The spectacle surrounding the signing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill into law highlights the risks of populist politics. It is also a stark reminder of the flawed policymaking process that has persisted over the past three decades.
On Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa, in the company of his allies during a public event, signed the proposed amendment. However, faced with the threat of litigation from his partners in the government of national unity (GNU), he caved in and announced a three-month suspension of the implementation of two clauses of the new law.
The two contentious clauses relate to the admissions and language policies. In essence, the government is shifting the authority to make final decisions on admissions and languages from schools and parents to the provinces.
The bill, which has been in the making for seven years, was one of the key promises in the ANC manifesto alongside employment equity and National Health Insurance (NHI).
Days before the May elections, which saw the ANC lose its three decades of dominance when it dipped to 40%, Ramaphosa signed the NHI in the face of opposition and threats of legal challenge by the private sector. His signature was an attempt to appease his political base. So desperate were his comrades that Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi even promised, falsely, that poor people without medical insurance could walk into any private hospital for medical care on May 30. At no point did Ramaphosa, who knew of these misleading claims, rebuke Lesufi. This cynical approach has come to define his presidency and, generally, the ANC’s style of governance.
Ramaphosa is just following his predecessors. For years Jacob Zuma, now leader of the MK party, backed Mosebenzi Zwane, then his mines minister, in shepherding an unworkable Mining Charter. This was only stopped when Ramaphosa sacked Zwane, now a corruption accused.
After signing NHI, Ramaphosa then offered an olive branch to the opponents of NHI in its current form. Post-signing talks have been painfully slow. These have also been complicated by the return of Aaron Motsoaledi as health minister. During his previous stint as minister Motsoaledi antagonised his private sector counterparts.
Friday’s signing was significant in other respects. DA education minister Siviwe Gwarube boycotted the signing of the Bela Bill days after pledging to implement GNU policies. The bill will not destroy the GNU but it will test the maturity of its elements. The DA, the first junior partner in the GNU, cannot shout courts every time there is a major disagreement with the ANC. Similarly, the ANC, the senior partner, no longer enjoys the unfettered majority that saw it pushing through its policies.
The president needs to do some introspection about the legacy he wants to leave. Does he want to be remembered as a crowd-pleasing flip-flopper or a leader who rallied all South Africans behind a common future?
The next 90 days will be a test of maturity for the members of the GNU. Having wasted seven years on the Bela Bill, they cannot squander the next three months. Sending those clauses back to parliament will turn the process into a political football. Rather, a more structured negotiating process should be followed in ironing out the sticking points.
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