KHUMO KUMALO | The Bela Bill divide: can education reform survive political infighting?

The clearing house mechanism of the government of national unity has been nothing but another simple bureaucratic process to distract us from reality. Week to week, it seems that neither the DA nor the ANC can agree on how to break bread, so they choose to throw tantrums in the media.

Songezo Zibi, leader of Rise Mzansi, particularly highlighted: “I don’t know of any relationship that survives when we have a private meeting and immediately you go and talk about it. And immediately there is a bit of one-upmanship. It is so incredibly immature,” concerning the GNU dealing with the Bela Bill.

The Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill, signed on September 13, has been a major obstacle to the GNU. The ANC, which supports the bill, is juxtaposed against the DA's staunch opposition, which continues to worsen tensions between the two parties.

After the recent statement from trade union Solidarity, which opposed the bill, Mashatile’s acting spokesperson Keith Khoza highlighted that there was a party that had engaged in a parallel process. “According to the statement [issued by trade union Solidarity], only one party from the GNU would have been involved in a parallel process to the one sanctioned by the GNU parties and signatories of the Statement of Intent,” said Khoza.

Evidently, the DA agenda has been exposed the longer they stay in government, and the aim to protect minority interests comes at the expense of their own governmental obligations. But can we truly believe wholeheartedly in the vision of the ANC?

Further, he reinforced that basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube and governmental officials were “complicit in this meeting”, according to the statement produced by Solidarity. Particularly, he highlights that the Bela Act, like other acts, is a product of parliament and the president, and no intervention can therefore downplay the centrality of these key role players. It is here that he highlights the constitutional order and commitment that the GNU made. John Steenhuisen's commitment to South Africa was to fight anti-constitutionalism and to uphold and defend the South African constitution.

“I want to reassure South African voters that the DA remains steadfast in our commitment to our founding values and principles, and to the constitution, which remains the existential bedrock of our society.” However, the DA, in its time of governance, has refused to respect constitutional processes. More particularly, they have failed to uphold the same rules, standards and norms they held the ANC to at the onset of the GNU.

Throughout the negotiations and the formation of the GNU, Helen Zille particularly referred to the GNU statement of intent and the rules that punctuated the relationship between the DA and the ANC. Moreover, calls from both parties to remain outside the media and uphold internal discourse practices that respect other officials must be heeded.

In the absence of such a mechanism, not only does people's faith in government diminish, but the hope in democracy quickly falls too. Evidently, the DA agenda has been exposed the longer they stay in government, and the aim to protect minority interests comes at the expense of their own governmental obligations. But can we truly believe wholeheartedly in the vision of the ANC?

The ANC has had a hand in government and education for 30 years. In that time, we have seen them drop the pass rate for subjects, have an ageing population of teachers and have an unstable supply of basic services to the majority of South Africans. Not only does this have an impact on the kids' immediate situation, as they are denied the simple necessities of a meal a day, the comfort and safety of classrooms, and education that is aimed at developing students for the 21st century.

Even though the act that is lawful and legally binding should be celebrated, it by no means in any shape or form is to be considered a noble act in the background of a failing public education system. In the narrative of Black liberation and children accessing their right to basic education in schools funded by the government, it cannot be that we expect those schools that are successful to solely be the white ones, with school borders and legacy.

Yes, though we can recognise they have had the comparative advantage, we cannot remain blind to reality — a reality where the ANC failed to build and maintain infrastructure for students to go to school and get an education.

As the DA and the ANC reflect on their dealings with the current situation, they must place the South African people at the core. They must truly find a way to build long-term solutions for communities that have had their basic rights stripped away from them.

As Zibi said: “All parties need to understand it cannot be a zero-sum game in this arrangement.”

Khumo Kumalo is a political science student, founder of the Misunderstood website and also hosts a podcast that discusses a multitude of topics, from elections in South Africa to the Israel and Palestine crisis

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