Legislative Developments
The Select Committee on Land and Mineral Resources invites the public to submit written comments on the Mineral And Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill [B 15D-2013]. Comments can be emailed to Mr Asgar A Bawa at [email protected] by no later than Wednesday, 22 March 2017
The National Assembly passed the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Bill and Regugees Amendment Bill. The bills were referred to the NCOP for concurrence.
Cabinet approved the submission of several bills to Parliament. These include:
-Draft Marine Spatial Planning Bill
-Agricultural Products Standards Amendment Bill
-National Public Health Institutes of South Africa Bill
-National Health Laboratory Service Amendment Bill
-National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Bill
-International Arbitration Bill
Cabinet approved the publication of several bills for public comment. These include:
-Draft Electronic Deeds Registration Systems Bill
-Older Persons Amendment Bill
- Fund Raising Amendment Bill
-Draft Regulation of Agricultural Land Holdings Bill
-Property Practitioners Bill
-Home Loan and Mortgage Disclosure Amendment Bill
-Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Amendment Bill
In his State of the Nation Address, President Zuma said that the government will continue to pursue direct state involvement in mining. The Mining Company of South Africa Bill will be presented to Cabinet and Parliament during the year.
The President referred back the Expropriation Bill to Parliament for reconsideration on the basis that it might not pass constitutional master. This is due to inadequate public participation during its processing in the NCOP.
In his budget speech, the Finance Minister said a draft Public Procurement Bill will be published shortly. It will establish a single procurement authority and will consolidate the currently fragmented regulatory environment, in keeping with section 217 of the Constitution.
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs briefed MPs on its legislative programme for 2017, which included the Municipal Demarcation Amendment Bill, the Municipal Structures Amendment Bill, the Municipal Systems Amendment Bill, the Customary Initiation Bill, and the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Bill. The briefing included the timeframes for this legislative programme. The aim of the Customary Initiation Bill is to hold people accountable for deaths at initiation schools through the introduction of regulations, because there was no legislation to make actions legal or illegal. Existing laws only dealt with certain aspects such as circumcision. The Bill was based on the principles of the Policy on the Customary Practice of Initiation in South Africa, developed by the Department of Traditional Affairs. The timeframes for introducing this legislative programme to Parliament were: Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Amendment Bill in May 2017, Customary Initiation Bill in September 2017, and the Municipal Demarcation Amendment Bill, Municipal Structures Amendment Bill, Municipal Systems Amendment Bill all in November / December 2017.
The Small Business Development Committee was briefed by the Department of Small Business Development on its perspective on the Red Tape Impact Assessment Bill. The Bill makes reference to establishing a Red Tape Impact Assessment Unit within the Ministry along with provincial units to reduce and control the economic impact of regulatory measures.