South Africa's Ramaphosa dismisses fears of a gov't split amid education bill controversy: Video
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has reassured the public and political stakeholders that the government of national unity (GNU) remains stable, despite rising tensions over policy disagreements.
The primary source of tension has been the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, which has faced significant opposition from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-largest party in the GNU.
The DA argues that the bill, which aims to give the government more control over school language and admission policies, could undermine mother-tongue education and disproportionately affect minority language communities.
According to the leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen, the members "will have to consider all of our options on the way forward" if Ramaposa signed the bill on Friday, September 13.
Despite these disagreements, Ramaphosa has emphasised that such conflicts are normal in a democratic government.
“I don’t work on the basis that we are going to differ to a point of even parting ways. I have often worked on the basis of what Nelson Mandela taught us — that for every problem there is a solution,” Ramaphosa stated during a session in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). “And so you try to find the solution. We confirmed this yesterday that we will find solutions to whatever may arise because problems will arise and we should never kid ourselves and think that we will not have challenges.”
Additionally, the president on Wednesday, September 11 after dining with the members of the alliance said "I had a wonderful dinner with the members of the government of national unity. We broke bread together, and we were able to talk about a variety of issues, including also how we should function and, the number of issues that were discussed, issues that are going to empower us to continue working, as a united collective, and leading this country forward."
