DA leader John Steenhuisen has warned that his party will consider all its options on the way forward if President Cyril Ramaphosa signs into law the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill on Friday.
However, several bodies, including the SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu), public interest law organisation Section27 and the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB), urged Ramaphosa to go ahead and sign it, saying it was a step in the right direction.
“If the president goes ahead tomorrow [Friday], the DA will have to consider all of our options on the way forward. In a multiparty government leaders need to respect the constraints and imperatives of their partners,” he said at the Cape Town Press Club.
“Any leader [who] tries to ride roughshod over their partners will pay a price because a time will come when the shoe is on the other foot, and they will need the understanding of those same partners in turn.”
Steenhuisen, who is minister of agriculture, said the DA – with only 22% of the vot – could not get everything its own way in the GNU, but it would not accept a situation where its priorities were not implemented.
“Fair is fair. We can’t get it all our own way, but neither can the ANC get it all their own way,” he said.
“It is of critical importance to understand that conflict over policy in a multiparty government like the GNU is normal and indeed necessary in a democracy. And it is not necessarily an existential threat to the government. But that doesn’t mean the DA would never walk away under any circumstances.”
If the president goes ahead tomorrow [Friday], the DA will have to consider all of our options on the way forward. In a multiparty government leaders need to respect the constraints and imperatives of their partners.
— DA leader John Steenhuisen
He said the DA’s primary objective in the GNU was to grow the economy and create jobs.
If the GNU did not work towards these goals, Steenhuisen said, there was no point being part of it. “If the ANC insists on taking SA down the path to economic ruin, it would be the DA’s patriotic duty to leave the government and use our position in parliament to stop the slide into catastrophe.
“Similarly, if the ANC in government sought to compromise the constitution, undermine the independence of key institutions like the Reserve Bank or do away with property rights, we will have no part in it. The DA can never in good conscience be party to an assault on the constitution. The DA will not crash the government unless the government is crashing the economy or trashing the constitution.”
Zeenat Sujee, head of the education rights programme at Section27, said the bill was a positive step. “The significance of the bill lies in how it aligns with the jurisprudential developments in our courts and supports the principles of democracy,” he said.
“The bill still includes guidelines for SGBs on how they should draft codes of conduct, admissions policies, and language policies. This is a positive step. While we were disappointed with the watering down of certain sections, the bill still aligns with constitutional principles.” .
NASGB spokesperson Matakanye Matakanye, said the bill would enable the formal introduction of earlychildhood development (ECD) into the school system. “We’ve been waiting for this moment, particularly because it ensures that ECD will now be formally introduced in schools,” he said.
“This means teachers can be hired and paid by the state, which will help ensure our children receive a strong educational foundation from an early age.”
Matakanye said earlier there were concerns about the bill reducing the powers of SGBs but was pleased that some of these provisions had been removed. “SGBs will still retain the power to make recommendations for key positions like principals, deputy principals and HODs (heads of departments). All in all, we fully support the Bela Bill as it is a transformative and much-needed piece of legislation.”
Sadtu spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said the bill was necessary as it would prevent HoDs from unfairly excluding pupils unfairly. “We believe this bill is a step forward in ensuring [pupils] have access to education.”
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