From CompliNEWS | Financial Service Intelligence Watch
Ramaphosa to study 29 Bills including Pension Funds Amendment Bill and Climate Change Bill
There are 29 Bills that made their way onto President Cyril Ramaphosa’s desk during the sixth administration, waiting to be signed in. According to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, the Bills include some of major significance to the nation and the economy. These include the:
- Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill;
- Pension Funds Amendment Bill;
- Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill;
- SA National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency SOC Limited Bill;
- Climate Change Bill;
- Expropriation Bill.
Because the Cabinet will consist of a multitude of parties with varying political ideologies within the government of national unity (GNU) – who have been vocal in their opposition to some of these Bills – there is keen interest in their passage. BusinessTech reports that section 79 of the Constitution states that once a Bill has been passed by Parliament, the ‘President must either assent to and sign a Bill passed’, or be sent back for further processing. The question now is whether Ramaphosa will sign them in their current form or send them back to the newly sworn-in National Assembly or to the Constitutional Court for confirmation. Constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos noted that ‘what the President cannot do is to refuse to sign the Bill at all … he must either refer it back to the National Assembly because he is of the view that the Bill is unconstitutional, or he must sign it’.