Two new proposed laws target the Reserve Bank and healthcare in SA
The EFF has announced plans to submit two private member bills to parliament, seeking to amend the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Act and the National Health Act.
The first bill – to be introduced by party leader Julius Malema – intends to make the state the sole shareholder of the SARB.
It will also include the responsibility of the president (Cyril Ramaphosa), in consultation with the minister of finance and parliament, to appoint the Governor, Deputy Governors and all other directors of the Bank – and the role of the Minister of Finance as a shareholder to exercise the rights attached to the shares in the SARB.
“The provision of share capital of the bank, and the increase of the share capital by issuing shares, enable private individuals including foreign nationals to buy and own shares in the bank,” Malema said.
“The bank currently has some 650 shareholders other than government. The bill seeks to amend the Act to make the state a sole holder of the shares of the bank.”
While the full bill is yet to be made fully available, the ruling ANC has already expressed interest in nationalising the bank, but may ultimately reject the EFF’s bill in favour of introducing its own.
24/7 clinics
The second bill proposed by the EFF will be introduced by MP Dr Suzan Thembekwayo, and seeks to amend the current National Health Act to ensure that hospitals become a full-time service.
“People do not only get sick or suffer injury during the day when healthcare facilities, especially clinics, are open,” Thembekwayo said.
“Many South Africans live too far from hospitals and are therefore unable to access healthcare establishments all the time. Clinics are in most instances are the most effective health establishment to access.
The bill seeks to remedy this by ensuring that all clinics operate and provide healthcare services twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week.
Notably, the explanatory summary does not state whether the changes will apply to both private and public sector clinics.
New laws
BusinessTech reported on a number of pieces of legislation which were announced or introduced last week.
While last week certainly stood out to as a bumper week for parliament, for several months there has been a clear push to introduce new legislation from all spheres of government – including private members.
Legalbrief’s Pam Saxby noted that this sudden flurry of bills is likely due to a (yet to be officially announced) decision to have 31 May set down as the deadline for tabling any piece of proposed new legislation to be considered by parliament before the next general election.
“Given that a draft bill is usually released for public comment well before its explanatory summary is gazetted to announce its imminent tabling, one cannot help but wonder if the public participation process is being compromised,” Saxby said.
“In the case of all three EFF bills, while the changes are unlikely to be technically complex, they nevertheless do have significant implications. Tabled on 7 May, just two weeks after the explanatory summary was gazetted, the EFF’s Banks Amendment Bill seeks to enable a state-owned company to conduct ‘the business of a bank’,” she said.
Read: 4 major new bills have just been approved by Cabinet – here’s what you need to know
Loading ...