Written by: Errol Naidoo

President Cyril Ramaphosa buckled under pressure from his party, the SA Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) and COSATU and signed the controversial “Basic Education Laws Amendment” (BELA) Bill into law on 13 September at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Ramaphosa proved once again that he governs in the narrow interest of the ANC and its allies, SADTU and COSATU – and not the people of South Africa. He did, however, suspend two controversial clauses in the Bill for three months to find a “workable solution.”

However, the solution to the BELA Bill controversy was communicated to Ramaphosa by several groups including Siviwe Gwarube, the Minister of Basic Education. And that was to refer the Bill back to Parliament so it could address the procedural errors and substantive flaws previously overlooked in order to rush the Bill through Parliament before the Election.

Ramaphosa is aware the ANC used its majority to ram the BELA Bill through the 6th Parliament. The reason he declined to refer the Bill back to the National Assembly is that the 7th Parliament (with an ANC minority) may produce a different Bill to the ANC version.

The reason the ANC ignored thousands of public submissions and unlawfully rushed the Bill through Parliament before the 29 May Elections was not to “seek a better, a more efficient and a more equitable education system, that best serves the children of South Africa” as Ramaphosa claimed, but to advance the ANC’s destructive ideological agenda.

South African education is often ranked among the worst in the world courtesy of the corrupt and grossly incompetent ANC. SA education is often ranked last for science, mathematics and reading literacy. Education is in crisis because the SA government is obsessed with advancing its Marxist ideology rather than improving education standards.

Media articles focused on the language and admission clauses in the Bill but failed to mention the real threat to the schooling system – which is increasing state control of education in SA. The authority and oversight of both parents and School Governing Bodies (SGB’s) are significantly reduced to provide corrupt state officials undeserved powers.

The media failed to mention the pervasive abortion and LGBTQ propaganda in public schools. The primary reason the state wrestled more control of the education of children from parents and SGB’s is to provide sexual radicals access to children so they can indoctrinate them with “Comprehensive Sexuality Education” and radical gender ideology.

Liesl Pretorius writes, “Both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child require state parties to respect the rights and duties of parents to provide direction to their child. Not only is the primary importance of the active participation of parents in decision-making concerning an appropriate education for their child recognised, but protected and promoted as well. As signatory to these instruments, the South African government is bound to honour these obligations.”

However, “the Bela Bill centralises many of these powers and decision-making rights under the control of the provincial head of education. This creates the potential for an abuse of power and a reversion back to the levels of centralised control of the apartheid era.”

And that’s the goal, Chinese Communist Party style centralised power of education, health (see NHI) and state enterprises. But tragically, the more the state expands its control in these sectors, the more it destroys their capacity and ability to deliver adequate services.

The DA, the second largest party in the Government of National Unity (GNU) indicated it will challenge the BELA Bill in court. This means a member of the GNU will challenge the constitutionality of its own government in court. Ramaphosa could have avoided this.

The Pestalozzi Trust committed R2.35 million to fight the BELA Bill in court. They will be joined by Solidarity and other organisations fighting to protect SA’s democratic institutions.

Family Policy Institute (FPI) was invited to join a High Court challenge of the BELA Bill as amicus (friend of the court). FPI’s affidavit will focus on the threat to parental rights and authority in education and the prevalence of foreign based sex-ed in public schools.

FPI is also hoping to join the legal opposition to SWEAT’s High Court application to legalise the entire sex-industry in SA. This would circumvent the normal legislative process that will exclude citizens from contributing to a policy that combats sexual exploitation and abuse.

Please consider a donation of any amount to FPI’s legal fund. These funds are needed in addition to our regular pro-family work. Thank you for your prayers and partnership that empowers FPI’s critical battle for faith, family and religious freedoms in South Africa.

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Date published: 17/09/2024

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