18 new laws for South Africa waiting for Ramaphosa’s signature

President Cyril Ramaphosa put his name on many key laws in 2024, but there are still 18 laws are still waiting to be signed.

Not all of the bills that have been signed have been welcomed—the most notable being the National Health Insurance Act which was signed into law a couple of weeks before the election, or the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, which was signed after.

But others have been fundamental and foundational in South Africa’s push to reform—such as the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act, which will allow the energy landscape to change for the better, bringing in competition and private participation.

With big laws getting passed throughout the year, it is easy to forget that there are many more, some less notable, waiting in the wings, still needing the president’s stamp of approval.

Most recently, Ramaphosa signed two bills into law: the National Nuclear Regulator Amendment Bill, marking a significant step in enhancing nuclear safety and aligning South Africa with global regulatory standards, and the South African Post Office SOC LTD Amendment Bill.

According to bill tracking by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, 18 bills are now still awaiting Ramaphosa’s signature.

Among the bills are a host of finance laws needing the President’s sign-off. These nine bills relate to the measures introduced by the finance minister and National Treasury during the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.

• Division of Revenue Amendment Bill
• Adjustments Appropriation Bill
• Rates and Monetary Amounts Amendment Bill
• Taxation Laws Amendment Bill
• Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill
• Revenue Laws Amendment Bill
• Special Appropriation Bill
• Global Minimum Tax Bill
• Global Minimum Tax Administration Bill

Outside of these standard and annual bills, there are still key pieces of legislation that need Ramaphosa’s go-ahead. These include:

• General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill
• Marine Pollution (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Amendment Bill
• Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Bill
• Housing Consumer Protection Bill
• Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill
• Transport Appeal Tribunal Amendment Bill
• Expropriation Bill
• Copyright Amendment Bill
• Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill

Notably, the Copyright Amendment Bill and Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill, while still sitting with the president, have been referred to the Constitutional Court for a ruling on their constitutionality.

The National Assembly passed the Copyright Amendment Bill on 1 March 2024. The Bill was initially introduced in 2017 but was returned to Parliament by Ramaphosa in 2020.

The legislation seeks to amend the Copyright Act of 1978, the first comprehensive effort to modernise South Africa’s copyright law in nearly 50 years.

Parliament previously said that the Bill “allows for further limitations and exceptions to the reproduction of copyright works and providing for equitable remuneration or the sharing of royalties on copyrighted works.”

It also provides people with disabilities access to copyrighted works. This means that a person converting a job into a format accessible to persons with disabilities, for example (like Braille), must ensure that the integrity of the original work is respected.

However, it has received widespread criticism from industry players, who have the opposite effect on many creatives, undermining their protected works.

Similar criticisms were raised about the Performers’ Protection Amendment Bill.

Both these pieces of legislation will have to wait for the Constitutional Court to rule on them before the president will sign them into law.

Of the other bills still to be signed by the president, the Expropriation Bill is arguably the most contentious and will likely face a similar journey to the Constitutional Court.

According to Parliament, the bill “outlines how expropriation can be done and on what basis [and] assist all organs of State, including the local municipalities who provide services to vulnerable groups.”

On 27 March 2024, the National Assembly approved the Expropriation Bill as amended by the NCOP with a vote of 205 in favour and 108 against.

The Bill allows for local, provincial and national authorities to expropriate land for a public purpose or in the public interest for varied reasons, which allows for no compensation in various instances.

These instances include abandoned land, state-owned land, and land held primarily for speculative investment.

However, various interest groups and political parties—including the DA which is part of the government—are opposed to the bill and have threatened legal action against it.

Some are opposed to the concept of land expropriation without compensation contained in the bill altogether. Others are opposed to the concept in the bill as not going far enough.

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