President Cyril Ramaphosa cannot refuse to sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill for political reasons, says the presidency.
He is expected to publicly sign into law the bill on Friday at a ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
However, this move has ruffled the feathers of ANC coalition partners, the DA which claimed signing the bill threatened to shake the Government of National Unity stability (GNU).
The DA warned on Wednesday that if the signing proceeds despite their objections this would violate both the letter and spirit of the joint Statement of Intent, that forms the basis of the GNU.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said during the negotiations, his party made it clear that the bill was unacceptable in its current form because it had constitutional implications for the right to mother-tongue education, amongst other issues.
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.
The amendments were a response to court judgments.
“The DA urged President Ramaphosa to send the bill back to Parliament for a few simple amendments to bring it in line with the Constitution.
“Despite this, and in violation of the provisions of the Statement of Intent, the president seems intent on pushing ahead unilaterally. I have moved urgently to meet the president before Friday to reiterate our objections in the strongest terms.
“I will also submit to him the simple amendments the DA requires, and urge him to use his powers to send the bill back to Parliament. 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,” said Steenhuisen.
While Ramaphosa was satisfied with the work of the GNU, he remained disturbed that whenever disputes arose, threats were being made to the stability of the GNU and such threats were not only directed towards the president but the stability of the country, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.
“The GNU must remain stable and united for the benefit of the country.
“It was not formulated for the benefit of any individual or political leader. It is therefore important for the leaders to exercise a level of restraint when there are issues of dispute.
“A dispute resolution mechanism will be established, when there are concerns about a bill. It can be taken to court for clarification and parties who are represented in Parliament can pursue amendments to that bill. There is absolutely no need to make threats and the president is also not surprised that there is a dispute but he expects maturity and ongoing commitment to the country and to engage without threats,” said Magwenya.
Ramaphosa’s decision to sign the bill was necessary to restate the president’s constitutional responsibilities in this regard, he said.
“Section 79(1) of the Constitution states: ‘The President must either assent to and sign a bill passed in terms of this Chapter or, if the President has reservations about the constitutionality of the bill, refer it back to the National Assembly for reconsideration. The only ground upon which the president can refuse to sign the bill is constitutional reservations. This means that the president needs to apply his or her mind to evidence and submissions before him and make an independent determination on the constitutionality of the legislation,” he said. Magwenya said there was no provision in the Constitution for the president’s decision to be subject to negotiation or agreement with any other party or individual.
“The president remains firmly committed to engaging fully and openly with parties in the Government of National Unity on this or any other matter of concern,” Magwenya added.
Stellenbosch University’s School of Public Leadership director Professor Zwelinzima Ndevu said the differences of opinions at policy and programme level including approach to implementation will be the downfall of the GNU if not managed through an agreed structural approach and a systematic process of managing competing interests.
Governing Body Foundation (GBF) CEO Dr Anthea Cereseto said the bill has been long in its development process and contains amendments which were useful to schools, and it would help if it were signed into law.
“However, the GBF was an observer of the last stages of the passing of the bill and did note that it was rushed through and not all arguments of objecting political parties were properly entertained and there was no time given to consider reports and debate the contents.
Sadtu national spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said they were pleased with the move to sign.
“The bill was concluded during the sixth administration and the president’s signature was the only matter that was outstanding. We cannot allow political egos to defeat the collective will and desire of the majority of society to transform our education system.”
Cape Times