President Jacob Zuma faces a new round of litigation, this time related to his failure so far to sign the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment (Fica) Bill. Business Day reported on Thursday that the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casa) intends to take Zuma to the Constitutional Court should he fail to sign the Bill immediately.
Business Day reported that Corruption Watch has also threatened to take the president to court.
The Bill was reportedly readopted by Parliament at the end of February but Zuma has yet to sign it. He sent it back to Parliament in late 2016 after a delay of six months because he had concerns about the provisions on warrantless searches.
Corruption Watch's executive director David Lewis said the president had had ample time to sign the Bill, according to Business Day.
Banking Association of South Africa managing director Cas Cavoodia told Business Day that there are no constitutional issues involved now.
In November 2016, Casac went to court over Zuma's delay in signing the Bill. Zuma referred the Bill back to Parliament on the day he was supposed to file his replying affidavit, the paper reported.
The Bill is critical for South Africa as it could be declared delinquent by the Financial Action Task Force, and international grouping dedicated to combating financial crimes.