Zuma refuses to give assent to controversial mineral bill

South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday referred the controversial Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Bill (MPRDB) back to the National Assembly for reconsideration.

"After careful consideration of the Bill and the submissions received, the President is of the view that the Bill as it stands would not pass constitutional muster," presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj said.

The Bill was passed by Parliament last year and referred to Zuma for assent and signing into law

"The Constitution requires that the President must assent to and sign the Bill referred to him by the National Assembly. However, in terms of section 79(1) of the Constitution, 1996, if the President has reservations about the constitutionality of the Bill, he may refer it back to the National Assembly for reconsideration," Maharaj said in a statement.

The Bill has been creating concerns in the mining, oil and gas industries about the state's participation in projects and the declaration by the Minerals Minister of certain minerals as strategic.

Under the Bill, the state would have a 30-percent participation interest as well as the limit of 50 percent, effectively giving the state the right to take over an existing petroleum operation.

Further the Bill entitles the government to enforce the volume and the price at which strategic minerals have to be sold domestically.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) maintains that the Bill provides no certainty for investors, which, as a result, would pull their resources, leaving the South African economy "in a shambles", thus leading to people losing their jobs. Endi