Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube Opposes the BELA Bill

• The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, expressed her opposition to the Basic Education Amendment Laws Bill
• President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to sign the bill into law today, and Gwarube refused to support it
• South Africans commented on what they believe to be tension between the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, the State of the Nation Address, politician-related news and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

JOHANNESBURG—Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube strongly opposes the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill and will not attend the signing ceremony.

Siviwe Gwarube against BELA Bill

@MDNnewss shared a statement from the minister in which she listed the reasons why she was against the BELA Bill. Gwarube echoed the sentiments of her party, the Democratic Alliance, which strongly opposed the BELA Bill in its current form.

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According to Gwarube, Ramaphosa should fix sections in the bill that deal with stripping school governing bodies of public schools of the right to choose languages of instruction, introducing Grade R as a compulsory learning level and giving early childhood centres the capacity to provide Grade R.

View the full statement here:

South Africans debate

Below are some of the views South Africans shared about her opposition.

Vusi said:

"Obvious she won't. Helen Zille is opposing the bill!"

LekoloaneManam2 said:

"Obviously, she is controlled by the DA. Just imagine a whole minister not attending something this big that's got to do with her portfolio. Ramadollar must recall her as a minister."

Kgadi custy said:

"This one must be reshuffled."

FootballStage said:

"This is a concern. Division will start to arise. She will be reshuffled."

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El said:

"It's a political stunt by the DA."

Cyril Ramaphosa signs NHI Bill

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Ramaphosa signed the National Health Insurance Bill into law.

His signing of the bill comes after the private sector and the general public strongly opposed the bill in its current form. Many believe that the country's healthcare system is not strong enough to implement the law.

Source: Briefly News