GOOD Statement by Brett Herron ,
GOOD Secretary-General
16 January 2025
The GOOD Party notes the announcement by Solidarity and AfriForum that they will be instituting legal proceedings against the promulgation of the BELA Act, with legal letters being sent to both the President and the Minister of Basic Education.
On the 20th December 2024, following extensive consultation within the Government of National Unity’s Clearing House, President Ramaphosa implemented the BELA Act with the support of the GNU leaders.
The implementation of the Act had been delayed for further engagement around clauses 4 and 5.
The contentious clauses of the BELA Act relate to the powers of School Governing Bodies to determine school language and admission policies.
Solidarity and AfriForum seem adamant on “defending” some imaginary “attack” on Afrikaans speaking children from cultural integration.
The foundation of their argument is that the Minister and the President both acted irrationally by promulgating the BELA Act in its current form, going against a Section 77 Labour Relations Act (LRA) application and the subsequent NEDLAC agreements made in late November 2024.
Shrouded in secrecy, it was a bilateral deal made between Solidarity and Minister Siviwe Gwarube.
The meeting occurred outside of a NEDLAC committee, behind closed doors, with no record of proceedings or minutes, a fact revealed when the GOOD Party filed a PAIA request and received the NEDLAC records.
This lack of transparency further erodes the integrity of the NEDLAC process and casts doubt on the legitimacy of the agreement.
The NEDLAC documents reveal that Solidarity understood their agreement carried no bearing on the GNU process and conceded as much.
The agreement simply obligated Minister Gwarube to present recommendations to the President for his consideration, with no binding requirement for implementation.
Central to their argument was the unfounded claim that the BELA Act would be implemented on 13 December 2024, a misunderstanding.
13 December 2024, merely marked the conclusion of the GNU consultation period.
During Ramaphosa’s 13 September BELA announcement he said an implementation date for the Act would be announced following the consultation process.
Solidarity’s premature application weaponised this false timeline, undermining the legislative intent of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and constituting an abuse of process.
Engagement in the NEDLAC process demands constructive solutions to disputes.
Yet, Solidarity offered no new proposals, recycling ideas already under consideration by the GNU clearing house.
This lack of meaningful contribution exposes their participation as disingenuous, aiming to delay and distract rather than resolve.
Adding to the already growing pile of evidence of bad faith is Solidarity’s claim to defend the “freedom of association” as a fundamental right for teachers.
Their rhetoric appears to undermine the principles of fairness and non-discrimination, key constitutional values.
The agreement that came out of NEDLAC is steeped in bad faith and cannot be binding on anyone.
The legal proceedings instituted by Solidarity and AfriForum lack credibility and substance, as they rest on a foundation of bad faith and procedural abuse.
The President is not the one acting irrationally in this case, it is Solidarity and AfriForum who claim that title.
The BELA Act relieves School Governing Bodies of the sole power (and burden) of determining school language policies but contains sufficient safeguards to prevent provincial education departments from taking arbitrary decisions.
The governing bodies, of course, retain the right to seek protection from the courts should they feel legal processes haven’t been followed.
The BELA Act is a win for children.
Media enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD: Secretary-General
Cell: 082 5183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Samantha Jackson, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 083 5509875
Email: samantha@forgood.org.za