Unless we are serious about compliance and adherence to due process as Members of Parliament, there will continue to be adverse judgements against parliament. We are not to rubber stamp the law as proposed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) or the Executive.

Shenge will be sorely missed not only by the Family of Buthelezi, but also by the people of South Africa. May the Lord strengthen the Buthelezi family, and all those mourning Prince Buthelezi’s passing, during this time of bereavement.

It is our duty to ensure that as lawmakers we give due regard to their voices, and that of every other South African who made oral and written submissions on the Bill.

It is the view of the ACDP that the findings of SARS and the SARB lends credence to the now established hypothesis, that some people are more equal than others. The message this sends to the South African public is that No.1 must be protected at all costs.

The specific mention of countries that outlaws homeschooling by Parliamentary Legal Services during the deliberations on the clause, will add to the fear of homeschoolers that the state seeks to make homeschooling unaffordable with stricter controls to limit homeschooling.

ACDP and DA Members of Parliament walked out on the first day of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA Bill) clause-by-clause deliberations following a rancorous debate between them and ANC MPs over the final report on the public participation process.

South Africans won’t allow for either covert racism on the part of some governing bodies or excessive power to be placed in the hands of the State.

“I can’t see how a clause, like Clause 41(aA) that wants to empower the Minister to make regulations on learner pregnancy is not going to involve making those regulations in terms of the national policy that is currently in force. That’s why despite all efforts to silence me I am going to call this a ‘School’s Abortion Bill’.”

This week, community leaders in Warrenton notified the ACDP that they have lost hope that the crisis will be resolved due to failure by the municipality to indicate progress on the water pipeline.

The ACDP calls on government to consider a mandatory minimum life sentence for child rapists in South Africa.

It is time for our government to place the needs of our people above its senseless point scoring and narrow political posturing, and to focus on the plight and urgent needs of those without access to clean water.