President Kgalema Motlanthe has declined to enact two bills, including the controversial Films and Publications Amendment Bill, and returned them unsigned to Parliament.

Motlanthe has referred the Films and Publications Amendment Bill and the Competition Amendment Bill back to the National Assembly for reconsideration in terms of Section 79(1) of the Constitution, the presidency said on Thursday.

"The President has expressed reservation on the unconstitutionality of certain sections of the Bills after careful consideration," it said.

The Films and Publications Amendment Bill has been roundly condemned by opposition parties and media and rights organisations as nothing but a smokescreen to muzzle the media.

It has been claimed that the home affairs department's intention was not primarily to fight child pornography, but to muzzle the media.

Various organisations, including the SA National Editors Forum (Sanef), have approached Motlanthe, and before him former president Thabo Mbeki, not to sign the bill on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.

The Competition Amendment Bill is intended to strengthen existing provisions of the Act in fighting collusion (complex monopolies) and cartels which undermined competitiveness of downstream industries and robbed consumers.

Among other things, the bill introduces a criminal sanction regime against individuals found guilty of causing a firm to engage in price fixing, output restriction, market allocation and collusive tendering.