IS THE INDEPENDENT MUNICIPAL DEMARCATION AUTHORITY BILL DESIGNED TO ALTER ELECTORAL OUTCOMES? By Ciaran Ryan, for DearSouthAfrica.co.za There is good reason to suspect the Independent Municipal Demarcation Authority Bill is a Trojan horse for more sinister purposes than setting municipal and ward boundaries. Whether that is true or not, the suspicions abound, as evinced by …
DEARSA TAKES ACTION AGAINST REGULATIONS PROHIBITING THE SALE AND DISPENSING OF PETROL AND DIESEL INTO CONTAINERS DearSA has instructed its attorneys to notify Minister Gwede Mantashe that should an amendment to regulations prohibiting the sale and dispensing of petrol and diesel into containers not be withdrawn, legal action will be taken. The letter highlights adverse …
Earlier this month DearSA noted with great concern the national government's purported prohibition on private and provincial procurement of any COVID-19 vaccines. From 15 January 2021 until 28 February 2021, DearSA ran a public participation campaign regarding the national government's COVID-19 vaccine rollout strategy. Over 17 000 South Africans participated in the process and exercised their constitutional …
Continue reading "DearSA opposes the nationalisation of C-19 vaccines – allowing freedom of choice"
by Louis Nel Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have come a long way. From starting out as funny internet money in 2008 to gradually capturing mainstream media attention. Suddenly even my ageing mother wants to know how to buy bitcoin. This is not without its drawbacks, as governments and regulators who wanted nothing to do with crypto …
By Ciaran Ryan The government’s draft official Identity Management Policy was released on 22 December, just before Christmas. Publishing something just before Christmas is a tried and trusted tactic in the news business if you want to bury a potentially acrid story. The Department of Home Affairs wants a new randomised ID that allows for …
Continue reading "Government wants to track you from cradle to grave"
President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved South Africa back to Lockdown Level 3. "We are at an extremely dangerous point in our fight against the pandemic." Ramaphosa said on Monday, Cabinet has decided to put the country on an adjusted Level 3 from Level 1 with immediate effect. {{ vc_btn: title=click+here+to+download+the+regulations&color=success&align=left&i_align=right&i_icon_fontawesome=fas+fa-file-download&button_block=true&add_icon=true&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2020%252F12%252FDisaster-managemnt-act-29-December-s-1.pdf%7Ctarget%3A_blank }} Under the adjusted level …
Continue reading "Disaster Management Act – new regulations download"
... to allow Ministers Dlamini-Zuma and Zweli Mkhize an opportunity to file adequate responses. The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, was served papers three weeks ago and has failed to submit a response, although she intends opposing the matter. Furthermore, the Minister of Health, Zweli Mkhize has belatedly launched an …
Thanks largely to a robust campaign by participative democracy group DearSA, the government has decided to ditch two clauses in the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill – which would have allowed a change in voting methods. {{ vc_btn: title=click+to+view+the+Electoral+Laws+Amendment+Campaign+report&color=success&size=sm&i_align=right&i_icon_fontawesome=fas+fa-arrow-circle-right&add_icon=true&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Felab%252F%7Ctitle%3Aelab }} These clauses would have allowed a switch from the current paper ballots to electronic voting – potentially …
Continue reading "DearSA campaign helps avert a potentially disruptive change in voting methods"
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) last week issued a ”draft declaration” that will bring crypto assets such as bitcoin under its regulatory watch. The public has until 28 January 2021 to comment. {{ vc_btn: title=have+your+say+on+the+declaration&style=flat&color=success&size=sm&align=left&i_align=right&i_icon_fontawesome=far+fa-comment&add_icon=true&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Ffais%252F%7Ctitle%3AFAIS }} The burgeoning crypto market has been largely unregulated until now, though purchasing crypto assets does fall under several …
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Intro: The lockdown restrictions are illogical and are done without Parliamentary oversight Participative democracy group Dear South Africa has filed an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court to set aside the lockdown extension imposed on 13 November 2020. The court application says the lockdown extensions are illogical and are being done without Parliamentary oversight, …
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As compliance levels, already at just 30%, are tanking. By Ciaran Ryan The SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is in a financial pickle. Revenue has been in steady decline since 2016, and the broadcaster has made profits in just four of the last 12 years. We recently learned from an SABC presentation to Parliament that license …
Continue reading "SABC wants to bring in the heavies to collect license fees"
The EFF has introduced the South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill which seeks effectively to nationalise the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) by removing private ownership of shares in SARB and vesting these with the state. {{ vc_btn: title=click+here+to+have+your+say+on+the+draft+bill&style=flat&color=success&i_align=right&i_icon_fontawesome=far+fa-comment&css_animation=flipInX&add_icon=true&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Freserve-bank%252F%7Ctitle%3Areserve-bank }} The EFF bill has the explicit aim of expropriating the shares of 802 private shareholders, who …
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You can feel the public anger By Ciaran Ryan Reaction to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s Medium-Term Budget was fast and furious. The most obvious source of public anger centred around another bail-out for SAA: this time R10.5 billion, on top of the more than R16 billion received earlier this year. And this at a time …
Continue reading "The Medium-Term Budget and the outrage over another SAA bail-out"
DearSA attorneys Hurter Spies this week sent a letter [view below] to Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma asking her to provide reasons why she extended the lockdown earlier this month and to give an undertaking no further extensions will be given. {{ vc_btn: title=click+to+support+the+legal+challenge&style=flat&color=success&size=sm&align=left&i_align=right&i_icon_fontawesome=fas+fa-balance-scale-right&add_icon=true&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Funlockdown%252F&css=.vc_custom_1604849764130%7Bmargin-top%3A+-25px+%21important%3B%7D }} She has also been asked to support …
But continues a long-standing disrespect for property rights in South Africa By Ciaran Ryan The expropriation without compensation (EWC) debate refuses to die. In 2018, when EWC first entered public debate, the idea was to amend Section 25 of the Constitution which protects South Africans against arbitrary deprivation of property. Section 25 has been an …
Continue reading "New expropriation bill narrows the focus for no compensation"
Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, recently extended the period for comment on the Draft Film and Publications Amendment Regulations, which align with the Films and Publications Amendment Act (FPAA). Anti-censorship groups have dubbed this the “internet censorship bill” for seeking to regulate what it deems “harmful content” and to corral online content …
Continue reading "New ‘Internet censorship bill’ open for comment until mid October 2020"
In 2019, National Treasury voted an amount of R59 billion in terms of a Special Appropriations Bill to assist Eskom pay interest and capital on its R488 billion debt. This allocation was based on Eskom meeting certain conditions based on operational, financial, governance and restructuring compliances. A recent presentation by National Treasury shows while Eskom …
Continue reading "Eskom fails to meet conditions for funding set by National Treasury"
The Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill, published for comment in August 2020, proposes allowing adults to grow up to four plants (per adult) at home, and exchange up to 100 grams of dry cannabis, provided no money changes hands. The bill will also expunge any criminal records for those previously convicted of the possession or …
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More than 45 000 people reacted to Dear SA’s campaign inviting comment on draft legislation allowing meat from endangered species to be added to the list of animals allowed to be slaughtered, consumed and traded. Click the link at the end of this article to view a report and public comments. The overwhelming majority of those …
Continue reading "South Africans say “No!” to exporting meat from endangered species"
Phillip de Wet , Business Insider SA A huge shipment of live sheep is now cleared to depart a feedlot in the Eastern Cape, be loaded onto a waiting ship in East London, and then likely to be transported to the Middle East for slaughter. That, says exporting company Al Mawashi, will be to the considerable …
Mayibongwe Maqhina - IOL Parliament is forging ahead with a process aimed to amend the law to allow for the nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). This comes after EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu made a presentation on Tuesday night to a joint meeting of the National Assembly’s standing committee on finance and …
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Gaye Davis – EWN The Disaster Management Tax Relief and Tax Administration Bills were passed without any parties objecting and will now go before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence. The National Assembly has approved two COVID-19 tax relief bills. The Disaster Management Tax Relief and Tax Administration Bills were passed without any parties …
Continue reading "MBOWENI PRAISES SWIFT NATIONAL ASSEMBLY APPROVAL OF 2 COVID-19 TAX RELIEF BILLS"
Large-scale projects for the roll-out of gas, electricity, solar and other infrastructure projects will be given exemption from the need for environmental authorization in terms of notices gazette by the government on 31 July 2020. This is certain to excite strong opposition from environmental lobby groups which have laboured for years to enforce compliance with …
South Africa has issued a request for proposals to procure 2,000 megawatts of emergency power, a step needed to help plug a severe energy shortage, the department of energy said on Saturday. Source - Reuters South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom has been forced to cut power regularly, hobbling economic growth in Africa’s most industrialised …
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OPINION/EDITORIALS – FinancialMail Thanks to the state’s handling of the lockdown, ours has become a country where the risk of rebellion has never been higher since democracy South Africans — illicit cigarette smugglers, the ANC Women’s League and a smattering of EFF populists aside — may have been united in their delight at moving to …
Amendments to the Employment Equity Bill will enable minister to set targets for every industry. Adriaan Kruger - Moneyweb It will be interesting to see how businesses will react to some of the proposed amendments to the Employment Equity Act, which was to be tabled in the new parliamentary session before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted …
Moneyweb [Barbara Curson] In the preamble to the latest Tax Administration Bill, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) indicates that it proposes to “remove the requirement of intent from certain criminal offences”. In what has become Sars’s attempt at a “tough stance” to scare taxpayers into compliance, it has taken a blunt tool to remove …
One of the ironies of the times in which we live is that taxes on cigarettes and alcohol are to go up – even though there isn’t a hope in hell of government collecting any of this while there is a ban on cigarette and alcohol sales. Proposed changes to tax laws have just been …
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As we enter into Women’s month, the Minister of Social Development, Ms Lindiwe Zulu, is calling upon on all South Africans and organisations, in particular those in the fight against gender-based violence, to comment on the Victim Support Services Bill (VSS) as gazetted and published on July 17, 2020. The VSS Bill is part of a critical …
Written by Ciaran Ryan Four months into the pandemic we have a clearer picture of the social and economic impacts of the lockdown. It’s a catastrophe. The lockdown could kill far more people than the virus. At end July 2020, SA had 8,000 deaths from just short of 500,000 confirmed cases, for a case fatality …
Continue reading "The evidence is in: the lockdown has been a catastrophic failure"
Municipalities are to get R20 billion in additional funding to ride them through the Covid-19 crisis, but given their track record of irregular spending, residents and rates payers have a right to be concerned that this money will be properly spent. The cause for concern comes from the Auditor-General’s (AG) 2019 Municipal Report which suggests …
More than R1 billion. That’s the cost of various commissions of inquiry in recent years, most of them investigating corruption. The granddaddy of them all is the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture, which has been allocated an additional R130 million to complete its work by March 2021. This is on top of the …
Continue reading "More than R1 billion spent on commissions of inquiry for such meagre dividends"
Proposed amendments to the law will make it possible to prosecute sex offenders decades after the offences were committed – unlike the existing Criminal Procedures Act which allows for a 20 year window in which to bring prosecutions. {{ vc_btn: title=Click+here+to+have+your+say+on+the+amendment+bill&style=classic&color=green&align=left&i_align=right&i_icon_fontawesome=fas+fa-angle-double-right&add_icon=true&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Fsex-offenders-amendment-bill%252F%7Ctitle%3ASex%2520offenders%2520amendment%2520bill%7C%7C }} DearSA requested expert legal opinion on the proposed amendments from attorneys Hurter Spies.” …
The Department of Higher Education and Training is calling for nominations for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). The nominations must be submitted by the first week of August 2020. Perhaps its time the public paid more attention to what is happening with student aid, and to get strong public and taxpayer representation on …
Continue reading "Student financial aid rife with corruption and maladministration"
And what it means for companies. Zelda Burchell - MoneyWeb Many South African companies face unprecedented dangers amid the coronavirus crisis, with the economic impact of the lockdown on an already contracting economy. In these circumstances it is vital for any company to plan their tax affairs carefully. Hence the focus by Cova Advisory on new Carbon …
By CAIPHUS KGOSANA and GRAEME HOSKEN – TimesLive As the war over the ban on booze sales heats up, the alcohol industry has asked the government to suspend R5bn in sin-tax obligations until it is allowed to trade again. In a separate development, a scientist on the ministerial advisory committee (MAC) — which advises the …
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Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health has agreed to formulate an ‘action plan’ around the issue of alcohol abuse in South Africa. BusinessTech This follows a briefing from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) which found that the reintroduction of the sale of alcohol has led to a significant increase in trauma cases at the country’s hospitals. …
Continue reading "South Africa could introduce these new drinking laws to combat alcohol abuse"
DearSA takes notes of the fact that the City of Joburg has decided to reduce the proposed increases in property, water and electricity tariffs after considerable public outrage from Joburg City residents. Here’s what the City eventually agreed, after a vigorous campaign by DearSA and other civic groups: Property tariffs will go up 4% instead …
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an immediate ban of the sale of alcohol and a curfew, forcing South Africans to stay home between 9pm and 4am. Theto Mahlakoana EWN The public has been invited to make comments on the recently amended regulations to level three of the lockdown, with government promising to consider …
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BY ERNEST MABUZA – TimesLIVE Stringent lockdown measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday, including the suspension of liquor sales and the return of a night curfew were being imposed to limit the spread of Covid-19. Co-operative governance & traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said this in a follow-up briefing on Monday. She said though …
Continue reading "Curbs don’t limit freedom, they limit Covid-19: Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma"
Medical scooters procured by the Eastern Cape Health Department do not meet criteria to transport patients. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said his department was not consulted on the specifications of the scooters. The Eastern Cape Health Department spent R10 million to procure 100 scooters. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has admitted medical scooters in the Eastern …
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fin24 Pieter du Toit South Africans are paying up to four times more for electricity than a decade ago – and that’s to finance stealing and cost overruns at the Medupi and Kusile power stations. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan called numbers and statistics comparing Eskom of a decade ago with present-day Eskom "atrocious", saying …
Cape Town - The Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association has asked for urgent leave to appeal the high court's dismissal of its challenge of the ban on cigarette sales in the Supreme Court of Appeal. Fita, in its application, said the North Gauteng High Court erred in interpretation of the threshold for concept of necessity in …
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By Jeff Wicks, Times LIVE Hawks investigators descended on several properties in Pretoria in an early morning raid on Saturday to round up five suspects linked to a R5.7m UIF fraud and money-laundering scam. The suspects cannot be named until they have appeared before a court. Hawks spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale said that three men …
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The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) at its sitting on Wednesday morning passed three Bills, the Cybercrimes Bill, The Civil Union Amendment Bill and the Science and Technology Laws Amendment Bill. The Cybercrimes Bill was initially introduced as the Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill in 2017. It was referred to the fifth democratic Parliament’s Select Committee …
By the Automobile Association of South Africa The Automobile Association (AA) has called on Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to extend the validity of all licences beyond the 30 August deadline, or face a situation where many thousands of motorists do not have the necessary legal driving documents. In a letter to the Minister’s office on …
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The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (National Assembly) on Friday was briefed by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development on the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Amendment (ULTRA) Bill [B6-2020]. The ULTRA Bill seeks to address the unfair discrimination of women based on their gender to their right …
Continue reading "AGRICULTURE AND LAND COMMITTEE TO CONTINUE PROCESSING ULTRA BILL"
A look at the arguments and evidence it faces. Meanwhile Sars’s tobacco tax revenues continue to go up in smoke … Original article from Barbara Curson - MoneyWeb The urgent application brought by British American Tobacco South Africa (Batsa) to have the ban on the sale of tobacco products set aside has been delayed by President …
Continue reading "Government chokes on Batsa’s urgent court application"
UIF SHOULD FIX SYSTEM THAT MAKES IT VULNERABLE TO FRAUD – SCOPA The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has told the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to fix the shortcomings in the information technology system they are using for the disbursement of funds during the Covid-19 lockdown period. The shortcomings of the system have made …
City Press Antoinette Slabbert A R100 billion calculation mistake by the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) will most likely see consumers dig deeper into their pockets to pay for increased electricity tariffs. City Press’ sister publication, Rapport, can today reveal that Nersa has withdrawn its opposition and conceded to making mistakes in calculations of …
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Budget depicts havoc virus has wreaked on South Africa’s economy By Mike Cohen, Prinesha Naidoo and Amogelang Mbatha [Biz News] (Bloomberg) — South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered a grim assessment of the nation’s finances in a special adjustment budget that forecast a deep recession and plunging tax revenue. Gross domestic product is forecast …
Continue reading "Mboweni unveils the scale of shattered South African economy"
PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ANSWERS QUESTIONS IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND NCOP CONSIDERS APPROPRIATION BILL Parliament, Wednesday 17 June 2020 – President Cyril Ramaphosa will appear at the National Assembly hybrid plenary sitting for oral replies to questions from Members of Parliament tomorrow, Thursday, 18 June 2020. This is the President's first appearance in the National Assembly …
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JOHANNESBURG - Police Minister Bheki Cele says there is sufficient evidence to warrant the banning of alcohol sales once more. Cele made the comment during a visit to the families of two Durban Metro police officers who were ambushed and shot dead on Tuesday. The officers were on their way to work in Hammersdale outside …
Continue reading "SA Lockdown: Cele wants another ban on alcohol"
The National Assembly will re-establish an ad hoc committee to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to allow expropriation without compensation. This after the previous ad hoc committee was allowed to lapse before it finished its work because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The new ad hoc committee's deadline will be set later, but the end …
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The government is planning to spend a whopping R423m on renovating the official homes and offices of SA's senior public office bearers. Public works and infrastructure minister Patricia de Lille revealed in a written reply to a parliamentary question by DA MP Tim Brauteseth that R423,741,621 has been set aside for the government's so-called prestige projects …
The controversial National Coronavirus Command Council was established as a committee of the Cabinet. Cyril Ramaphosa did not answer on which law he relied on for its establishment, merely stating it was established as a Cabinet committee. All Cabinet members serve on the NCCC, he said. The National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) was not established …
The Electoral Act did not make provision for private citizens to be elected to the national or provincial legislatures as independent candidates. Stock photo. Image: RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP The Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that the Electoral Act was unconstitutional — opening the door for independent candidates to stand for national and provincial elections in …
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The ANC’s national working committee said it discussed a range of responses on these and other challenges impacting next year’s electoral system. The ANC’s national working committee (NWC) has discussed a range of possibilities, including electronic voting for next year’s local elections. It was recently reported that the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) …
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A report by the Eastern Cape coronavirus command council shows a significant spike in serious violent crime since 1 June. 3 145 violent criminal cases reported at the province's 197 police stations since the move to Level 3 lockdown. Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba reported that the province's trauma units have been stretched by patients with …
Continue reading "Eastern Cape pushes for alcohol ban as crime, trauma cases spike"
The government believes that banning cigarettes will force people to quit; that 95% of smokers do so successfully without help; and that smoking cigarettes makes contracting Covid-19 more likely. These claims are part of the “scientific” reasons for banning tobacco contained in the government’s court papers. The trouble is, they’re simply not true. The government …
Continue reading "Sloppy science taints Dlamini-Zuma’s tobacco court defence"
Finance minister Tito Mboweni has published new data on how South Africa’s tax statistics have changed over the last five years. Responding as part of a written parliamentary Q&A, Mbonweni’s data indicates that there has been a clear decrease in persons submitting Personal Income Tax (PIT) while the number of Corporates submitting returns (CIT) has …
Continue reading "This is who is paying tax in South Africa"
No, you will not be arrested for transporting booze after hours, including Friday, Saturday, Sunday and any public holiday. The U-turn comes just days after SA police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo issued a stern warning to the public, saying anyone caught transporting alcohol after 5pm on Thursday and before 9am on Monday will be charged …
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A new draft law seeks to change the definition of a bicycle in South Africa, to include e-bikes – but only if they can go no faster than 25km/h. And e-bikes that go faster than 45km/h may require a licence to drive, just like a motorbike. That could have implications for safety, insurance, who gets …
An alliance between South Africa’s ruling party and labour unions is pushing for the mobilization of domestic pension funds to drive economic growth and urging caution about borrowing money from international financial institutions. A discussion document dated 25 May, prepared for meetings of the alliance members, cited the use of so-called prescribed assets during the …
Continue reading "ANC and unions plan to use private pensions to fund South Africa’s growth"
Health officials in the Cape Metro will now only test for Covid-19 in people with comorbidities that are older than 55. Everyone who accesses a health facility will get screened but only those who have symptoms and fall in the following categories will be tested: People already in hospital with Covid-19 symptoms. Health care workers …
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The high court has ruled that government’s lockdown regulations are not legal but they will nevertheless remain in place for at least the next 14 days. Government spokesperson Phumla Williams said on Tuesday evening that government had taken note of the judgment delivered by the Gauteng Division of the High Court today declaring the Alert …
Continue reading "Lockdown regulations declared invalid and unconstitutional by high court"
The administrators running South Africa’s embattled national airline proposed the government provide a 21 billion rand ($1.2 billion) bailout to help repay debt and resume operations after the lifting of Covid-19 travel bans. The plan includes about 17 billion rand that will go toward repaying South African Airways creditors, the bulk of which was allocated by the …
Continue reading "South African Airways Seeking R21 Billion in State Bailout"
Basic education minister Angie Motshekga said on Monday the reopening of schools had to be postponed at the 11th hour because some were not ready to operate. "Due to last minute changes, on Saturday we had a meeting with the CEM [council of education ministers] and union bodies. The decision we took on Saturday forced …
Continue reading "‘Not all schools were ready to open’: Angie Motshekga"
British American Tobacco South Africa says it will on Friday recommence with urgent legal proceedings to challenge the government’s decision to extend the ban on tobacco sales during Level 3 of the nationwide lockdown. The state says the ban is needed to safeguard public health, as evidence suggests cigarette smokers are more likely to develop severe …
Continue reading "British American Tobacco in new urgent court bid to undo cigarette ban"
There is no evidence that smoking would increase the transmission of the coronavirus, a cardiologist and antismoking researcher said on Thursday. Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos told radio 702 in an interview that he did not understand why SA had taken the decision to ban the sale of cigarettes. He said the reason most other countries had not done …
Continue reading "Cardiologist questions government ban aimed at smokers"
The broadcaster was forced to close its doors in Durban after an employee tested positive on Tuesday and it’s understood the lab, which confirmed the results said an error occurred during the testing process. JOHANNESBURG - The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Wednesday said that it was taking all the necessary precautions after one of its …
Continue reading "SABC TAKING PRECAUTIONS AFTER KZN STAFFER GETS FALSE POSITIVE COVID-19 RESULT"
The government has disclosed the science on which it relied in deciding to ban tobacco products during South Africa's coronavirus lockdown. In an affidavit, cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma appears to cite several studies showing a link between smoking and bad cases of Covid-19. She actually cites one set of statistics three …
JOHANNESBURG - Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu has told Eyewitness News that religious organisations will regulate and monitor themselves to ensure that they comply with safety regulations when they open their doors next week. On Tuesday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that churches, mosques and temples, which had been shut down for more than two months, could …
Continue reading "RELIGIOUS GROUPINGS WILL SELF MONITOR ON COVID-19 COMPLIANCE – MTHEMBU"
Ramaphosa, in delivering seven national addresses since the start of the lockdown, hasn’t faced one press conference - not one - where he can be asked to explain and clarify and expand on the myriad issues in the public domain, writes Pieter du Toit. Over the past 48 hours it seems as if government's policy and …
Parliament, Saturday, 23 May 2020 – The Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Mineral Resources and Energy has welcomed the plan to implement the Nuclear New Build Programme at a scale and pace that the country can afford to ensure the security of energy supply. The Department of Mineral Resources briefed the committee yesterday on …
The South Africa Revenue Services (SARS) has predicted that it will lose around 15% to 20% of its tax revenue this year as a result of the nationwide Coivid-19 lockdown. The responsibility of filling the gap will now fall upon the South African taxpayers, says David French, Tax Consulting Director at Mazars. He added that …
Continue reading "South African taxpayers to pay for ban on cigarettes and alcohol: expert"
The programme will see unemployed youth brought in to assist the department to curb the spread of the virus at schools and government offices. The Gauteng department of education says it has received at least 120,000 applications for its Covid-19 youth brigades programme. Recruited youth will be deployed to different schools and government buildings across …
A group of “concerned citizens” has filed an urgent application at the high court in Cape Town challenging the constitutionality of the national coronavirus command council (NCCC) and the validity of the lockdown rules. “Each of us have had our freedom curtailed by the regulations. We no longer enjoy the freedom to move around as …
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SA has had more than 50,000 deaths that are not related to Covid-19 since the lockdown was announced. This is according to a home affairs presentation made to parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee. It showed that a total of 50,356 deaths were registered in this period. When the presentation was made on Tuesday afternoon, the official Covid-19 …
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Trade minister Ebrahim Patel has hinted that Cape Town could remain on level 4 lockdown when some parts of the country move to level 3 at the end of May. This after the Western Cape recorded the most confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths — accounting for almost 60% of the cases in SA. By Monday, …
DURBAN - It was the first province in the country to report a COVID-19 case and for a long time, KwaZulu-Natal had the most number of deaths but it has seen a slight decline. Premier Sihle Zikalala says indications are that all districts in the province will move to Level 3 of the lockdown. "The province …
Hair and beauty businesses have called on the government to allow the sector to return to normal operations, arguing that social distancing and hygiene are inherent attributes of the industry. "It is ironic that one can never acquire a hairdressing certificate unless they demonstrate that they understand how important hygiene and sanitisation is," said Feroza …
Continue reading "‘We have to return to work or we will have nothing to return to’: beauty industry"
The high court in Pretoria on Friday declared that all people in SA are entitled to a number of rights which cannot be suspended, even during the Covid-19 state of disaster. These include the right to life, the right not to be tortured in any way and the right not to be treated or punished …
Continue reading "Court rules in favour of Collins Khosa family & declares all have right to life"
Government lifts ban on e-commerce after DearSA campaign DearSA welcomed Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel’s gazetting of new regulations today (Thursday 14 May 2020) allowing for all e-commerce transactions to take place, with the exception of restricted goods – notably cigarettes and alcohol. This follows a campaign launched a week ago by DearSA in …
Continue reading "Media release: Issued by Dear South Africa 14 May 2020"
Many countries are refusing to open their schools for fear of a prompting a second wave of coronavirus infections. But their policies would appear to be flatly contradicted by evidence from Iceland. There, a company called deCODE Genetics, in association with the country’s Directorate of Health and the National University Hospital, has analyzed the results of …
Continue reading "No evidence of children passing on COVID-19 to relatives, says Icelandic study"
South Africa’s tourism industry is preparing for the country’s lockdown restrictions to last beyond the end of 2020. Presenting in a webinar on Monday (11 May), South African Tourism chief executive office Sisa Ntshona said that the industry was still working on ‘guesstimates’, but that based on current projections, the country would only reach level …
Continue reading "Businesses prepare for South Africa’s lockdown restrictions to last until 2021"
Civil rights group DearSA has sent a letter to the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, calling on her to reopen schools for all children under the of ten on 1 June 2020. This follows an earlier announcement by the minister that Grade 7 and 12 learners would be able to return to school on 1 …
{{ vc_btn: title=view+the+legal+challenge&color=green&size=sm&i_align=right&i_icon_fontawesome=fas+fa-arrow-right&add_icon=true&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Funlockdown%7C%7C%7C }} Dear SA challenges government over e-commerce ban and 3-hour exercise limit Attorneys for civil rights group DearSA today delivered a letter of demand to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, challenging the government’s ban on e-commerce and its limitation on outside exercise to three hours a day. The organisation …
Continue reading "DearSA challenges irrational lockdown regulations"
Former finance minister Trevor Manuel has issued two strong warnings to the government within two days that South Africa’s lockdown regulations are both endangering constitutional democracy and failing ‘the test of rationality’. “I think we have to ask government to be a lot more considered, a lot more rational in the way decisions are taken.” …
Continue reading "Trevor Manuel: SA’s lockdown rules do not pass test of rationality"
Presidency confirms information is kept from public for fear of stigma, causing alarm The government has admitted to holding back information from the public on the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it is doing so to avoid panic. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko, conceded this yesterday on inquiries by the Sunday Times, after leading experts questioned …
The government’s “you can move house until June 7” concession will come as a relief for those who’ve been financially compromised by the ban on relocating during lockdown. But the wording is too restrictive, says the removals company which made it happen. The concession was announced by means of publishing new regulations in the government …
Continue reading "Moving home in lockdown: all you need to know about latest concession"
The lockdown will lead to 29 times more lives lost than the harm it seeks to prevent from Covid-19 in SA, according to a conservative estimate contained in a new model developed by local actuaries. The model, which will be made public today for debate, was developed by a consortium calling themselves Panda (Pandemic ~ …
Continue reading "EXCLUSIVE: Lockdown disaster dwarfs Covid-19, say SA actuaries"
As many as 7-million South Africans could join the ranks of the jobless if large swathes of the economy remain shut until the end of the year, with more than 2.5-million jobs at risk even if the pandemic is contained quickly and the economy bounces back. The Treasury presented the bleak scenarios on the impact …
Continue reading "Covid-19 pandemic: ‘catastrophic’ economic impact looming in SA"
South Africa’s National Treasury expects job losses, tax losses and a contracting economy due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown to halt its spread. The finance minister will only present an adjustment budget, which accounts for the impact of the pandemic and economic relief measures, in June or July, according to Treasury and tax …
Continue reading "Government assesses coronavirus damage to economy"
Trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel said e-commerce may be expanded during lockdown level 4 to include items currently excluded. For now, online retailers may only sell the same stuff as other retailers, with hot food newly added. E-commerce companies have argued that deliveries should be allowed as it limits contact between consumers and employees …
Parliament, Wednesday, 29 April 2020 – A joint meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, and the Select Committee on Education and Technology, Sports, Arts and Culture, today heard that schooling is likely to start incrementally as of 6 May 2020. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) told the committees that it plans to start …
Government has indicated that South Africa’s risk-adjusted approach to the coronavirus is expected to last at least 6-8 months. Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday (28 April), Tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said that government currently predicts that the coronavirus curve peak will probably arrive in September 2020. She added that government will continue to …
An open letter from 328 South African published authors, academics, and readers, asking that all books be available for trade at Level 4 of Lockdown. The letter has been submitted to the National Coronavirus Command Council through the correct portal, and letters will be written, individually, to the key ministers on Tuesday, 28 April 2020. …
Continue reading "The buying, selling and reading of books is an essential service"
Analysts and opposition parties have called for transparency in the way government’s Covid-19 relief fund is spent, against the backdrop of a history of corruption and mismanagement. The announcement of a whopping R20 billion bailout for municipalities around the country to help them manage the Covid-19 pandemic has raised questions around whether these funds will …
Continue reading "Guard our virus relief fund against corrupt crooks, please"
This is a matter of life and death and the ANC should take harsh measures to deal with these thieving councillors. The government hardly sets a good example in times of crisis, when the nation is asked to come together as an act of solidarity for its survival. An example of this is the scandal …
Continue reading "Charge the councillors stealing from the needy"
Cape Town – The public have until May 17 to comment on the City’s proposed amendments to the streets, public places and the prevention of noise nuisance by-law. The by-law relates to the management of public places, noise levels and other incidental matters on all properties within Cape Town, and specifically section 22 of the …
Continue reading "City of Cape Town slated over ‘questionable ethics’ of proposed by-law amendments"
South Africa's tourism, aviation and creative arts industries will only be able to pay 5% of their staff at the end of May if the nationwide lockdown is extended, according to a leaked draft discussion document prepared by the office of the presidency. Confirming the validity of the document, presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko said it …
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a R500 billion support package to help South African businesses and citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ramaphosa said some of the funding will be raised through the reprioritisation of around R130 billion within the current budget. The rest of the funds will be raised from both local sources, such as the …
Continue reading "How the government will give R500 billion to citizens and businesses"
SANDF mobilised in one of the biggest deployment in country’s history President Cyril Ramaphosa has informed Parliament that he authorised the deployment of an additional 73 180 members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to assist the police in battling the spread of Covid-19. In a letter to the joint standing committee on defence …
Continue reading "LIVE | Covid-19: Ramaphosa addresses the nation on economic and social relief"
Ongoing ‘hard lockdown’ will likely cause far greater suffering in the short and long term than the pandemic itself. As medical doctors who are most at risk, we do not request the easing of the lockdown lightly. But we see far greater harm to our healthcare system and our economy by further delaying the inevitable …
Continue reading "An appeal by 19 SA doctors to President Ramaphosa: End hard lockdown now"
The DA and Sakeliga planned to take the trade and industry minister on, but Cogta has now formalised the ban in new gazetted regulations. In a statement on Monday, the Democratic Alliance said that Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister (Cogta) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma had “swooped in at the last minute” to rescue Trade, Industry and …
The South African government will consider a proposal for a one-off wealth tax during an economic recovery planning meeting on Monday, according to a report in Rapport. Such a tax could assist Africa’s most industrialized economy as it bounces back from the coronavirus outbreak and a five-week lockdown that is scheduled to be lifted on April …
Continue reading "South Africa to Weigh a Wealth Tax to Aid Recovery, Rapport Says"
The president’s co-ordinating council on Saturday agreed to the gradual easing of regulations after the lockdown period in an effort to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired the virtual meeting that brought together ministers, premiers, mayors and local government leaders to assess government’s efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus. “The PCC …
Continue reading "President’s co-ordinating council agrees to gradual easing of lockdown"
Johannesburg - South Africans will be without alcohol and cigarettes for as long as the lockdown continues. President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected calls for the lifting of the alcohol ban. He has instead directed liquor sellers to seek economic relief through programmes offered by the government. This after the Gauteng Liquor Forum demanded that the total …
CAPE TOWN - Tradesmen should find it easier to do emergency repairs now in the second phase of the lockdown. Regulations have been relaxed to allow for the sale of hardware products and motor vehicle components to essential workers. But they will have to show the necessary permits first. Plumbers, electricians, locksmiths and roof repairmen. …
The family of Collin Khosa — allegedly killed by members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in Alexandra — have sent a letter of demand to President Cyril Ramaphosa, asking him to explain what steps will be taken to ensure there is no abuse of power during the Covid-19 lockdown. Khosa — a father of …
Continue reading "Khosa family demands an end to abuse of power"
The extended five-week national lockdown has postponed South Africa's worst-case Covid-19 scenario to September, a government projection shows. With no lockdown, South Africa was estimated to reach its peak coronavirus infections in July. A five-week lockdown, that has paralysed the economy, is buying the government two more months to prepare for a flooding of hospitals …
The EFF has announced that all its public representatives will contribute a third of their salaries to the Covid-19 Solidarity Fund. The announcement came less than two hours after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a similar contribution by himself, members of his cabinet, deputy ministers and premiers for the next three months. Ramaphosa made the announcement …
The lockdown is supposed to end a week today, but there are many in the government who want it extended for far longer – and made subject to even stricter controls, including curfews of (as yet) unspecified duration and scope. The Minerals Council South Africa – which warned earlier this week of permanent damage to …
Under lockdown, South Africa has had to come to terms with a new concept – the idea of an ‘essential business’. These are the companies that the government has allowed to keep operating during this period. In a broad sense, the way that essential businesses have been defined seems reasonable. The government has clearly applied …
Continue reading "A non-essential business? There’s no such thing"
Justice Project South Africa founder Howard Dembovsky talks to Clement Manyathela about the estimated tax and other revenue losses during the 21-day lockdown ban on cigarette and alcohol sales. When it comes to the sale of cigarettes we are losing approximately R35 million per day in levies and excises that are imposed on cigarettes, but …
Cape Town - Calls are mounting for the City to offer some relief to taxpayers and residents struggling because of Covid-19 and the resultant lockdown. Sandra Dickson of Stop COCT / DearCapeTown said this relief should include four months’ relief for all ratepayers - from paying rates, refuse removal and water sanitation - permanent scrapping …
As speculation mounts in political and business circles about whether Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will revise the 2020/21 budget in light of South Africa’s dramatically altered economic conditions, it has emerged that government has initiated talks to launch a massive infrastructure project to kick-start and boost the economy once the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has run …
Continue reading "‘We are in a different world now’ – Tito Mboweni may revise the budget"
JOHANNESBURG - Ratings agency Fitch has downgraded South Africa's credit rating to BB from BB+, sending it further into "junk" territory while also assigning a negative outlook. Fitch has on Friday cited "the lack of a clear path towards government debt stabilisation as well as the expected impact of the COVID-19 shock on public finances …
Continue reading "FITCH DOWNGRADES SA’S CREDIT RATING TO BB WITH NEGATIVE OUTLOOK"
Cape Town - Mass evacuation plans are at an advanced stage to possibly move tens of thousands of people across four provinces in South Africa. Entire townships in the Western Cape, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are to be moved to safe zones in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus. It …
Continue reading "Mass evacuation of SA townships on the cards to stop spread of coronavirus"
Two highly respected French doctors discussed on live television how a potential new treatment against Covid-19 should be first tested in Africa, "where there are no masks, no treatment, nor intensive care". One of them, Jean-Paul Mira, even compared Africans to prostitutes who were the focus of previous Aids studies. "We tried things on prostitutes because …
Eight deaths have allegedly occurred at the hands of police since the start of the nationwide lockdown on 26 March, according to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID). On Friday, IPID released a breakdown of the complaints they had received since the lockdown came into effect. Six deaths came as a result of police action …
The South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR) says the distinction of essential and non-essential business during the Covid-19 lockdown will cause more problems than solutions. The organisation released its coronavirus policy recommendations to the government on Thursday. CEO Frans Cronje said their research over the past couple of weeks shows that economic activity can continue …
Continue reading "All business essential during lockdown- IRR"
Municipalities across the Western Cape continue to roll out a broad collection of interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of Covid-19 in their communities. The Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape, Anton Bredell, says council’s primary responsibility is to continue to ensure that basic services, including water, sanitation, …
The Western Cape Health Department has warned South Africans against wearing gloves and masks during the 21-day lockdown, stating these items can actually help to spread the coronavirus. In a statement, the department said personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves are scarce and should be used by the appropriate people. “Many people feel …
Continue reading "South Africans warned not to wear masks and gloves during lockdown"
While the Covid-19 outbreak carves a vein of destruction across the planet, companies worldwide are reviewing millions of contracts to assess whether they can plead force majeure – or an inability to perform due to the pandemic. It’s a dead certainty that the courts will be clogged for years with cases arguing the limits of …
Continue reading "When the virus crisis is over, the legal battles begin"
Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) benefits will not be extended to cover workers in the informal sector in the wake of the national lockdown declared to curb the spread of the coronavirus. This is according to Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, who announced that a new national disaster benefit will be launched through the UIF by his …
Continue reading "Covid-19: ‘Unemployment benefits will not be extended to the informal sector’"
The province is currently dealing with 310 coronavirus cases. JOHANNESBURG - Khayelitsha has become the first township in the Western Cape to confirm a COVID-19 infection. The province is currently dealing with 310 coronavirus cases. South Africa's only COVID-19 related death was recorded in Cape Town on Friday. South Africa is worried about the coronavirus hitting its …
Continue reading "Khayelitsha becomes first township to confirm COVID-19 case"
The address by resident Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday, 23 March 2020, set out certain fiscal relief measures to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and vulnerable firms mitigate cash flow constraints as a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak. Certain of these measures will be implemented through the tax system and aim to use the tax …
Continue reading "Tax relief proposed by president Ramaphosa"
JOHANNESBURG - It's official. South Africa has been junked. The global Coronavirus outbreak wasn't enough to stop Moody's ratings agency from cutting the country's sovereign credit rating to sub-investment grade. The long-term foreign-currency and local-currency ratings have been lowered from Baa3 to Ba1. Moody's cites a continuing deterioration in fiscal strength and structurally very weak …
Gauteng community health worker Sisanda Kulima says that when her daughter asked about the coronavirus, she was surprised her mother was not afraid. “She said to me: ‘But you are working hard mom.’ And I felt so proud because that made me aware that people can see how much I love this job,” Kulima says, …
The government insists there is a plan in place to address overcrowded areas which make social distancing and self-isolation impossible. This is according to Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu. She said the government could not share details of how it planned to "de-densify" some areas as consultations with affected communities have not taken place yet. …
Sweden has become an international outlier in its response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak by keeping schools open and adopting few other restrictions, as the Scandinavian nation embarks on what one health expert called a “huge experiment”. Since the UK went into lockdown on Monday evening, Sweden is the largest European country with the fewest …
Continue reading "Sweden bucks global trend with experimental virus strategy"
Ratepayers in Stellenbosch who can prove that their income has been hit by the coronavirus crisis will get a three-month rates holiday, councillors decided at an emergency meeting on Wednesday. “Once the crisis is over, the municipality will work with applicants to repay the principal outstanding debt on reasonable terms and without the accrual of …
Continue reading "Stellenbosch council offers payment holiday to hardest-hit ratepayers"
Companies do not need to be majority black-owned to qualify for support, says minister of small business development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni As the country prepares to shut down for three weeks, the government is implementing a range of measures from tax deferrals to targeted funding for distressed businesses, in the hope that SA firms can weather …
Continue reading "State to expand support for small businesses across the board"
Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu said many South Africans had criticised continued messages about the importance of washing hands with water, asking where they would get the water to do this. Nthakoana Ngatane JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu on Tuesday said 2,000 sites in mostly rural and …
Continue reading "SISULU: RURAL, DROUGHT-HIT AREAS TO BE SUPPLIED WITH WATER TO WASH HANDS"
Billionaire Johann Rupert said his R1-billion assistance will be available to all small businesses and their employees, and not only black-owned businesses. On Monday 23 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days which will begin from midnight on Thursday 26 March. This will have a devastating effect on the South African …
Continue reading "Our money will be available to all South African businesses – Johann Rupert"
South Africa now has a Covid-19 solidarity fund, to help deal with the fallout of the novel coronavirus, and measures to slow its spread, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday night. The government has seeded it with a R150 million donation. It is not yet clear clear exactly how it will spend its money – …
The South African government could deploy the army to enforce restrictions if there is a large spike in coronavirus cases, says health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize. If that does not work, the government will look at area-specific lockdowns to contain epicentres of the virus. And if still unsuccessful, a national lockdown will be the last …
If people think they can loot and steal and not get caught, many of them will. There have to be harsh consequences, or everything falls apart. In a proposal published on Daily Maverick on 8 March, a group of Johannesburg-based lawyers argued for a corruption amnesty. Their argument is long and detailed but is essentially wrong and …
Continue reading "Why a corruption amnesty should not be contemplated"
Government has just announced strict new regulations to prevent price gouging during the coronavirus crisis. According to new regulations as part of the Disaster Management Act, signed by minister of trade and industry Ebrahim Patel on Thursday, companies are not allowed to hike prices for a list of goods by more than the increases in …
Continue reading "Govt announces emergency price controls for toilet paper, masks and other goods"
The national state of disaster has officially come into effect with government publishing the gazetted regulations that will govern this period. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the national state of disaster on Sunday in a bid to stem the growing number of positive Covid-19 cases in South Africa. On Wednesday, that number sat at 116 confirmed …
Continue reading "Coronavirus: 5 key regulations governing the national state of disaster"
South African political party leaders, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, have pledged to put aside their differences and pursue a consorted, non-partisan approach towards containing the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Ramaphosa and leaders of opposition parties made the announcement on Wednesday following a meeting in Cape Town, where all the parties discussed the …
Fellow South Africans, I am addressing you this evening on a matter of great national importance. The world is facing a medical emergency far graver than what we have experi-enced in over a century. The World Health Organisation has declared the coronavirus outbreak as a global pandemic. There are now more than 162 000 people …
Continue reading "STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ON MEASURES TOCOMBAT COVID-19 EPIDEMIC"
Zimbabwe has announced plans to give back land controversially taken over under its controversial fast track land reform programme, which started in 2000. The programme, which was criticised for being both chaotic and violent, resulted in numerous deaths in the course of land seizures. On Friday, the Zimbabwean government gazetted new legislation under which former …
Continue reading "Zim to give back farms taken under land reform programme"
Setting things to rights without serious consideration of the cost of the present context will inevitably aggravate an already very pear-shaped BEE public procurement policy. That’s essentially what Dr Anthea Jeffery, Head of Policy Research at the Institute of Race Relations, is saying here about the ‘upgraded’ BEE requirements of the Draft Public Procurement Bill, now out for …
Continue reading "Expanded BEE rules set to bleed the masses – Anthea Jeffery"
Johannesburg - A massive R3.5billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure has highlighted the alleged dire state of Joburg’s finances. The auditor-general revealed that Joburg’s wasteful and irregular expenditure worsened by R758million in the 2018/19 reporting period, compared to the previous year. The city has also been flagged for not paying its creditors within …
Continue reading "Joburg’s R3bn wasteful spending revealed in auditor-general’s report"
The Competition Commission has published Draft Guidelines for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry. The automotive aftermarket industry is the market for motor vehicle spare parts, tools and components after the vehicles are sold to consumers. This market also includes maintenance and repair services sold by dealerships to consumers. Currently, most new vehicle owners in South Africa are …
Continue reading "New ‘rule changes’ South African drivers should know about"
The deadline for parliament’s ad-hoc committee to make amendments to Section 25 of the constitution and allow the expropriation of land without compensation, has been extended. While the deadline to draft the amendment was initially due to be the end of March 2020, the National Assembly unanimously passed a motion on Thursday, 5 March 2020. …
Continue reading "Land expropriation: Deadline to amend Constitution extended… again"
The ANC and EFF remain at loggerheads over which land should be expropriated without compensation, as the second round of public hearings gets under way. ANC NEC member and spokesperson Pule Mabe was left red-faced on Thursday morning during a panel discussion hosted by the Black Business Council at its annual summit under way in …
Continue reading "ANC and EFF differ on which land should be expropriated without compensation"
South Africa will once again be spending more on protecting the president, former presidents, their spouses, the deputy president, “persons related” to the president and deputy president, and “local and international dignitaries” than on land reform. This came to light in the national budget released by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on February 26, which shows that the …
Continue reading "Government again spends more on VIP protection than land reform"
Despite these debt-ridden SOEs potentially crippling the economy, David Mabuza is confident of turning both around Deputy president David Mabuza says the government remains confident that Eskom and SAA can be returned to profitability despite the current challenges the two state-owned entities (SOEs) face. During a Q&A session in the National Council of Provinces on …
Continue reading "Eskom and SAA on road to recovery, says deputy president"
Though there has been a decline in public participation on the proposed amendment of the constitution to make it easier for the state to expropriate land without compensation, a majority of participants still oppose the amendment, according to an analysis by an NGO. The land expropriation issue has polarised the country and spooked investors. Parliament’s …
Continue reading "Opposition to expropriation without compensations grows"
Gym giant Virgin Active says South Africa doesn't need a proposed Fitness Industry Regulatory Authority – and consumers shouldn't have to pay for it. The government is proposing a specialist regulator with the ability to accredit personal trainers and gyms, and shut them down. But the idea is "unprecedented internationally", Virgin Active says, and self-regulation plus enforcing …
Economists forecast GDP contraction of 0.2% for the fourth quarter of 2019 The state of the economy will be at the forefront this week, with some economists forecasting that SA may have slid into another recession. Stats SA is expected to release the GDP print for the fourth quarter of 2019 on Tuesday. A contraction …
Continue reading "ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: Another recession is on the cards for SA"
All municipalities will have to be compliant under the new Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) by October 2020, says real estate company Seeff. Seeff said that legislation introduces a new ‘SPLUMA certificate’ which the National Deeds Office will now require from the local municipality in which a property is located before any property transaction …
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{{ vc_btn: title=Download+the+Speech&style=3d&color=success&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2020%252F02%252Fbudget_speech.pdf%7C%7C%7C }} Good afternoon It is my honour to introduce the first Budget of the Sixth Administration. Today I table: 1. The Division of Revenue Bill 2. The Appropriation Bill 3. The 2020 Budget Review 4. The 2020 Estimates of National Expenditure 5. The 2020 Tax Proposals 1. INTRODUCTION Madam Speaker, The Aloe …
It’s high noon for the future of e-tolls on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP). A final decision on the controversial scheme is expected to be made in Wednesday’s budget speech, following the lengthy stand-off between the motoring public and government over the non-payment of e-tolls. Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse …
As the government of South Africa debates how to redistribute land post-apartheid, We look at global lessons in land reform. Source: CNN
Raw sewage on potholed streets, piles of garbage on sidewalks and water and power shortages became routine in the South African municipality of Makana. Then something extraordinary happened that could change the face of local government politics. The High Court last month granted a civil rights group’s application to have the southeastern municipality’s council dissolved …
Continue reading "A Shock Court Ruling Could Save South Africa’s Broken Towns"
Taxpayers have to prepare for nasty surprises in next week's Budget – which could include a once-off tax levy on personal income, and a VAT hike, Old Mutual's economist warns. Government's debt burden is spiralling out of control, and it now has to spend R200 billion a year just on the interest of its loans. …
Continue reading "South Africans may be hit by a once-off tax next week, Old Mutual warns"
The South African government’s plans to expropriate land without compensation would be disastrous for the economy, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. The policy proposal is an example of centralised planning that has failed in other African states like Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Ethiopia, Pompeo told reporters on Wednesday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. …
Cape Town - The City of Cape Town is owed more than R7billion as at the end of December last year by individual and business ratepayers. The bulk of the outstanding debt is divided between residential properties (R5.561bn) followed by business properties ( R1.518bn), with other outstanding debt amounting to R833m. The City also said …
Continue reading "R7bn debt owed to City of Cape Town impacts on services"
Cape Town - Emboldened by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that municipalities will be able to procure their own power from independent power producers (IPPs), the City has started the ball rolling by signing a grant agreement worth more than R12 million with the US Trade and Development Agencies to conduct a feasibility study on a natural …
Continue reading "CoCT makes renewables power play, partners with US for R12m feasibility study"
South Africans working and living abroad are preparing for new amendments to the Income Tax Act, set to come into effect from 1 March 2020. The amendments will effectively introduce an ‘expat tax’, meaning that South African tax residents working internationally will only be exempt from paying tax on the first R1 million they earn …
Continue reading "South Africa’s expat tax is here – these are your options to legally deal with it"
Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Thandi Modise, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr Amos Masondo, Deputy President David Mabuza, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and esteemed members of the judiciary, Former President Thabo Mbeki and Mrs Mbeki, Former President Kgalema Motlanthe and Mrs Motlanthe, Former Deputy President FW de Klerk and Mrs De …
The proposed change to the Constitution to allow expropriation without compensation (EWC) that is set to serve before Parliament in the current sitting, is bound to have a huge impact on banks, the financial system in general and the economy overall. It will hit the very foundation on which any successful economy is built: that …
Any politician worth his salt won’t pick a fight when the odds are stacked against him. Which is the dilemma facing President Cyril Ramaphosa as the deep roots of the parasitic Zuptoid decade and crippling party policies see him choosing party unity above our (failing) State. This is a sobering story reflecting how global institutions which influence our future are …
Continue reading "SA’s reform window about to slam shut – IMF, World Bank"
{{ vc_btn: title=COMMENT+ON+THE+BILL+HERE&style=3d&color=success&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Fland-donations-policy%252F%7Ctitle%3ALand%2520Donations%2520Policy%7C%7C }} The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has published a new ‘land donations policy’, allowing groups to donate property to speed up the land reform process. Released for public comment on Friday (7 February), the document states that donations should be expedited from large institutional landowners. This includes agri-business, mining companies, financial …
This sober, rational – and frightening – analysis by the Institute of Race Relations is a classic illustration of the ‘boiled frog’ syndrome where South African land owners get lulled into a sense of false security by banks eager to please ruling politicians. It’s among many examples of socialist command-and-control policy-creep that threatens to push this country beyond economic …
Continue reading "Throwing the little guy under the EWC bus – Frans Cronjé"
The first wave of state capture had its origins in the cadre deployment and transformation policies of the African National Congress (ANC) which degenerated into the looting of state institutions. These policies allowed the party, through the government, extraordinary regulatory and administrative powers and deployed cadres just could not withstand dipping into the public purse. …
Continue reading "The second (and third) waves of state capture are coming"
The 2020 Budget is approaching and by all accounts, we are likely to witness an embarrassing display of a policy with no answers. We have chosen to be popular. We have chosen to "trash capital". Let me give you an idea of the knock-on effects when you decide to "trash capital". What we are doing …
Continue reading "The 2020 Budget, an embarrassing display of a policy with no answers. (Opinion)"
JOHANNESBURG – SAA business rescue practitioners have approached the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to discuss the possibility of using the R100 billion surplus that the UIF controls to fund inevitable retrenchments at the troubled state-owned airline. The rescuers, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, on Wednesday confirmed that they had held numerous meetings with the UIF …
Continue reading "WATCH: SAA eyes UIF R100bn surplus to fund inevitable job cuts"
South Africa’s new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act will be in full effect from June next year (2020), says Transport minister Fikile Mbalula. Speaking at the launch of Transport Month in Gauteng on Saturday (5 October), Mbalula said that the new system will greatly improve safety on the country’s roads and help …
Effective land reform is still required, but the Draft Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill of 2019 (the Draft Bill) will needlessly undermine the property rights of all South Africans: from the 1 million whites with home ownership to the 8.5 million black, ‘coloured’ and Indian families who own houses too. It will also hurt the 17.5m …
The public enterprises minister is looking to save the 16,000 jobs dependent on the power utility. Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan has given a clear indication that labour federation Cosatu’s proposal to use money managed by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to support Eskom is being taken seriously. Speaking at a lunch hosted by …
Continue reading "Gordhan: Taking worker pensions to bail out Eskom will be ‘great move’"
Victory for participative democracy as Parliament extends deadline for public submissions on land expropriation amendment 24 hours after non-profit organisation DearSA announced Parliament’s IT servers were blocking public submissions on the proposed change in the Constitution to allow land expropriation, the Parliamentary committee responsible for the issue extended the deadline for comments to 29 February. …
Continue reading "MEDIA RELEASE 30 January 2020 – FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION"
Johannesburg - The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has defended its decision to grant Eskom an increase of 5.23% instead of the 19.9% the power utility has applied for, saying it was acting for the interest of customers. Advocate Rafik Bhana - legal counsel for Nersa - made these submissions when replying to …
Continue reading "Nersa ‘acting in interest of Eskom consumers’"
South Africa’s new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act will be in full effect from June next year (2020), says Transport minister Fikile Mbalula. Speaking at the launch of Transport Month in Gauteng on Saturday (5 October), Mbalula said that the new system will greatly improve safety on the country’s roads and help …
JOHANNESBURG - The governing ANC party is making a stunning about-turn on the issue of land expropriation without compensation. The party is ditching a key clause in the proposed bill it previously supported in Parliament. The clause as it currently stands gives the judiciary power to decide on instances when no compensation should be paid. Now suddenly, …
The ANC wants to ‘de-racialise our towns and cities and transform apartheid-era spacial patterns’, its secretary-general said. At a press briefing on Wednesday at Luthuli House, African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule outlined what was agreed upon at a lekgotla held on 19 and 20 January, following a meeting of the ANC’s national executive …
Continue reading "We will ‘strengthen BEE’ and move forward with expropriating land – Magashule"
The Land Bank has become the first big state-owned company in SA to be relegated to junk status by Moody’s rating agency. The New York-based agency, which is the last remaining among the big three to rate SA as investment grade economy, said given government’s fiscal challenges, it expected less financial support for the Land …
The TV channel, NEWSROOM AFRICA, had three experts on last night to "solve" ESKOM problems as if they were board members of ESKOM. 6 Points were identified and discussed. Very good insight into ESKOM woes came to the fore in this program. The contents of this program is sent to the current ESKOM board, the …
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has again put out a call to the public to make proposals on how to achieve equitable economic growth. National Treasury on Monday issued a statement, calling for ideas, ahead of the National Budget to be tabled by the minister on February 26. "As usual the budget allocation always aims to …
Have your say: The Draft Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill has been published by the Ad Hoc Committee to Initiate and Introduce Legislation Amending Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation. The committee has called for comments on the bill by the end of January 2020. Since expropriation without compensation (EWC), …
Continue reading "The land bill is a curate’s egg and, right now, it’s a bit scrambled"
South Africa could lose up to R34bn in export revenue if it loses its eligibility for the Generalised System of Preferences programme under the US Trade Act, says the Copyright Coalition of South Africa. In a media release CCSA chairman Collen Dlamini says the country’s eligibility for the GSP programme has been called into question as …
Continue reading "Copyright Amendment Bill can cost SA R34bn in export revenue – CCSA"
Tax Consulting SA's Nicolas Botha explains the coming changes to tax exemptions on money earned overseas. Are you are a South African who earns the bulk of their money abroad? Currently, a South African tax resident who is an employee and renders services outside the country on behalf of an employer (South African or foreign) …
Continue reading "Earn most of your money offshore? You may be facing some ‘ex-pat tax’ changes"
Warnings that proposals to amend South Africa’s Constitution to facilitate land expropriation and transfer wealth to the have-nots will damage the country have fallen on deaf ears. One after the other, South Africa’s pre-eminent scholars, thought leaders and business strategists have tried to highlight that South Africa will head down the same path Zimbabwe has …
Continue reading "Eight reasons SA land grab legislation is evil – business heavyweight"
Economist Dawie Roodt says that the state of government’s finances means that further tax increases can be expected in 2020. Roodt noted in an interview with eNCA that the state’s debt is at record levels, meaning “there will be tax hikes”. “The question is which one of the taxes will be increased? I am pretty sure that …
Continue reading "Economist warns of tax hikes for South Africans in 2020"
Minister Zweli Mkhize has made a very bold claim to start the year: He predicts that NHI will put private and public hospitals on par with each other. This probably didn’t come out as the compliment Health Minister Zweli Mkhize was hoping for. The ANC cabinet member triumphantly announced on Wednesday that there would be …
Continue reading "Health minister says NHI ‘will make public and private hospitals the same’"
With the New Year just a few hours away, economists have painted a bleak commercial picture for 2020. Dawie Roodt, chief economist at Efficient Group, said he feared South Africa was heading towards a full-blown recession. “Given the devastation wrought by load shedding and the government’s rapidly growing debt burden, I think things are going …
Continue reading "‘It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better’: Experts weigh in on 2020"
The importance of official comments on amending the constitution The public has until 31 January to have a say on what is quite possibly the most critical amendment yet to emerge from the South African parliament - the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill which seeks to enable expropriation of property (not limited to land) without compensation. …
Continue reading "MEDIA RELEASE 23 December 2019 – FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION"
The external experts have been appraising government’s land reform process, with a focus on policy, legislation, frameworks and institutional arrangements. While almost all recommendations made by the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture (PAPLRA) have been accepted by government, Cabinet found some not feasible to implement, according to Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural …
Continue reading "Not all land reform panel’s recommendations endorsed by Cabinet"
Minister Thoko Didiza: Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture 19 Dec 2019 Minister Thoko Didiza updates the nation on the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture recomendations that were not supported by cabinet. On 24 July 2019, Cabinet received the Report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture …
South Africa’s troubled state-owned power utility has yet another thing to worry about - a big carbon tax bill expected to kick in from 2023. Eskom, which has been forced to turn to the government for bailouts to meet its obligations, mostly burns coal to generate power and is one of the country’s biggest polluters. The company …
Continue reading "Eskom says carbon tax could cost R11.5 billion a year in 2023"
Cabinet has approved the publication of the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Amendment Bill for public comment, says Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu. The Bill amends the Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act, 2007 (Act 12 of 2007), the Minister told reporters during a Post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday. “It regulates the powers of municipalities to levy …
Department of trade & industry officials have warned against expropriating land owned by foreign nationals, saying it contravenes existing bilateral investment treaties. Doing so could also result in SA being denied access to key markets such as the US. The country has 22 such bilateral agreements, but the cabinet decided in 2010 to terminate the arrangements …
Continue reading "Expropriation of foreign-owned land without compensation may be illegal"
Ramaphosa has let down millions by signing a law that puts them at the mercy of traditional leaders and commercial interests. President Cyril Ramaphosa faces myriad mean national challenges. Eskom immediately comes to mind; it must continue to keep the wheels of a declining economy turning, the street and household lights aglow, and the home …
The sixth democratic Parliament has had a demanding 28 weeks since its establishment following the May general election. On the agenda were 31 Bills revived from the stage at which they lapsed when the previous Parliament’s term ended – and another 13 new Bills. It is these new bills which are likely to dominate the …
Continue reading "3 proposed laws every South African should know about heading into 2020"
President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to sign the highly contested Traditional and Khoi San Leadership Bill into law has been criticised by at least one civil society organisation — and may even be challenged in court. The announcement that Ramaphosa had signed the bill was made during a meeting of the National Assembly's programme committee on …
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Trade union Solidarity intensified its war against the government's proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) and is now threatening to take the fight all the way to the Constitutional Court. The NHI, which is before parliament for consideration, is the government's plan to provide universal healthcare access to all South Africans. It is expected to be …
Continue reading "How many blows will be needed to stop the NHI?"
South African Airways (SAA) has spent its R5 billion government bailout in just one month but says it needs much more money to stay airborne. Not too long ago, during his mid-term Budget Speech, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni begrudgingly admitted that government would, once again, replenish SAA’s beleaguered bank account with R5 billion. SAA’s R5 …
Continue reading "SAA blows its R5 billion bailout in one month, asks for more money"
Note: The original version of this article was published on 25 June 2019, with the international tax-to-GDP ratio figures based on data from the IMF. After discussions with National Treasury, it was agreed that tax-to-GDP figures from the OECD provide a more relevant picture when South Africa is compared with other countries, as the IMF …
The state's proposal to force pension funds to invest in bonds issued by government and state-owned enterprises, like Eskom, is effectively theft, Parliament heard. The National Assembly on Tuesday debated the proposal to investigate the policy of prescribing assets, with most opposition parties expressing their disapproval. The prescription of assets refers to a policy where …
The incorrect media release today that Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has given the Western Cape government the go-ahead to explore alternative energy sources. (EWN 19/11/2019). This followed by a COCT media release immediately to rectify the articles perception but included..... "....excitement evoked showed just how much people want IPPs to be a part of the …
Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga has released new statistics focusing on the drop out rates at South Africa’s schools. Responding in a parliamentary Q&A session, Motshekga said that there is a lot of confusion about drop-out rates – including how these are defined and measured. She said that the drop-out rate is often loosely …
Continue reading "This is South Africa’s ‘real’ school pass rate"
Government has delayed its submission of the new Criminal Law Amendment Bill to parliament as it considers the logistics of placing all citizens on a national registry. First announced in 2017, the bill provides for the taking of specified bodily samples (buccal samples) from schedule 8 offenders for forensic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis. The DNA …
Continue reading "New law aims to track all South Africans using DNA, from birth"
On Sunday, draft amendments to Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (Aarto) regulations closed for public comment. Signed into law in August by President Cyril Ramapphosa, the act could result in traffic law offenders losing their licences through the demerit system. RELATED: 'Aarto Amendment Act takes away right to be tried before an ordinary …
Continue reading "‘Aarto Act could be used by Sanral to enforce e-toll compliance’"
Slowly but surely the process to amend the Constitution to allow expropriation without compensation is getting under way in Parliament. This is where the process currently stands. Is it too late to object to amending Section 25? For all practical purposes, yes. The question on whether Section 25 of the Constitution should be amended, was …
The past few years have seen a number of important new laws and amendments introduced, which are having a drastic effect on selling and leasing of property, says Seeff Property Group. Seeff said that the new Property Practitioner’s Act – which was recently signed into law, replacing the 43-year old Estate Agency Affairs Act – …
Continue reading "South Africa’s new property laws you need to know about"
There are currently three proposals on how to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to allow expropriation of land without compensation - two from Parliament's legal unit and one from the EFF. The ad hoc committee tasked with amending Section 25 met on Wednesday for what committee chairperson Mathole Motshekga termed a "constitutional dialogue on …
Continue reading "Expropriation without compensation: This is how the Constitution could be amended"
The Financial Fiscal Commission has warned that government has no room for further tax hikes, and that further increases may actually end up hurting the economy. Presenting to parliament’s standing committee on finance on Tuesday (5 November), the group said that South Africa is facing projected revenue shortfalls of R52.5 billion in 2019/20, R84 billion …
Continue reading "South African taxpayers have been milked dry – but more taxes are coming anyway"
Parliament, Sunday, 3 November 2019 – Among the broad range of matters on the parliamentary agenda this week, the second round of Public Hearings on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill by the Portfolio Committee on Health kick-started in the Northern Cape in Kimberly on Friday, 1 November. Emthanjeni Municipality in De Aar was visited yesterday …
Some years back when the US was fretting about high Government debt, a survey was conducted among citizens to understand how they would prefer to address the problem. By far the majority said they’d prefer a large one-off levy rather than the drip torture of higher taxes over many years. That shouldn’t be a surprise. …
Continue reading "Tito may be lining up SA for a large tax levy next year"
South Africans should brace themselves for higher taxes next year as the impact of state capture, corruption, and mismanagement are starting to bite. The National Treasury delivered its 2019 medium-term budget policy statement today, revealing that revenue collection fell far short of estimates. Compared with the 2019 Budget estimates, total revenue shortfall for 2019/20 will amount to …
Continue reading "You are going to pay for the corruption at Eskom, SAA, SABC"
Trade Union Solidarity has released a new report on the incoming National Health Insurance (NHI) and its impact on the healthcare industry. Nicolien Welthagen, a research psychologist at the Solidarity Research Institute, said that the report is based on questionnaires sent to healthcare practitioners in the private as well as the public sector across the …
Continue reading "South African healthcare workers say they are emigrating because of the NHI"
Proposed national health insurance will not improve efficiency and reduce costs, but will be a magnet for fraud and corruption Universal health coverage is an important goal, which SA can attain with the right policies. However, the proposed national health insurance (NHI) will do far more harm than good (NHI will help create a more …
A landmark agreement between Eskom and businesses in a Free State town may sideline more dysfunctional municipalities in future. Rapport reports that the Harrismith Business Forum signed a contract with Eskom on Friday whereby the power utility will deliver power directly to the town's 100 biggest power users - bypassing the local municipality completely. The Maluti-a-Phofung …
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is hopelessly insolvent. The fund was set up to pay compensation to victims of road accidents and provides support in respect of future treatment and rehabilitation. Dependent on fuel levies to meet its ever-increasing liabilities, and with an accumulated deficit R262.2 billion in 2019, the RAF is deep in the …
Continue reading "The Road Accident Fund is hopelessly insolvent"
The office of the public protector’s COO will be vacating his position at the end of the month. The office of the public protector’s chief operating officer (COO), Basani Baloyi, has been axed by Busisiwe Mkhwebane. She has also suspended four senior officials and investigators: executive manager Pona Mogaladi, chief investigator Abongile Madiba, chief investigator …
Continue reading "Mkhwebane fires one, suspends four of her senior staff"
{{ vc_btn: title=Read+our+report+to+parliament&style=3d&color=success&link=url%3Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fdearsouthafrica.co.za%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2019%252F10%252FSpecial-Approriations-Bill-report-177.pdf%7Ctitle%3AReport%7C%7C }} The Bill must now be approved by the National Council of Provinces before it can be signed into law by the president. CAPE TOWN - The National Assembly has passed the Special Appropriation Bill, which aims to provide Eskom with a R59 billion bailout for the rest of this year and …
Continue reading "ESKOM’S R59BN BAILOUT CLOSER AFTER SPECIAL APPROPRIATION BILL PASSED"
Tax revenue for the first 5 months of the tax year is running significantly behind target. Experts are now forecasting a record shortfall for the tax year ending March 2020 – of as much as R60 billion. That will bring the accumulated tax undershot over the last 6 tax years to over R215 billion. That …
Growing the economy will require the increase of both foreign and domestic financial capital, says deputy finance minister David Masondo. Speaking at a recent private investors conference, Masondo said that while government was working to attract overseas investment, there is also ‘enormous power’ in the size of long-term fund managers, such as pension funds. “At …
A Special Appropriation Bill was recently tabled in Parliament to provide Eskom with much-needed finance over the next two years. If approved, it will see the troubled utility get R26 Billion in the 2019/20 financial year and R33 Billion in the following. This is not, however, a blank cheque. National Treasury, in consultation with the …
The World Bank has cut its economic growth forecast for South Africa for 2019, through to 2021, citing low investor sentiment, and persisting policy uncertainty. Growth in South Africa is now expected at 0.8% in 2019 (0.5 percentage point lower than the April forecast), the same as in 2018, the bank said in its October Africa’s …
Continue reading "World Bank cuts South Africa’s growth forecast"
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa’s struggling power utility Eskom said on Friday it was challenging in court the regulator’s latest tariff decision, a move it said was necessary to avert financial disaster. State-owned Eskom, which produces more than 90% of the country’s electricity, implemented some of most severe power cuts in several years this year and …
Continue reading "Eskom challenges latest power tariff decision in court"
Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi confirmed that R8 956 713.41 has been spent on charter flights and/or airlines by his department to deport undocumented migrants for the period April 1 to August 31 this year. The minister made the revelations in a parliamentary reply to a question asked by DA MP Joseph McGluwa. McGluwa …
South Africa’s economy was roaring along in 2007 on the back of the global commodities boom when power shortages struck, bringing mines and smelters to a halt. Then-President Thabo Mbeki publicly apologised for prevaricating about adding generation capacity despite repeated warnings that supply was constrained, and state power utility Eskom swiftly opened the spending taps. …
Continue reading "How Medupi and Kusile are sinking South Africa"
While financial emigration may be a viable option for a small minority of individuals who will be hit by South Africa’s coming ‘expat tax’, for the majority, it’s likely to be a costly exercise which won’t provide significant tax relief in the long-term. This is according to Ettiene Retief of the South African Institute of …
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed off a number of major new laws – including the controversial ‘internet censorship bill’. In a statement on Wednesday (2 October), the presidency said that the new laws include: Overvaal Resorts Limited Repeal Bill; The Property Practitioners Bill; Electronic Deeds Registration Systems Bill; Film and Publications Amendment Bill. It was …
Continue reading "Ramaphosa signs controversial new law – here’s what you need to know"
The Competition Commission has laid the blame for the rising cost of private healthcare at the feet of the national health department. This was disclosed on Monday at the release of the commission’s health market inquiry report which found that the health department’s failure to hold regulators sufficiently accountable has led to uncompetitiveness and inefficiencies in the …
Continue reading "Consumers get the short end of the private healthcare stick, commission finds"
Districts will be empowered and even emboldened to initiate and enter into partnerships – to advance effective service delivery – with civil society, the private sector, and engineering association or accounting councils, writes Parks Tau. For the first time in democratic South Africa, local government becomes the nucleus of, and for, societal development. A strategic …
Continue reading "Parks Tau: New service delivery model will empower municipalities"
President Cyril Ramaphosa upped the game when he put worker ownership of companies on the table at the congress of the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union last week. Ramaphosa told members of Sactwu that securing co-ownership was important to give workers a say in industries, and to prevent the increasing conflict that has sparked …
Continue reading "ANALYSIS: Ramaphosa puts worker ownership of companies on the table"
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today: Government is working on new laws that will bar foreign nationals from operating in certain sectors of the economy. Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said that the legislation will strike a clear balance in helping the economy grow while clearly indicating which types …
Continue reading "5 important things happening in South Africa today"
South Africa’s R2.4 trillion savings industry has a request for the ruling party: stop with threats of dictating where funds must invest and get going on projects that pensions can help finance. “You can prescribe, but nothing will happen unless you have proper projects,” Leon Campher, the chief executive officer of the Association for Savings …
Continue reading "Savings industry asks government: Stop the threats, start the big projects"
The judge declared that the bulk surveillance activities and foreign signals interception undertaken by the National Communications Centre were unlawful and invalid. After a drawn-out court battle first initiated by amaBhungane, Judge Roland Sutherland at the High Court in Johannesburg has declared the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (Rica) …
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy is considering legislation that will give government a 20% free carry share in upstream petroleum, Parliament heard on Friday. This is as the development of petroleum resources is being regulated under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, which lapsed and created the opportunity for separate petroleum provisions. …
Continue reading "Draft law proposed to give state a share in petroleum"
South Africa is in deep trouble and the government will need to find new ways to fund its struggling state-owned enterprises, according to the chief economist at the Efficient Group, Dawie Roodt, One of the ways that the government could try and raise money is through prescribed assets, he said. “For instance, you could force …
Cape Town – Pressure group Stop COCT has alerted electricity consumers countrywide about the "possibility" through which municipalities can now add unregulated amounts to electricity tariffs by seeking council approval only. This comes after a meeting Stop COCT had with the City of Cape Town and the Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) on Tuesday …
Continue reading "SA electricity consumers warned about unregulated charges precedent"
It’s the year 2026 and we are all celebrating; the National Health Insurance (NHI) has just been implemented. Everyone in South Africa is now entitled to free, world-class health services. It certainly wasn’t easy, but finally, the dream is a reality! All South Africans now have access to the same high-quality medical services, like the …
Sometimes it takes an ordinary man in the street to tell the politicians a downright inconvenient truth. Meet David Drew, a humble, rational chemical engineer, who sat down and did some number-crunching based on the most conservative NHI funding estimates available, using the broadest possible swathe of sources. Here’s his conclusion; even with the most cautious …
Continue reading "NHI not a moral debate – it’s a maths problem"
South Africa has new draft rules about what can be sold as coffee, and what can't. Chicory mixtures have a place in the rules – but to be coffee mixtures, they need to be at least half coffee. That means three South African favourites will definitely, absolutely, and undoubtedly not be coffee. South Africa has …
President Cyril Ramaphosa has made an impassioned address to the nation on Thursday, as the presidency faces one of the biggest issues plaguing South Africa. Thousands of protesters demanded that swift action must be taken against rapists and those who commit femicide – and it seems Cyril is on the same page. In a brief, informal address …
Continue reading "These are the laws Cyril Ramaphosa says he will change to protect women in SA"
The state's top legal minds have given the proposed National Health Insurance bill their stamp of approval in terms of its constitutionality. Acting chief state law adviser Ayesha Jahoor told MPs on Thursday that the bill complied with Section 27 of the constitution, which provides for everyone a right to have access to health care …
Continue reading "NHI bill is ‘constitutionally sound’, state law adviser tells parliament"
Zweli Mkhize assured a hospital conference that the national health insurance fund won’t have the power to take risks or raise debts National Health Insurance (NHI) will be rolled out in a manner that is affordable and will not pose the kinds of risks to the economy that state-owned electricity generator Eskom has done, health …
Continue reading "NHI fund will not be another Eskom, says health minister"
South Africa's intentions to tap state workers' pension funds to revive a struggling economy would be strongly opposed, the Sunday Times reports, citing a major trade group on pensions. The state workers' pension funds lobby group doesn't trust government investing pension funds to bail out struggling state-owned companies such as utility Eskom Holdings, said Adamus …
Appearing before Parliament on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa called for a "broad and wholesome" discussion around prescribed assets, which could oblige retirement funds to invest in state-owned enterprises. The term 'prescribed assets' refers to a policy where the state obliges institutions such as pension funds and insurance companies to invest a part of their funds …
Continue reading "Nest egg raid or tool for development? Your guide to prescribed assets"
Dr Olive Shisana, the social policy special advisor to president Cyril Ramaphsoa, has addressed some of the key issues around the incoming National Health Insurance (NHI). Shisana said that the NHI will not require mass sums of money, as some critics have claimed, and that any additional taxes will be far lower than medical aid …
South Africa should investigate using worker pensions to fund finance development and infrastructure projects, president Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday. Speaking in a parliamentary Q&A session on Thursday (22 August) Ramaphosa said that the proposal had the backing of the Congress of South Trade Unions(Cosatu), Reuters reported. “We need to discuss this matter (prescribed assets) and we …
Continue reading "Government must look at using pension funds to generate growth: Ramaphosa"
Cape Town - The City of Cape Town's draft coastal by-law has Capetonians questioning how it would be implemented and pointing out that pre-existing by-laws need better enforcing. The proposed by-law seeks to prohibit undesirable conduct, which includes that no person may in the coastal zone indecently expose their body, perform an indecent act or …
Continue reading "Draft by-law to prohibit undesirable conduct on beaches ‘doesn’t make sense’"
Johannesburg - President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law tough new rules criminalising the submission of fraudulent qualifications or misrepresentation of education credentials. Job seekers and prospective students who submit fraudulent qualifications or misrepresent them will now face up to five years in prison in terms of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Amendment Act 2019. …
Cape Town - The City of Cape Town's draft coastal by-law has Capetonians questioning how it would be implemented and pointing out that pre-existing by-laws need better enforcing. The proposed by-law seeks to prohibit undesirable conduct, which includes that no person may in the coastal zone indecently expose their body, perform an indecent act or …
Continue reading "Draft by-law to prohibit undesirable conduct on beaches ‘doesn’t make sense’"
Looting private pensions, whether under the guise of ‘prescribed assets’ or any other terminology, will be disastrous. President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC are creating an environment unfriendly to business. After punting the unaffordable national health insurance scheme, Ramaphosa has signed into law the National Credit Amendment Bill, or debt-relief Bill. And the ANC has …
Continue reading "Your pension fund is being eyed as SOE debt relief"
The ANC’s economic policy head said the party is investigating using prescribed assets to avoid an IMF bailout. Prescribed assets will force SA asset managers and pension funds to invest in the country’s bonds and state-owned-enterprises. The last time South Africa had prescribed assets, the apartheid regime forced retirement funds to invest half of all …
Continue reading "Prescribed assets: What government could do with your retirement savings"
Cape Town – The National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) investigation into the City of Cape Town’s electricity tariffs has been welcomed by civic organisation Stop CoCT, which had lodged a formal complaint on the metro’s current charges structure. Nersa spokesperson Charles Hlebela said the regulator had received numerous complaints over the tariffs and …
Continue reading "Civic organisation elated Nersa’s probing City’s electricity tariff increases"
Also, ‘the constitution does not empower government to set aside South Africans’ healthcare choices in favour of its own preferences’. Pundits have highlighted several legal stumbling blocks likely to arise from the enactment of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. The various funding streams the Bill proposed included some which could raise constitutional problems as …
Continue reading "Dipping into state savings for NHI a risky gamble, pundits say"
Following a long period of downtime due to the national elections and the reconvening of parliament, President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed off a number of new pieces of legislation this week. The legislation – some of which have been mooted for over a decade – will bring a number of major changes to South African …
Continue reading "Ramaphosa has just signed 3 new major laws – here’s everything you need to know"
Opinion - I WAS in a serious accident in 1999 which left me with a broken femur, shattered humerus, three cracked ribs on the left and two on the right, both lungs punctured In 2012, I contracted viral encephalitis. More recently, in 2016, my youngest daughter was born 10 weeks premature and spent the next …
Continue reading "Opinion – Proposed NHI an unmitigated disaster waiting to happen"
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law the controversial debt-relief bill which contains provisions strongly opposed by the banking industry and the DA. In a formal announcement published in parliament on Thursday, the national legislature revealed that the president approved the National Credit Amendment Bill earlier this week. The bill provides for the extinguishing of …
Continue reading "Ramaphosa signs controversial debt-relief bill into law"
I am a first-generation medical aid member and come from a family which was largely dependent on public health. My parents really struggled with inadequate healthcare for all their lives and I wonder if my dad’s life would have been lengthened with better care. My mom, who is now 89, is on medical aid because …
Continue reading "Ferial Haffajee: How NHI will send your taxes rocketing"
The new National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, tabled in parliament on 8 August, sheds some light on the new universal health coverage will be funded. The main question for medical aid members and other taxpayers is whether they can still belong to medical aids and if so, whether they will be forced to pay not …
The NHI Bill was meant to help equalise health care and guarantee access to the best kind of care to everyone in the country whether they are well off or poor. JOHANNESBURG - Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has called for calm following concerns raised by the private healthcare sector about the National Health Insurance model. …
Continue reading "MKHIZE CALLS FOR CALM FOLLOWING OPPOSITION TO NHI BILL"
Public hospitals have become a death-trap for the poor‚ says Refiloe Nt’sekhe of the Democratic Alliance. The party has produced this checklist of the top eight problems that it says require urgent intervention‚ following inspection visits to hospitals and clinics over the past month by DA provincial health spokespersons Jack Bloom MPL (Gauteng)‚ Dr Imran …
Continue reading "Eight alarm bells at South African state hospitals"
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday vowed that the National Health Insurance is here to stay. Ramaphosa was speaking a week after health minister Zweli Mkhize made public the NHI bill, which has been the subject of a lot of criticism. Most of the critics have pointed out a lack of clarity about its funding, questions …
The National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, tabled last week in Parliament, has been forwarded to the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo. Dhlomo said the committee will meet and discuss the programme of the NHI Bill, which will have an extensive public consultation process. Analysts and economists meanwhile, have been digesting …
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The National Health Insurance bill published on Thursday (8 August) fails to answer a number of key questions around universal health coverage. According to the Institute for Race Relations, these issues include the final costs of the system, and exactly which benefits will be covered. “The main purpose of the NHI bill is to establish …
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South Africa’s embattled consumers are set to see a rise in taxes as the government scrambles to implement the much-touted National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s embattled consumers are set to see a rise in taxes as the government scrambles to implement the much-touted National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. The NHI Bill, …
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The Department of Health published the long-awaited National Health Insurance Bill on Thursday (8 August). The bill promises universal health coverage for all South Africans and is set to bring big changes to the country’s health industry – including how South Africans pay for health coverage and a changed role for medical aids. One industry which is also …
Continue reading "New NHI bill will change which hospitals you can use"
Experts have warned that the incoming National Health Insurance (NHI) may be dead on arrival as a large number of doctors plan to leave South Africa or have already left. The incoming NHI will rely on a large network of doctors to service patients around the country, with government promising ‘universal health coverage’. However, the Sunday …
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The Department of Health has published its revised National Health Insurance Bill, promising to bring universal health coverage to every South African. Since being mooted, the NHI has faced constant controversy including questions around how it will be funded, which medical issues will be covered and how private medical aid users will be impacted. These …
A look at how well our mothers – and our finances – do in the public health sector does not bode well for the new NHI Bill. Alex van den Heever takes a look at the figures and power structures that will shape the future of healthcare in South Africa. South Africa usefully generates a …
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Health workers, nurses, doctors, dentists, specialists, physiotherapists, paramedics and hospitals will be subject to price control and guidelines if the NHI bill is passed. Theses prices will be set by a pricing committee. TimesLIVE has had sight of the bill, which health minister Zweli Mkhize is releasing publicly on Thursday. It has been sent to …
Continue reading "Doctors and hospitals won’t be able to charge what they like under NHI"
Parliament is set to release the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill by 9am on Thursday morning. Here is how healthcare in South Africa is likely to change. 1. Will you be able to have a comprehensive medical aid? No. Once the NHI has been fully implemented, your medical scheme will not be allowed to cover …
Continue reading "Five things you need to know about the new National Health Insurance Bill"
One of the top priorities requiring urgent action is Eskom, which Brown says is the ‘very sick’ elephant in the room SA is running out time and money to ease a cash crunch at state-owned companies, the CEO Nedbank said, the latest business leader to express frustration at the pace of turnaround efforts at parastatals …
Continue reading "PRINT PG1 – SA is running out of time and money, says Nedbank’s Mike Brown"
NHI has remained a noble pipe dream stymied by unachievable ambitions and a funding requirement quite out of reach for a bankrupted country Even in a country desensitised to bonkers ideas, the mutterings of health minister Zweli Mkhize about SA’s plans for National Health Insurance (NHI) were hard to stomach. For years, NHI has remained …
Continue reading "EDITORIAL: Mkhize’s recipe for ruining health care"
As long as the politics of memory requires us to have one story declared the ultimate winner and sole truth, the common ground will be lost leading to a battle for the single truth, writes Elmien du Plessis. A recent legal question guided me to the physical boundaries of our country. As I read about …
The ANC government will push through with the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank - but "in a responsible manner". This is according to to ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, who was briefing journalists on Tuesday on the outcomes of the governing party's national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the weekend. Magashule said this was in line …
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The Solidarity NetWork announced that it would kick-off a comprehensive and lawful tax protest campaign next week. This South African tax protest includes at least six legal actions against state enterprises and tax plunderers. The actions include, among others, an application for business rescue of SAA. According to Solidarity, the SAA case would be the …
Solidarity is embarking on what it has called a "lawful tax protest" campaign, which would include legal actions against state enterprises. Taxes and VAT form a big part of the fiscus and tax avoidance in South Africa is illegal. Talks of a tax revolt have surfaced in the recent past, but it was called irresponsible and …
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President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Presidential Health Compact on Thursday, which will make the way for a new health care system in South Africa that doesn’t discriminate against whether a person is rich or poor. “It has as its stated goal: one country, one health system. This means quality of care must be the same …
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Amending Section 25 of the Constitution is officially before Parliament again after the National Assembly passed a motion on Thursday to establish an ad hoc committee to draft an amendment to allow expropriation without compensation. In the debate on the motion, the old fault lines between parties who supported amending the Constitution and those who …
Eskom will be receiving a further R59bn from Treasury over the next two years to stay afloat, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced on Tuesday. This lifeline comes on top of the R23bn annual inunction to the cash strapped power utility announced in February. The special appropriation bill will give Eskom R26bn in the 2019/2020 financial …
The South African government’s decision to increase support for the embattled state power utility is wreaking havoc on the nation’s finances and may force it to increase borrowing and raise the budget deficit. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni told lawmakers in Cape Town on Tuesday that Eskom will get R26 billion ($1.9 billion) this financial year …
Continue reading “Eskom bailout will come at a huge cost to taxpayers: Mboweni”
Article from the Rational Standard By:Nicholas Woode-Smith Expropriation without compensation (EWC) isn’t an abstract threat, always too far away to matter and only affecting the people you don’t care about. It is very, and most unfortunately, real and present. With Parliament agreeing to review section 25 of the Constitution, we aren’t yet facing expropriation without compensation, …
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The minister also said the debt and restructuring of Eskom will need to be addressed. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Tuesday presented his plans to parliament to provide financial support to struggling energy utility Eskom. Mboweni introduced the Special Appropriation Bill in the National Assembly, which will offer the parastatal a lifeline in the current …
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Article from IOL Cape Town – The City of Cape Town will soon put out a draft by-law to protect its precious coastline from encroachment, poaching activities and other damaging actions. In a statement, the City said it would soon publicise the draft Coastal By-law for public participation, with the intention being to “better protect …
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Article from IOL Cape Town – The City of Cape Town is facing a groundswell of opposition to its increase of the electricity tariff and surcharge, a move which has been labeled as unconstitutional. The tariff increase and surcharge has sparked outrage from cash-strapped residents and has lead a civic group, a concerned resident and …
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Article from FIN 24 President Cyril Ramaphosa told Members of Parliament on Thursday that government would not scrap the broad-based black economic empowerment, although he acknowledged that the policy had been slow in achieving the economic transformation it was intended to. Ramaphosa was replying to the National Assembly’s debate on his budget vote, which he …
Article from Business Report. JOHANNESBURG – Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has announced in his budget vote that the government is soon to table the long-awaited Employment Equity Amendment Bill in Parliament. This is a crucial bill that seeks to strengthen the Employment Equity Act and support the nation’s efforts to eradicate the legacies …
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Article from EWN Minister Thoko Didiza on Tuesday tabled the department’s budget and one for the Department of Fisheries and Forestry, which is also under her leadership. CAPE TOWN – Land expropriation without expropriation would happen whether those opposed to it like it or not. That was the word from Agriculture and Land Reform Minister Thoko Didiza and her …
Article from the Sunday Times Justice and constitutional development minister Ronald Lamola wants the new parliament to prioritise a proposed piece of legislation aimed at criminalising racism and other hate crimes. Presenting his first budget vote in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Lamola detailed his legislative agenda for the 2019-2020 financial year, including the revival …
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THE DRAFT NATIONAL HEALTH AMENDMENT BILL 2018 The Draft Bill is long overdue. In the late 1990s, President Mandela instructed the South African Law [Reform] Commission (SALC) to investigate, and make law reform recommendations regarding, end-of-life decision-making in all its forms. Among others, the SALC’s second or final report (1999) proposed that advance directives (a …
STATEMENT BY DEIDRE CARTER, MP PRIVATE MEMBER’S BILL: DRAFT NATIONAL HEALTH AMENDMENT BILL THE LEGAL RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF ADVANCE DIRECTIVES Dying is a natural and inevitable part of life. Dying is a natural and inevitable part of life. Unless we die an unnatural death, we will go through a natural dying process. For some, …
The Department of Health invites you to submit written comments on the proposed draft National Health Insurance Bill (NHI) and the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill. Here are 10 points you should know. [BusinessTech] 1. End of co-payments The first major amendment includes the abolishment of co-payments – which effectively means that medical schemes will be required to …
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