Johannesburg – The Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), John Steenhuisen, says there was a “win-win compromise” allowing the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA).
Reacting to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that negotiations at the clearing house had resolved contentious parts of BELA, Steenhuisen said the move enables the Act to be implemented “without undermining existing constitutional rights to mother tongue education”.
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“Crucially, the President’s announcement on the implementation of the BELA Act makes it clear that the Minister of Basic Education, the DA’s Siviwe Gwarube, is now tasked with developing regulations as well as norms and standards that will govern the Act, including contentious sections around language and admissions,” said Steenhuisen.
“We have full confidence in Minister Gwarube’s ability to introduce fit-for-purpose guidelines that will protect school autonomy from subversion.
“The fact that a sober-minded DA Minister is tasked with this critical work is a vindication of the DA’s role in the GNU as the champion of constitutional rights, including the right to mother-tongue education.”
Steenhuisen said the President’s announcement that the BELA Act be implemented in full was accepted by all the parties involved in the Task Team (DA, FF-Plus, GOOD and ANC) on condition that DA Minister Siviwe Gwarube issues norms, standards and regulations to govern the implementation of the contested sections of the Act.
“This has been a gruelling process, but this outcome has illustrated that the conflict resolutions of the GNU can work if parties show the necessary goodwill,” said Steenhuisen, who is also the Minister of Agriculture.
“The DA remains determined to defend the existing right to mother-tongue education and expand it to increasing numbers of learners in South Africa.
“Our insistence that the contested sections of the BELA Act can only be implemented with sufficient guardrails put in place under a DA Minister, has been vindicated.”
The GOOD Party said it, “welcomed President Ramaphosa signing the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act into law today without watering it down to appease right-wing formations intent on “defending” some imaginary “attack” on Afrikaans-speaking children from cultural integration”.
