The National Assembly has adopted an anti-money laundering bill that has been rushed through parliament as the government races to avoid being greylisted by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The General Laws (Anti Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Bill, was opposed by all parties on Tuesday, except for the IFP, though other parties criticised the rushed process and the bill’s impact on non-profit organisations (NPOs).
The bill, which introduces measures to disclose and track the beneficial owners of companies, trusts and NPOs, will now be sent to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The select committee on finance has already begun processing the bill in the NCOP so that it can be passed by both houses of parliament before the December recess.
Chair of the standing committee on finance Joe Maswanganyi, whose speech was read by ANC MP Noxolo Abraham, said a socioeconomic impact study should have been conducted to evaluate the costs and benefits of the bill, as was the case with all legislation. This requirement was waived for the bill given its urgency.
“The committee does not encourage the processing of legislation in this fashion but understands the urgency of preventing SA being greylisted by FATF in February 2023,” Abraham said.
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana insisted in his closing remarks at the end of the debate that the National Treasury had not steamrollered the legislation through parliament. The conditions were not of Treasury’s choosing and political parties needed to bury their differences in the national interest, he said.
“By passing the bill this house demonstrates its commitment to not only addressing the issues which risk the greylisting by the FATF but, more importantly, this government’s commitment to rooting out and preventing financial crime and the proceeds of corruption,” Godongwana said earlier.
“When enacted into law, it will improve SA’s adherence to international best practices in combating financial crimes and corruption and stand as the strongest possible evidence of this house’s commitment to fighting financial crime.”
The Treasury amended the bill to change the mandatory registration of all NPOs to the requirement that only NPOs involved in the sending and receiving money abroad must register, but the DA’s Dion George and ACDP’s Steve Swart opposed registration.
George also opposed the NPO directorate in the department of social development, which has been widely criticised for inefficiency, being made responsible for the registration.
“We cannot be blackmailed into legislation that is unworkable,” he said.
Swart criticised the bill for requiring even those NPOs that are already registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, Sars or the Master's Office (as charitable trusts) to be registered with the directorate.
FF+ MP Wouter Wessels said the threat of greylisting did not justify passing bad laws and rushing them through parliament. The executive arm of government had steamrollered the process regarding the legislature as a rubber stamp.
“The legislation is rushed, ill-considered and will have unintended detrimental consequences especially for NGOs,” Wessels said.
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