Ramaphosa signs Bela Bill into law, but presses pause on two controversial clauses for three months

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday, 13 September, signed the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (Bela Bill) into law, but announced he would be suspending the implementation of two specific clauses in the bill for a three-month consultation period. 

The president said he had, “in the spirit of cooperation and meaningful engagement”, agreed to press pause on the implementation of the clauses in the bill that relate to school admissions and language policies. 

Read in Daily Maverick: Ramaphosa and the Bela Bill — the power of political surprise, but at what cost?

“I have decided to delay the implementation for Clauses 4 and 5 of the bill, for a period of three months. The rest of the act is implemented immediately,” Ramaphosa said on Friday as he signed the Bela Bill into law at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

“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 – I want to make this clear – then we will proceed with a full implementation of all the parts of the bill, within a three-month period,” he said. 

[WATCH]: President @CyrilRamaphosa signs the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law at the Union Buildings in Tshwane:

The #BELABill aims to strengthen governance within South Africa's education sector as part of the state’s ongoing efforts to build an education… pic.twitter.com/HQuuM5L2k3

— The Presidency ?? (@PresidencyZA) September 13, 2024

The bill seeks, among other things, to make Grade R the new compulsory school starting age; to provide penalties for parents and guardians who do not ensure that their children are in school; and to confirm that corporal punishment is no longer allowed in schools, with penalties for those found guilty of such offences, Daily Maverick reported.

Clause 4 of the bill provides for a provincial head of education to override a school’s language policy – that authority currently lies with school governing bodies (SGBs). Clause 5 provides for the provincial education department heads to control admission policies. 

Read in Daily Maverick: Bela Bill will immediately be taken to court if signed into law, says powerful lobby group

The DA has been vehemently opposed to the bill, which was passed by 223 votes against 78 in the National Assembly in May – particularly the clauses that Ramaphosa has now delayed implementation thereof. 

The party has argued these aspects of the bill will reduce the authority of school governing bodies and centralise decision-making power.

After the signing, the DA issued a statement that despite the concession, the party would continue to prepare for its planned court action against the bill.  It had instructed its lawyers to continue to prepare for action on “both the process leading to the adoption of the BELA Bill, as well as its substance, on constitutional grounds”.

“We note President Ramaphosa’s statement, at the signing ceremony of the BELA Bill today, that the implementation date of its most controversial clauses will be postponed for three months for further discussions on the current impasse relating to Sections 4 and 5 of the Bill. However, the DA also notes the President’s comment that ‘should the parties not be able to agree on an approach, then we will proceed with the implementation of these parts of the Bill. This means that if there is no agreement, the ANC will proceed with implementing the clauses that empower provincial departments to override school governing bodies on the issue of the language policy of schools. The DA rejects this threat by the President,” the party said.

Notably absent from the signing ceremony was Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube (DA) who, in a statement early on Friday morning, said she would not attend the ceremony as she remained opposed to the bill in its current form. 

Gwarube said she had asked the president to refer the bill back to Parliament for reconsideration in terms of Section 79 of the Constitution. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings in Pretoria for the signing of the Bela Bill. (Photo: Jairus Mmutle / GCIS)

“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. In the context of a Government of National Unity, it is essential that compromises reflect the people’s will. That is why I have been engaged with the president on this matter. We must consider the objections to the bill and ensure that it is rectified to avoid protracted and costly legal action.

“I have thus written to the president and notified him that, in the present circumstance, I cannot attend today’s signing ceremony until concerns regarding the bill are rectified,” Gwarube said. 

Her decision to not attend the ceremony at the Union Buildings is likely to elicit a lukewarm attitude from trade unions the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), which have already criticised her opposition to the bill. 

Consultation and engagement

Ramaphosa’s announcement that he would delay the implementation of Clauses 4 and 5 for a limited period of consultation, comes on the back of his appearance before the National Council of Provinces on Thursday, in which he said he was open to engaging with how the act was implemented. 

“In making this decision, I am drawing on a tradition of engagement that goes back many years, including the drafting of our Constitution. At the time of the drafting of the new Constitution, we had to resolve our seemingly intractable differences that had occurred over issues such as the right to strike, language, education and land,” said Ramaphosa on Friday morning. 

“And, on these matters, we were able to find each other, and I believe that this can happen again.

“The approaches that have been made on this have come from political parties in the GNU themselves, and I have decided that I’d like to give them the opportunity – for three months – to have those discussions and bring a report back to me. 

“Should the report indicate that there is a solution that they have found, various processes will ensue. If a solution has not been found, as they put their clever minds together, then the implementation of this bill will continue as passed by the legislature,” he continued. 

“Whatever our disagreements, we all seek a better, a more efficient and a more equitable education system, that best serves the children of South Africa.” DM