DA succeeds in postponing BELA Bill voting in NCOP
9 May 2024
Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) opposed the debate on the report of the latest BELA Bill amendments on procedural irregularities that had occurred in the tabling of the Bill before the NCOP House. When the Bill was tabled, the latest amendments were not placed before the House, and instead the old previous version was sent to Members.
At first the ANC indicated that it wanted to proceed with the debate. DA Leader in the NCOP, Cathy Labuschagne, rose on a point of order to advise the House of the material procedural flaw and requested that the Bill be deferred to another sitting. This point was agreed to by Parliament’s Legal Services, which resulted in the ANC having no choice but to postpone the sitting to another date.
It has been clear since day one that the ANC have an obsession to bulldoze this Bill through Parliament before the elections to help the ANC further manipulate the people of South Africa into thinking they care.
The DA has been the strongest voice in opposition to the BELA Bill in Parliament and will continue to place its objection on record at the next sitting. One of the biggest oppositions to the Bill is that it is expected to cost over R17 billion to implement mandatory Grade R, with costs required for the creation of more infrastructure, hiring of additional teachers and equalisation of conditions of services. There is no indication of where this amount will come from, and while the DA supports mandatory Grade R, it must be a phased in approach that will not bankrupt the education department or schools. Through its consistent opposition, the DA ensured that the following changes were made to the Bill in the NCOP: