Bela Bill borders on pornography, says Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks

Political leaders who are part of the government of national unity (GNU) are divided on the contentious Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill, which President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to sign into law on Friday, with some saying it exposes kids to pornographic material.

This comes after DA leader John Steenhuisen urged the president to not go ahead with the plans as doing so would violate both the letter and spirit of the GNU, which was formed after the ANC lost its electoral majority for the first time since 1994, mustering a paltry 40% of voter share in the May 29 general election. 

One of the bill’s most contentious aspects was a proposal to strip school governing bodies of their power to determine admission and language policies and give provincial heads of education the final say on these emotive issues.

The bill also proposes extending compulsory schooling by a year to include grade R. The basic education department had told the National Assembly’s portfolio committee on basic education in 2023 that making grade R mandatory would require R4.77bn for extra staff and R12.43bn for additional infrastructure. 

“If the president continues to ride roughshod over these objections, he is endangering the future of the GNU and destroying the good faith on which it was based,” Steenhuisen said on Wednesday. 

He said the DA regarded the issue in the “most serious light, and I will convey to the president the destructive implications it holds for the future of the GNU”, which DA federal council chair Helen Zille has described as an ANC-DA coalition.   

Members of the GNU have already clashed over National Health Insurance, which Ramaphosa signed into law in May, with health minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi doubling down on the scheme in July, saying he was determined to push ahead with it despite legal challenges and opposition from political parties in the GNU.

On Thursday, Al Jama-ah president and social development deputy minister Ganief Hendricks said: “There are many aspects of the bill that we support, such as the compulsory enrolment of children. The negative aspect, however, which we feel is not right and do not support, is that the bill introduces children to sex at a very young age.” 

Hendricks said the bill teaches kids “how to put on a condom on a penis. We have also seen the lesson plans and we feel the graphics are pornography.”

IFP leader and co-operative governance & traditional affairs minister, Velenkosini Hlabisa, said only: “We voted in favour of the Bela Bill when it was presented in parliament.” 

Mabine Seabe, national communications director of Rise Mzansi, led by MP and Scopa chair Songezo Zibi, said: “We are still studying the bill and we can’t give an informed view at this point in time.” 

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Ramaphosa would sign the bill during a ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Friday.

Cosatu parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks said the labour federations welcomed Ramaphosa’s commitment to assent to the bill, which contained “many common sense and long-overdue progressive provisions that will help to protect the rights of learners to dignity and protection”. 

These pertained to the recognition of SA sign language as a language of instruction and learning; banning corporal punishment and initiation practices from schools; centralised procurement of educational material; and making it easier for single parents to register their children at school when their ex-partners are absent.

“While welcoming these progressive provisions, Cosatu believes [there are] several provisions in the bill that need to be reviewed by the seventh parliament. The federation remains concerned about the department of basic education’s overreliance on learner numbers as the criteria for closing or merging schools.   

“This places learners in farming and remote rural areas who live far from schools at a serious disadvantage. Additional criteria need to be included, in particular the distance learners must travel to school and the availability of learner transport,” Parks said. 

Afrikaner rights group AfriForum which described the bill as an ANC attempt at “cultural ethnic cleansing”, said its legal team was ready to take steps against its implementation as soon as Ramaphosa signed it into law.

mkentanel@businesslive.co.za