More deliberation needed on contentious BELA Act clauses

CAPE TOWN - The Government of National Unity (GNU) clearing house said that more deliberation was needed on the contentious clauses of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act that are currently on pause.

The clearing house, a dispute mechanism to resolve policy disagreements between coalition parties, met for the second time at Tuynhuys on Thursday.

But its work still appears to be very much in its preparation phase, with the grouping saying after its meeting that it still needs to enrich its terms of reference.

Led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, the GNU clearing house had several agenda items to get through on Thursday.

This included a briefing from Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation Minister Maropene Ramokgopa on the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa.

Mashatile announced 16 December as the first sitting of the National Dialogue, where the GNU will map out its vision and action plan for the next five years.

One political party representative said the first in-person meeting of the forum was cordial and that there’s mutual respect and commitment to make the GNU succeed.

Another told EWN that parties debated what would constitute sufficient consensus where there’s disagreement on policy matters but the terms of reference were not finalised.

Parties also debated the deferred clauses of the BELA Act, which relate to the admission and language policy at schools but again, this is an ongoing discussion.

In September, President Cyril Ramaphosa deferred the implementation of these clauses for three months, over disagreements with some GNU partners like the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plus. The implementation of the National Health Insurance and BELA acts is widely viewed as the first major test for the GNU.

The Presidency said that the clearing house would continue to meet to discuss the ongoing work of government and to resolve disputes where they arise.