South Africa’s coalition Government of National Unity faces threat over education bill

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) – South Africa's ruling coalition government party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), warned President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday that signing the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law by this Friday, despite their objections, would jeopardize the Government of National Unity's (GNU) future.

The country’s second-largest party and nine smaller parties reached an agreement to form a GNU with Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) in June.

The DA said in a statement that it strongly opposes the BELA Bill in its current form “because it has constitutional implications for the right to mother-tongue education, amongst other issues.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the President's Office announced that Ramaphosa would publicly sign the bill into law on Friday during a ceremony at the Union Buildings in the capital Pretoria.

The statement said the bill is aimed at strengthening governance in South Africa's education sector.

“The BELA Bill 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,” it said, adding that “The amendments are a response to court judgments that protect and give effect to the Bill of Rights.”

However, the DA has urged the president to return the bill to parliament for a few amendments to bring it into line with the constitution.

Ramaphosa's ANC, which had ruled the mineral-rich African nation for three decades, lost its majority in national and provincial elections on May 29, forcing it to form a GNU.

“If the President continues to ride rough-shod over these objections, he is endangering the future of the Government of National Unity, and destroying the good faith on which it was based,” according to the DA statement.

Establishing a dispute resolution mechanism should now be a top priority to ensure that all parties follow both the letter and spirit of the Statement of Intent signed when the GNU was formed, the party said.

The ANC should understand that it can no longer take unilateral action on issues that affect fundamental rights, it warned.