Dear Editor
Today, the DA and other opposition parties walked out of the clause-by-clause deliberations of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill in Parliament when the chair of the parliamentary portfolio committee on basic education, Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba, refused to allow clarity-seeking questions and forced the adoption of the incorrect draft Consolidated BELA Bill National Report.
The chair was forced to adjourn the meeting as the committee did not have enough members for quorum to vote on the BELA Bill clauses.
The DA has asked a number of clarity-seeking questions regarding the report. We still do not know if the total number of submissions received were 32 941 or 34 509. We’ve sought clarity on how it was decided which written submissions would be analysed as all of the hand-delivered submissions seem to have been analysed, but only a portion of the email submissions (6 715 of 17 452) were analysed. And we have yet to receive the matrix analysis of submissions of each clause of the BELA Bill. The requested reports from Parliamentary Legal Services and National Treasury were also not forthcoming.
After we walked out, the committee proceeded with a presentation from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on the BELA Bill financial implications – a report the DA specifically requested.
The DA will not allow submissions from the public to be minimised or discarded – it is of utmost importance that all submissions are analysed. There seems to be an attempt to skew perception that the public supports the BELA Bill when all the data has yet to be analysed.
The BELA Bill in its current form will disempower communities and schools from making decisions on their admission and language policies. We will not allow the ANC to push their agenda through Parliament and further wreck the education of millions of learners.
Regards
Baxolile ‘Bax’ Nodada MP
DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education
Noisecake
Bra / Bru – friend. This term is commonly used to call a friend, pal or buddy.
Lady Katniss
A baby was born in South Africa. The village was very poor, and the makeshift hospital didn\’t have some necessary equipment.. such as scales.
The father however, was desperate to know the newborn baby\’s weight. After quite a bit of asking around, the hospital\’s chairman came up with an idea.
\”Five miles west, there\’s a butcher shop. The owner deals with meat, he should have a rather precise scale. You could just put your baby on the meat scale, and the weight reading you\’ll get should be pretty accurate.\”
And so the father departed westward. After much walking, with his newborn child cardled safely in his arms, he finally arrived at the butcher shop. He explained his dilemma to the shop owner, to witch the latter replied:
\”Don\’t worry, friend. It\’s not even a problem, I\’ll check it for you, free of charge.\” And so he took the child to the back, where the scale was located.
The father heard rumbling noises, and some scraping.. About a minute later the butcher came back.
\”About three pounds boneless\” He said.