IANS | 10 Oct, 2015
South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) affirmed on Friday
that it will not make any compromise on a highly-controversial private
security industry bill despite the US pressure.
The announcement
on the Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment (PSIRA) Bill came
as the ANC is holding its 2015 National General Council (NGC) which
takes place every five years, Xinhua news agency reported.
Prior
to the NGC, crucial trade partners such as the US urged the South
African government to remove certain sections of the bill, particularly
the clause requiring foreign-owned security companies to sell at least
51 percent of their businesses to locals.
The US trade mission
made it clear that South Africa will lose out on funding from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank if it was not
willing to consider objections made by various trade partners.
But
ANC's Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe has unequivocally stated that
there will not be any compromise from the ANC on the Bill.
The ANC will not be "dictated to by the U.S." on this matter, Mantashe said.
The
PSIRA Bill is accused of breaching the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) by limiting foreign
ownership of private security companies.
The Bill, adopted by parliament more than a year ago, has been awaiting President Jacob Zuma's signature.
Zuma
said last month he hasn't signed the Bill because the draft law deals
with "very complex" issues and he needs to look at it thoroughly.
