The National Treasury is pleased with the recent passing of two bills by the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces (NCOP).
Recently, both chambers enacted the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Bill and the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities (POCDATARA) Amendment Bill.
The Treasury said in a statement that the approval of the Bills reflects the government’s commitment to combating corruption and terrorism funding and constitutes “a giant step” towards South Africa’s compliance with the 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (TAFT).
On 29 August 2022, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana tabled the General Laws Amendment Bill to the National Assembly.
On 19 July 2022, Minister of Police Bheki Cele presented the POCDATARA Bill to the National Assembly. The NCOP approved both Bills on 13 December 2022, and they will be forwarded to the President for approval.
The two bills, if implemented, would strengthen South Africa’s adherence to worldwide best practises for tackling financial crimes and corruption.
Parliament also passed revisions to Schedules1, 2, and 3 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) on 27 October 2022, after the 31 March 2022 acceptance of their tabling by the Minister of Finance.
The department said, “the approval of amendments to Schedules to the FICA, coupled with the passing of the two Bills, are significant steps forward in addressing weaknesses in the country’s ability to combat money laundering and fight financial crime as well as addressing the legislative deficiencies identified in the FATF Mutual Evaluation Report”.