Pretoria – President Jacob Zuma has received an objection to the signing of the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Bill from the Progressive Professionals Forum, hence the Bill has not yet been signed, says the Presidency.
“When the President is petitioned not to sign a Bill, he has to consider the merits of such objection focusing mainly on whether the interested parties raise valid constitutional issues,” said the Presidency on Monday.
This comes after the Business Day published a story on Monday, titled “Zuma sits on banks scrutiny legislation”, on the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Bill which has been brought to the President for his consideration and assent.
The Presidency said the story is misleading and incorrect.
The writer, Carol Paton, states that the Bill has not yet been signed into law because “the developments form part of an orchestrated attack by parts of the government and the African National Congress (ANC) aligned to Zuma on the Treasury, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, and the Reserve Bank, with a view to clipping their independence and powers”.
The Presidency said this is a gross distortion of the facts.
“It is not the first time that the President has taken time to consider a bill for similar reasons. Currently, the President has not signed the Expropriation Bill, the Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill and the Protection of State Information Bill, because various parties petitioned him not to do so, citing concerns about their constitutionality. All these concerns are being looked into.
“He also sent the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill back to the National Assembly in 2015 on the grounds that certain provisions of the Bill are unconstitutional,” said the Presidency.
The Presidency urged journalists to stick to the facts and ensure balance and fairness in the coverage of news and current affairs.
