AfriForum finds proof in the haste with the BELA Bill that education interests are irrelevant for ANC
15 May 2024
The conducting of this morning’s meeting of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Basic Education has once again proven to AfriForum that haste to have the controversial Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (also known as the BELA Bill) approved, is of much greater importance to the ANC and EFF than to deliberate and seriously consider the Bill’s content. In the process, the interests of quality education are continuously being subordinated to political interests.
During the meeting, objections from other parties were ignored, shouted down or even met with demands that speakers had to be removed. The Chairperson limited time available to raise objections about the process and the Bill’s revised content to a few minutes only. Ultimately, the IFP abstained due to discomfort with the time constraints, while the DA, ACDP and FF+ raised objections. The Bill will go before the National Assembly tomorrow (16 May). If it is also passed there, it will be presented to the President for final approval.
Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, emphasises that AfriForum remains committed to opposing the BELA Bill with legal action nationally and, if necessary, also internationally for as long as it poses a threat to the continued existence of Afrikaans schools and quality education. “This morning a committee member stated that he and some fellow parliamentarians are tired of being threatened with the courts, but the public is tired of being ignored and confronted with flawed, ill-considered and even harmful legislation that disregards our civil rights,” she says.
AfriForum’s preparations for legal action against it are ready for finalisation, depending on further developments. Updates by AfriForum will follow continuously in this regard. The public can give their mandate for AfriForum’s legal action against the BELA Bill at www.stopbela.co.za.
Issued by Alana Bailey, Head: Cultural Affairs, AfriForum, 15 May 2024
