Huis Ask the NCOP to Stop the Flawed BELA Bill Process NOW!

Ask the NCOP to Stop the Flawed BELA Bill Process NOW!

Support our letter to the NCOP

On April 23rd, the Pestalozzi Trust sent a letter to the NCOP and all the Provincial legislatures on the many procedural flaws in the NCOP’s BELA Bill process. Issues addressed include:
  • Lack of notice of public hearings;
  • Intimidation of the public at the hearings;
  • Lack of accessibility to the public hearings;
  • Procedural flaws in the conduct of the NCOP Clause-by-Clause Meeting;
  • Public comment not engaged with by the Select Committee;
  • Public proposals misrepresented during the NCOP Clause-by-Clause Meeting;
  • Failure of the Committee members to apply their minds;
  • Etc.
You can read the COMPLETE LETTER HERE.

Support Our Letter by Sending the NCOP an E-mail Note!

The letter and more than 1500 emails sent in support were ignored at the last Committee meeting that took place on Thursday, May 2nd, 2024. Please use the form below to write to the Chairperson of the NCOP and key NCOP officers calling for the Bill not to be considered on the floor of the NCOP until the Select Committee meets to consider the Pestalozzi Trust letter. Please send your letter as soon as possible.

The more people we can get to support the Pestalozzi Trust’s letter, and share their personal experiences of the process, the more pressure we can put on the NCOP to heed the letter and act on it.

The Trust hopes that the NCOP will recognise these flaws and take the appropriate step of halting proceedings while they and the provinces investigate. The Select Committee has acted recklessly and failed to address flaws in the process and our next opportunity is to write to the presiding officers in the NCOP. If also ignored this will form part of the concerns we share in our letter to the President when this  Bill passes through Parliament. All this will be placed before the court if the Bill is signed into law by the President.

.Support our letter by using this form to write a note to the Chairperson of the NCOP, the House Chairperson for Committees, and the House Chairperson for Oversight and Institutional Support.

Then share this link with your community, family, and friends and ask them to do the same.

IMPORTANT: Please refrain from being rude, using swear words or racial slurs and/or being condescending in your letters. Although we are all thoroughly dissatisfied and upset at the way this process has been conducted, it is important to stay polite at every stage. Feel free to express YOUR feelings e.g. I feel parliament isn’t listening to me, I worked very hard on a submission that I felt was ignored, It saddened me that BELA Bill is so important to me and my family but your discussion of the clause-by-clause was rushed and chaotic.

How to Write Your Note

Use the form below to type a brief note detailing your concerns and asking the Chairperson of the NCOP to suspend proceedings and order the Select Committee to at least discuss the Pestalozzi Trust letter before considering the Bill on the floor of the house.

You can use points from the LEGAL LETTER, or address issues such as:
  • I am deeply disappointed that the Select Committee ignored a letter from the Pestalozzi Trust supported by over 1500 members of the public. You didn’t spend any time discussing it;
  • It saddens me that the BELA Bill is so important to me and my family but your discussion of the clause-by-clause was rushed and chaotic;
  • I don’t feel like Parliament is listening to me;
  • [IF YOU HAVE A CHILD IN PUBLIC SCHOOL] I have a child in public school and I didn’t hear about the Bill until the hearings was over;
  • Etc.
Please make sure to ask that the letter of the Pestalozzi Trust sent on April 23rd, 2024, be added to the agenda of the meeting on May 2nd.

When you press “Submit” the following will happen:
  • Your letter will be automatically addressed to the appropriate persons (no need to start the letter by addressing someone);
  • We will add the message: “Please instruct the Select Committee to consider the Pestalozzi Trust letter and emails sent by the public before voting on the BELA Bill is allowed.”
  • Your name will be added at the bottom of the note;
  • The note will be sent to the Chairperson of the NCOP, the House Chairperson for Committees, and the House Chairperson for Oversight and Institutional Support and BCC’d to your own email address.
Consent(Required)
I consent to the collection, storing, processing, and use by the Pestalozzi Trust of any personal and special personal information, including the personal and special personal information of children, provided by myself in the above form, for the purpose set out in this privacy statement (See https://bit.ly/3wyzm6v). I consent to the processing of any personal and special personal information, including the personal and special personal information of children, provided by myself in the above form, by a third party, and a third party outside the Republic of South Africa (RSA), for the purposes as set out in the above privacy statement. I consent to the sharing of the above personal and special personal information, including the personal and special personal information of children, with the Parliament of RSA for the purpose of making this submission.