Deputy President Paul Mashatile has rubbished the apparent signing of an agreement on the contested sections of the Bela Act, saying the “agreement” was concluded through the back door and not via official channels.
The Sunday Times has seen the letter Mashatile wrote to the GNU partners this week saying he was not consulted on the agreement entered into by minister of basic education Siviwe Gwarube, Solidarity and Nedlac.
This comes after Gwarube and Solidarity announced they had reached an agreement at Nedlac on what Gwarube would recommend to President Cyril Ramaphosa for implementation.
This is the latest episode in the divisive drama that has plagued the GNU over the act.
In the letter, Mashatile says as far as he’s concerned, there is no agreement on what ought to happen to the delayed sections 4 and 5 of the act. The clauses deal with school governing bodies’ determination of language of instruction and admissions policies.
Mashatile chairs the GNU clearing house — a deadlock-breaking mechanism — which has been in discussions with several parties on the contested sections.
“I was not consulted on the signing of this agreement,” said Mashatile. He said the clearing house had not yet received the report of the subcommittee.
The clearing house is expected to meet this week to finalise the discussions and debate the report of the committee that was tasked with coming up with proposals on what should be recommended to Ramaphosa.
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