South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office announced that he will sign a contentious education bill into law, sparking the first significant tension in his unity government. The Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-largest party in the coalition, has expressed concern that this move undermines their coalition agreement.
The DA, which is part of a coalition with Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) and other smaller parties, argues that passing the bill violates the foundational agreements of their government of national unity (GNU). DA leader John Steenhuisen criticized the decision, indicating that it could have severe implications for the future of the coalition, though he did not specify what these implications might be.
Steenhuisen is expected to address the issue further in a press conference in Cape Town on Thursday.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya called for calm and emphasized that legislative disagreements are a normal part of governance. He assured that the government parties would meet to discuss a mechanism for resolving such disputes and reassured that the stability of the GNU is not at risk.
The disputed bill proposes several changes to South Africa’s basic education laws, including a controversial clause that would increase government oversight over schools’ language and admission policies. The ANC argues that this measure is necessary to prevent exclusion of children based on language, which has been used as a proxy for racial discrimination.
The DA has defended the right of school governing bodies to determine their language policies, citing the importance of mother-tongue education.
Although the bill does not name any specific language or group, some of its strongest opposition has come from South Africa’s white Afrikaans-speaking community, with interest group AfriForum saying it threatens the survival of Afrikaans schools.
The DA’s statement followed a presidency statement saying that Ramaphosa would sign into law the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) bill on Friday in a ceremony at the Union Buildings, the seat of government in the capital Pretoria.
