Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi is pushing president Cyril Ramaphosa to implement the controversial Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act without any changes while his government of national unity (GNU) partners push for the opposite.
Lesufi is urging the ANC leadership to implement the act without changes, despite unhappiness from GNU partners.
Lesufi spoke at the SACP fifth special national congress on Thursday in Boksburg and lobbied the ANC alliance partners to throw their weight behind the implementation of the act, saying that should it not be implemented the National Health Insurance would suffer the same fate.
Ramaphosa signed the act into law in September but delayed the implementation of two clauses — 4 and 5 — by three months to allow further parliamentary discussions. The three-month period for parties to finalise proposals on the matter ends on Friday.
One of the contested clauses proposes changes to the authority of school governing bodies in determining admission policy in state schools. The other clause provides for state schools to consider the language needs of the broader community when determining language policy.
Lesufi implored the alliance partners to form a front with the ANC and fight for the act's implementation.
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