwarube had been left with no options by her party.
“I think she had no choice, she is toeing the party line. Yesterday she spoke differently to her actions today. She is toeing the party line, that you do not attend that particular ceremony, because if she attended, she was supposed to read the statement that was read by the deputy minister. They view it as opposed to their views and what must actually happen,” Mbalula told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
“She had to toe the line of the party above the interests of the people of South Africa. She is there, not for the party, but for the interests of the people of South Africa, to serve, but she has done that. The DA has always accused the ANC of not being pro-South Africa but being pro-ANC. Now the dynamics of serving in the party and the legislature and being in the party and playing an opposition role is playing itself out to them.”
“They serve their own party more than they serve the interests of the people, so their own party interest is that (you) do not sign (the BELA Bill), but in terms of the oath you have taken, you have taken it to South Africa, and to serve the people of South Africa. It’s a conundrum for them, but for us, we remain principled that we advance transformation in our country as the ANC government,” he said.
The ANC has thrown its weight behind the signing of the BELA Bill which amends sections of the South African Schools Act of 1996 (SASA) and the Employment of Educators Act, 1998 (EEA) to account for developments in the education landscape since the enactment of the original legislation.
On Thursday, IOL reported that on the eve of the scheduled signing, EFF national spokesperson, Leigh-Ann Mathys said South Africa needs the BELA Bill.
“The BELA Bill introduces a suite of amendments to address systematic inequalities of basic education in South Africa. The DA is vehemently opposed to the Bill because of its inherent hatred of the African child,” said Mathys.
“We particularly support the fact that heads of departments will now be given the final authority to determine the admission and language policies at schools. The school governing bodies are currently solely responsible for this, and this has enabled them to use this power to exclude African learners and entrench racism at these schools.
“This power has been used as a tool in the hands of white supremacists to isolate African languages, and exclude African children from attending public schools that were formerly exclusively white,” she said.
Additionally, the GOOD party, led by Minister Patricia de Lille, has also thrown its weight behind the BELA Bill.
IOL