CAPE TOWN, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- South African President Jacob Zuma is still waiting for Parliament to finalize the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment (MPRDA) Bill, the presidency said on Thursday, amid growing concern over the fate of the controversial legislation.
The bill is currently before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for processing. It has caused jitters in the mining sector as it puts massive power in the mineral resources minister's hands.
The bill was passed by Parliament in 2014 and referred to Zuma for assent and signing into law. Zuma referred it back to the National Assembly for reconsideration in January 2015.
The presidency reiterated on Thursday that Zuma is of the view that the bill as it stands would not pass constitutional muster.
Another reason for Zuma to refer the bill back to Parliament is that the NCOP and provincial legislature did not sufficiently facilitate public participation when passing the bill, said presidential spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga.
Opponents argue that bill will open the door to corruption, allowing the minister to hand out mining rights to friends, cronies or the highest bidder.
Under the bill, up to 20 percent interest in any such venture should go to the state and a portion of the extracted resource would have to be processed domestically instead of exported in raw form.
