Malema: Ramaphosa should have dismissed Gwarube for skipping the BELA Bill ceremony

EFF leader Julius Malema claims that President Cyril Ramaphosa should have dismissed Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube for refusing to attend the signing ceremony of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill.

Ramaphosa signed the Bill into law at the Union Buildings on Friday, 13 September.

SHOULD RAMAPHOSA HAVE FIRED GWARUBE FOR BOYCOTTING BELA BILL SIGNING CEREMONY?

Ahead of the signing ceremony, Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube who is a Democratic Alliance (DA) member boycotted the signing ceremony citing concerns about the constitutionality of the language policies and the compulsory admission of learners to Grade R. 

“Parliament must be allowed to fix what is currently wrong with the Bill so that millions of learners across the country can access and receive quality education for a better South Africa,” she said.

The DA has always been opposed to the BELA Bill and after the signing, the party instructed its lawyers to prepare court papers challenging the process leading to the adoption of the Bill.

In an interview with the SABC on Tuesday, 17 September, EFF leader Julius Malema said Ramaphosa should have fired Gwarube because she brought the cabinet into disrepute.

“When you are there [cabinet] you are no longer serving the DA constitution but you are serving the South African constitution. This has failed in practical terms not even theory. The BELA Bill exposed these people for what they are; a marriage of inconvenience, a DA-led government. This is not an ANC-led government, Helen told you,” Malema said.

Further, Malema said the DA and ANC are still going to fight about the National Health Insurance (NHI) which was also signed to law just before the 29 May elections.

WHY IS THE DA AND OTHER GNU PARTNERS AGAINST THE LEGISLATION?

Government of National Unity (GNU) members are against some of the aspects of the BELA Bill including the language and admission policies.

During the signing ceremony, the president said he has engaged with them and will consult on clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill which are a concern.

“In the spirit of cooperation and meaningful engagement, I have decided to delay the implementation date for clauses 4 and 5 of the Bill by three months.

“This will give the parties time to deliberate on these issues and make proposals on how the different views may be accommodated. Should the parties not be able to agree on an approach, then we will proceed with the implementation of these parts of the Bill,” Ramaphosa said.

DA leader John Steenhuisen said this means that if there is no agreement, the ANC will proceed with implementing the clauses that empower provincial departments to over-ride school governing bodies on the issue of the language policy of schools.

“The DA rejects this threat by the president. We regard his approach as contrary to the spirit of the Statement of Intent that formed the foundation of the GNU, which requires the participating parties to reach “sufficient consensus” on divisive issues,” he said.

Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald also welcomed the consultation window that Ramaphosa will open.

Groenewald said the law was hastily steamrollered through the parliamentary process just before the general elections, and the fact that electronic education systems are not addressed at all makes it obsolete from the outset.