SOUTH AFRICA:MANDELA to ponder legality of new bills() (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

MANDELA to ponder legality of new bills

by Wyndham Hartley

Business Day (8882) 
SOUTH AFRICA;
Date: Tuesday, 1/19/99
----------------------<14208>----------------------
               ===================
EXCERPT


CAPE TOWN - The future of three controversial pieces of legislation - the
tobacco, broadcasting and liquor bills - will be decided this week when
senior government officials meet President Nelson Mandela to discuss their
legal findings on the constitutionality of the bills. 


 It is likely that Mandela will be told that all three bills, which were
approved by the National Assembly late last year, are vulnerable to
Constitutional Court challenges and should be referred back to Parliament
for amendment. 


 Prof Fink Haysom, Mandela's legal adviser, said last week the three bills
would be discussed with Mandela this week.  This was confirmed by
presidential spokesman Parks Mankahlana yesterday. 


 Last month five bills were referred to Mandela's legal advisers because
of doubts about their constitutionality. 


  Two of them - the Medical Schemes Bill and the Municipal Structures Bill
- are not up for discussion in this week's meeting, raising the
possibility that the president was advised that they do not offend the
constitution. 


 Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma's tobacco bill was the subject of furious
debate last year. The pro-tobacco lobby insisted that the bill infringed
on the constitution's freedom of choice provisions. The lobby held talks
with Mandela last month. 


  The bill also came under fire from the Freedom of Commercial Speech
Trust which has argued that a complete ban on advertising of tobacco
products is an infringement of the right to freedom of speech. A court
challenge from either the tobacco industry or the trust would certainly
have followed if the bill had been signed into law.
------------------------------------------------------ 10:01 AM on 1/19/99