Siviwe Gwalbe during the swearing-in ceremony of new National Executive members at the Cape Town International Conference Centre on July 3, 2024. (Photo by Misha Jordan/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
The ANC's alliance partners have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to sack Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwalbe for failing to attend the signing ceremony of the Basic Education Amendment (Bela) Bill.
At the South African Democratic Teachers Union's 10th elective conference currently underway in Johannesburg, leaders of Cosatu and the South African Communist Party (SACP) called for Gwalbe's removal.
South African Communist Party secretary-general Solly Mapaila told reporters on the sidelines of the conference that President Ramaphosa should have fired her for defiing him.
“She followed the instructions of the Democratic Alliance to defied him and he should have fired her the day she defied him after signing,” he said. [the Act]”Why can't he do that?” he asked.
“If they [the DA] They support him as president and say he must provide leadership and make good decisions and not be undermined in this way.”
Hours before the signing ceremony, Gwalbe released a statement saying he had written to President Ramaphosa that he could not attend the signing ceremony until his concerns about the bill were addressed.
Gwalbe said he had always opposed the current bill and would continue to do so, and had asked President Ramaphosa to send it back to Parliament for review in terms of section 79 of the constitution.
Instead, the president agreed to postpone implementation of two of the law's more controversial provisions for 90 days while he discussed how to resolve the impasse.
Gwalbe promised to implement the remaining parts of the bill while this process is taking place.
Mapaila said if he were president, Gwalbe would not have remained in his position because ministers are accountable to the president and not their respective political parties.
He also supported Sadhu’s decision not to invite Gwalbe to parliament as she was “interested in the DA and not the people”.
“It doesn't matter if she's not here. We don't care about her,” Mapaila said.
He said Gwalbe cannot ignore Sadotu as it is a major shareholder in education and the largest trade union in the sector.
“She has already started to set up some government advisory groups that exclude Saddotu because she wants to disrupt education. She's not going to get it. Our comrades are going to be committed to education so that working-class children can continue to get a better education.”
Mapaila said he would work with Sadhu to ensure the implementation of the Bella Act locally.
The secretary-general, a fierce critic of the Government of National Unity, had said the ANC was “optimistic” about a multi-party coalition government but said there had already been a “turnaround” 100 days into power.
Cosatu president Dzingiswa Losi said Sadu had been wrong to invite Gwalbe, who had shown disrespect to the president by boycotting the bill's signing, and said he understood the union's frustration.
“I don't think there is anything wrong with Sattu not inviting the minister because if there was a minister who ignored the president, what would she come here and say?”
“The Vera Act is incredibly important and central to the work of our educators, the lives of South Africans, particularly black children, and the transformation of our education system.
“We have ministers who say, 'I can't sign a bill by the president for which I'm responsible because my party is against parts of it.'
“What policy are you going to articulate as a minister if you can't be accountable to the president? I would have expected her to come here and tell us why the Vera Act is important and how we can strengthen it.”
Losi said Gwalbe should not ignore Thattu, saying “the only way South Africa can move forward is if all stakeholders come to the table and listen to each other.”
One of the delegates at the meeting, who declined to be named, said they felt Gwalbe was working against them over Bera and that he was not welcome.
“The DA included a clause in their manifesto last year specifically dealing with Sadotu and we did not take it lightly. She was not present at the signing of the Vera Bill. For us, the Vera Bill has addressed an issue that has existed since 1976.”
The representative said he would push for the implementation of the bill from the ground.
“Bella's Bill is here to address the challenges we face as teachers.”
ANC deputy speaker Paul Mashatile told reporters that Gwalbe should have attended the Sadhu conference to look at the challenges teachers were facing and to help and support them.
“Teachers are pillars of our society and we should not take that for granted. In the past, teaching was just a profession. In fact, teaching is an important profession,” Mashatile said.
