Cyril Ramaphosa, John Steenhuisen and Paul Mashatile at the sitting of the South African Parliament for the swearing in of cabinet ministers in July 2024. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images)
President Cyril Ramaphosa was hosting a dinner for members of his multi-party executive on Wednesday evening where they would take stock of the state of the coalition and discuss a mechanism to resolve disputes among partners.
The dinner comes amid tension over Ramaphosa’s stated intent to sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill into law on Friday. The Democratic Alliance has warned that proceeding to do so would put the future of the coalition at risk.
Presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said the timing of the gathering should not be read as a sign of trouble within the so-called government of national unity, but in the same breath dismissed threats to its survival as “disturbing”.
“The purpose of the dinner is to provide an opportunity for a review on the functioning of the GNU thus far and to discuss in detail the formulation of a dispute resolution mechanism,” Magwenya told journalists in Cape Town.
“This evening is an opportunity for all party leaders to provide their own assessments and give feedback to the president. Leaders will be able to raise any issues of concern.”
He said Ramaphosa was “satisfied” with the work of the coalition government.
“The president is also enthused with the level of dedication and commitment that has been demonstrated by members of his national executive, as well as the level of collaboration that ministers from different parties have applied in resolving challenges facing the government and the country.”
He said one example of this was the cooperation between DA leader and agriculture minister John Steenhuisen and international relations minister Ronald Lamola in favourably renegotiating South Africa’s agreement with China on agricultural trade last week.
Steenhuisen on Wednesday said if Ramaphosa were to assent to the basic education bill, he would be violating “both the letter and spirit” of the joint statement of intent that underpins the unity government.
“During the negotiations, the DA made it clear that the BELA Bill was unacceptable to us in its current form, because it has constitutional implications for the right to mother-tongue education, amongst other issues.”
He recalled that his party urged Ramaphosa to send the measure back to parliament for amendments that would cure what the DA considers unconstitutional provisions.
“Despite this, and in violation of the provisions of the statement of intent, the president seems intent on pushing ahead unilaterally. I have moved urgently to meet the president before Friday to reiterate our objections in the strongest terms.”
“If the president continues to ride rough-shod over these objections, he is endangering the future of the government of national unity, and destroying the good faith on which it was based.”
Steenhuisen said the ANC could no longer act unilaterally and he would convey to Ramaphosa “the destructive implications it holds for the future of the GNU” if he assented to the bill.
He added that the creation of a dispute resolution mechanism within the coalition was now an urgent priority.
Steenhuisen’s remarks are the first indication of serious acrimony within the new government since it came into office three months ago.
Magwyena said it was worth recalling that there were limited grounds on which the president could refer legislation back to parliament.
Section 79(1) of the Constitution stipulates that the president must either assent to and sign a bill passed by parliament, or should he have reservations about its constitutionality, refer it back to the national assembly for reconsideration.
The Constitutional Court has made clear that the president cannot refuse to sign a bill for political reasons, Magwenya said.
“The only ground on which the president can refuse to sign the bill is constitutional reservations.”
It meant, he continued, that the president must apply his mind to submissions regarding the constitutionality of legislation and if he felt that these were not persuasive, proceed to assent to the bill in question.
“There is no provision in the Constitution for the president’s decision to be subject to negotiation or agreement with any other party or individual. The president remains firmly committed to engaging fully with parties in the government of national unity on this matter and any other matter of concern.”
He said threats regarding the stability of the government of national unity were not helpful.
“It is disturbing that whenever there is a dispute you will hear threats being made to the stability of the GNU,” he said.
“It is disturbing because such threats are not only directed to the president, they are directed also to the stability of the country. They are threats directed to South Africans. The GNU must remain stable, must remain united.”
The bill imposes penalties on parents who do not enrol their children in school and provides for the admission of undocumented children.
The DA’s objections revolve around the provisions on language policy, where the bill strengthens the department of basic education’s oversight over the decisions taken by school governing bodies.
Basic education minister Siwive Gwarube, a senior member of the DA, has described the draft law as a threat to the autonomy of schools.