Tempers flare in Parly as MK, EFF demand to know why BELA Act not yet in effect
The parties wanted Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube to explain to Parliament why, the deferred clauses aside, she’d not yet given the go-ahead for the promulgation of the main act.
President Cyril Ramaphosa signs the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill into law at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, 13 September 2024. Picture: GCIS
CAPE TOWN - Tempers have flared in the National Assembly’s programme committee meeting on Thursday morning, as the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) demanded answers as to why the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act had not yet come into effect.
They want Minister Siviwe Gwarube to explain to Parliament why, the deferred clauses aside, she'd not yet given the go-ahead for the promulgation of the main act.
The two opposition parties are accusing the Democratic Alliance (DA) of impeding the implementation of legislation passed by the previous administration, given Gwarube’s absence at September’s signing of the bill.
The disagreement over two clauses of this act is currently under discussion at Thursday’s meeting of the Government of National Unity (GNU) clearing house, a mechanism set up to deal with differences in policy matters between GNU parties.
For the second consecutive week, the EFF and the MK Party have been dissatisfied with explanations about the process to be followed in putting the BELA Act into operation.
They said Parliament should be more forceful in ensuring this happened.
The EFF’s Veronica Mente said legislation assented to by the president should be promulgated without delay.
"The president and the minister are still working on clauses 4 and 5, for whatever reason that’s not communicated. That’s fine. But what’s happened with everything else that’s been signed?"
MK Party whip Mzwanele Manyi said with there being no constitutional concerns and the parliamentary process above board, the delays in implementing the rest of the act were unexplainable.
"If by our next meeting, this bill is still not signed, she must come here and explain herself, so we don’t have this conflict of interest."
The Presidency's parliamentary counsellor, Gerhard Koornhof, explained that the dispute over the language and admissions clauses largely related to implementation.
"The BELA Act is not being returned to Parliament. It’s on the desk of the president. There's no ambiguity, there’s no uncertainty about the process. There are definite timeframes and this needs to be implemented."
Speaker Thoko Didiza said while Parliament had an oversight role to play, it could not dictate to the executive how to carry out its duties.
She said it’s for the relevant parliamentary portfolio committee to question the minister on the issues raised by political parties and not Parliament’s weekly programme committee.