SA lawyers rattle sabre over Scorpions - 22 February
The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA), which represents the majority of the country's attorneys, on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the ANC and the government for "the perception that the principles of the rule of law are under threat". - Mail & Guardian website

Law society calls for Scorpions to be retained - 22 February
The Law Society Council (LSSA) has joined the cry for the Scorpions to be retained. The Society says the level of corruption in government departments makes a unit like the Scorpions necessary. LSSA co-chairman David Gush says : "The public needs to be given the opportunity to air their views, and if that is to happen properly it can't be done overnight, you can't simply ban the Directorate overnight". - SABC News website

See also news items on the Scorpions below

[B3-2008]
http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=11607  **

Civil Aviation Offences Act Bill, 2008

Publication for comments : repeal of Civil Aviation Offences Act Bill, 2008
GN 243/GG 30756/15-02-2008 *

Division of Revenue Bill

[B4-2008]
http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=11608 **

National Railway Safety Regulator Amendment Bill, 2007

GN 242/GG 30756/15-02-2008 *
http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=11606 **

Draft Repeal of Civil Aviation Offences Act Bill

http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=11604 **

Regulations regarding inspections and appeals : export : amendment
GNR 169/GG 30757/15-02-2008 *

Regulations regarding inspections and appeals : local : amendment
GNR 168/GG 30757/15-02-2008 *

Genetically Modified Organisms Act 15 of 1997

Regulations : amendments
GNR 172/GG 30769/15-02-2008 *

Liquor Products Act 60 of 1989

Regulations : amendment
GNR 171/GG 30769/15-02-2008 *

Marketing of Agricultural Products Act 47 of 1996

Disposal of money paid into special minister's fund
GNR 170/GG 30757/15-02-2008 *

National Prosecuting Authority Act 32 of 1998

Determination of salaries of Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions, Chief Prosecutors and Chief Special Investigators under sections 18(1) and 19C(1) respectively
GNR 173/GG 30772/14-02-2008 *
http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=11822 **

Notice of intention to amend the Close Corporations Administrative Regulations, 1984
GN 216/GG 30764/11-02-2008 *

Department of Trade and Industry

Codes of Good Practice on Black Economic Empowerment
GN 218/GG 30766/08-02-2008 *

Division of Revenue Act 1 of 2007

Stopping and reallocation of conditional allocations
GN 179/GG 30779/15-02-2008 *

Draft Petroleum Pipeline Regulations

For public comment
GN 254/GG 30776/15-02-2008 *

South African Weather Service Act 8 of 2001

Regulating Committee for Meteorological Services : nominations for the appointment of suitable persons as members
GN 253/GG 30773/13-02-2008 *

*	Source : LexisNexis
**	Source : Polity

Media Statement

The first term of the Constitutional Court began on 15 February 2008.

Of the eleven justices of the Court, two are on long leave from 15 February to 31 May 2008. They are Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and Justice Albie Sachs. Jutice Kate O'Regan has been appointed acting Deputy Chief Justice for the Republic of South Africa for the period of Justice Moseneke's absence on leave. Two justices have been appointed to act as Justices of the Constitutional Court from 15 February to 31 May 2008 during the period of absence of both Justices Moseneke and Sachs. They are Christopher Nyaole Jafta, Judge of Appeal attached to the Supreme Court of Appeal and Franklyn Kroon, Judge of the Eastern Cape High Court.

Justice Pius N Langa
Chief Justice of South Africa

19 February 2008
CCT 24/07
Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road, Berea Township and Another v City of Johannesburg and Others

To access Heads of Argument and other documents, see also :

Centre for Applied Legal Studies website

Community Law Centre website

City welcomes court's decision - 20 February
Johannesburg has welcomed the legal certainty surrounding unsafe buildings. In a statement responding to a Constitutional Court judgment, the City pointed out that it was already following an approach of meaningful engagement with residents. "The Constitutional Court's judgment vindicates the City's position that it was within its administrative rights to eliminate unsafe and unhealthy buildings and to remove people from such structures for their own safety". - City of Johannesburg website

Court makes evictions tough for cities - 20 February
The Constitutional Court ruled yesterday that the City of Johannesburg could not evict thousands of tenants from the inner city unless adequate alternative accommodation had been considered, a ruling that makes it difficult for municipalities to evict tenants from derelict buildings. The ruling was welcomed yesterday by civil society groups, but could present problems for larger municipalities, as they try to attract business and spruce themselves up for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. - Business Day website
Keyphrase :
2010 FIFA World Cup

'You can't just evict' - 20 February
"I'm so happy. I had no home and my three children and I could have been sleeping on the street. I do piece jobs for a living". That is how Nomathamsanqa Watala, one of about 400 inner city residents who faced eviction from derelict city buildings in Johannesburg, reacted to a Constitutional Court ruling by Justice Zak Yacoob that the Johannesburg city council "could not" evict them. - The Sowetan website

'Evict tenants if you can house them' - 19 February
The City of Johannesburg cannot evict inner city tenants living in central Johannesburg unless adequate alternative accommodation is provided, the Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday. "Potential homelessness must be considered by a city when it decides whether to evict people from buildings," said the court in a statement after the ruling. In a unanimous judgment by J Yacoob, it was decided that while a municipality had an obligation to eliminate unsafe and unhealthy buildings, it also had a constitutional duty to provide access to adequate housing. - IOL website

Hearings

21 February 2008
CCT 64/07
Azeem Hassan Walele v  The City of  Cape Town and Others with the City of Johannesburg  as amicus curiae

Media Summary

The following explanatory note is provided to assist the media in reporting this case and is not binding on the Constitutional Court or any member of the Court

On 21 February 2008 the Constitutional Court will hear an application for leave to appeal against the judgment and order of the Cape High Court. The applicant, Mr Azeem Walele, challenged the approval of the respondents' building plans by the first respondent, the City of Cape Town (City) in the High Court by way of review.  The respondents (owners of the erf adjacent to the applicant's property) had applied for permission to erect a four-storey block of flats on their property. The applicant attacked the process leading up to the approval and the manner in which the actual approval was reached by the City. He contended that the City failed to comply with the procedures prescribed in the National Building Regulations and Building Standard Act 103 of 1977 (NBR Act) and that he was entitled to a notice and hearing before the respondents' building plans were approved. The High Court dismissed the application with costs and subsequently refused the applicant's leave to appeal.  The applicant unsuccessfully petitioned the SCA.

Sections 6 and 7 of the NBR Act require, among other things, that the decision-maker in the local authority be satisfied that certain conditions exist and that there is a recommendation by a building control officer before plans are approved. The recommendation in this case took the form of an endorsement and signature of the building control officer inserted in a standard form.

The applicant argues that the endorsement and signature by the building control officer did not constitute a recommendation contemplated in the relevant sections of the NBR Act. He contends that there were no reasonable grounds on which the decision-maker could have been satisfied that the disqualifying factors in section 7(1) did not exist. The applicant  maintains that the City was obliged, in terms of section 3 of PAJA, to give him notice of the application by the respondents and an opportunity to make representation before the approval of the respondents' building plans.

The City of Johannesburg has been admitted as an amicus. Both the respondents and the amicus argue that the necessary preconditions existed before the decision to approve was taken. They deny that the disqualifying factors in section 7 have been triggered. They deny that owners of neighbouring properties have the right to be heard whenever an application for approval of building plans is made.

Next-door right argued in court - 22 February
The Constitutional Court is considering whether neighbours should have the right to object to building plans of adjacent properties before they are approved by local authorities. Legal counsel for the cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town, represented by constitutional experts Jeremy Gauntlet and Geoff Budlender, told the court yesterday that such a decision would slow down the processing of building plan applications. - Business Day website

Durban

Edgars store boss in hot water - 20 February
The manager of a Durban Edgars store claims she was just doing her job by confronting a customer suspected of having a fake identity book and has denied the women's claims that it was motivated by racism and discrimination. But, the customer, Zanele Mkhize, of Chatsworth, insisted in Durban's Equality Court on Tuesday that Chatsworth store manager Catharina Vorster had singled her out because she was black. - Daily News website

Cape Town

24 January 2008
C 746/06 [2008] ZALC 6
Bezuidenhout v Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

24 January 2008
C 277/05 [2008] ZALC 5
South African Clothing and Textile Worker's Union and Another v CADEMA Industries (Pty) Ltd

Johannesburg

12 February 2008
JS 736/06 [2008] ZALC 8
Douglas and Others v Gauteng MEC of Health

24 January 2008
JR 1068/02 [2008] ZALC 4
Ster Kinekor Films (Pty) Ltd v Maseko and Others

23 January 2008
JR 2038/02 [2008] ZALC 3
Mkhwanazi v Moodley N.O and Others

9 January 2008
JS 684/06 [2008] ZALC 2
Sibiya v Arivia.Kom (Pty) Ltd

Council case deferred - 11 February
The Johannesburg labour court on Friday postponed a case of unfair labour practice against Mbombela Municipality to Wednesday because municipal lawyers needed more time to study the case. This was after the municipal speaker, Jacob Dladla, who was last week served with a letter placing him on compulsory leave, went to court to appeal against the council decision. - The Sowetan website

Port Elizabeth

7 February 2008
P377/03 [2008] ZALC 7
South African Police Services v Safety and Security Sectorial Bargaining Council and Others

9 January 2008
P170/05 [2008] ZALC 1
Public Servants Association on behalf of Khanya v Commission For Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

30 January 2008
LCC135/2007 [2008] ZALCC 1
Sibeko and Another v De Wet Rautenbachent and Others

12 February 2008
B489/06 [2008] ZAWCHC 4
S v Leo

12 February 2008
12/2008
Fotiy Krylove v Owners of Ruby Deliverer
The applicant, the bareboat charterer of the MT "Fotiy Krylov" had applied for an order setting aside the respondent's arrest of this vessel on 10 November 2006 pursuant to which it commence an action in rem against the vessel under Case no AC181/06 for damages allegedly arising out of a collision between the MT "Nikolay Chiker" and the MT "Ruby Deliverer" on the 16 August 2005. The applicant asserts that the respondent does not enjoy a maritime lien in respect of its claim and therefore has not made out a prima facie case in respect of its claim

4 February 2008
V5/07 [2008] ZAWCHC 2
S v Williams

12 February 2008
2626/2006
State v R Leo
A case under special review. The accused was found guilty in terms of section 2(1) of Act 71 of 1968 - posession of a dangerous weapon

Contracts for arms deal ok, says Manuel - 21 February
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has defended his decision to commit SA to 20-year loan agreements used to fund the controversial R30bn arms deal, in documents filed in the Cape High Court. Apart from the weighty job of delivering the budget this week, Manuel has been preparing for a court bid scheduled for Monday to gag anti-arms deal activist Terry Crawford-Browne, who has allegedly spent more than R5m in legal fees in unsuccessful bids to have the deal cancelled. - allAfrica website

Manuel files to stop Terry's allegations - 18 February
An urgent Cape High Court application by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has once again catapulted the issue of pre-publication censorship into the spotlight. Manuel lodged the urgent application against economist and activist Terry Crawford-Browne to prevent him making further "unlawful and defamatory" allegations about arms deal-related corruption and criminal conduct against him. The Freedom of Expression Institute said on Sunday although it could not comment on the Manuel case, pre-publication censorship had become a worrying trend in South Africa where those unhappy with things in the media tried to have it gagged. - IOL website

Delft Eviction Case

Source : SABC News - 16 February

Cape Town earmarks land for Delft homeless - 22 February
The City of Cape Town has begun providing water and toilets for evicted occupants of homes in Delft, and has earmarked a site for them to move to, mayoral committee member Dan Plato said on Friday. Many of them have been living and sleeping in the open since the evictions on Monday. The move came as state-owned housing developer Thubelisha confirmed that it intends suing Democratic Alliance (DA) ward councillor Frank Martin for R20-million, the cost of repairing damage to the homes. Martin allegedly instigated the illegal occupation. The provincial government said it might join Thubelisha in the lawsuit, which could also target the DA itself. - Mail & Guardian website

21 February 2008
Building contractors return to Delft
SA Government Information website

21 February 2008
Premier Rasool seeks relief measures for evictees
SA Government Information website

Builders return to N2 Gateway project in Delft - 21 February
Building contractors on Wednesday started returning to the N2 Gateway Project site at the Delft township, following an eviction earlier this week where more than 1 000 backyard dwellers were illegally occupying unfinished houses. The Department of Housing has announced that a quantity surveyor has already been appointed to assess damage caused by the home invaders. - allAfrica website

SAHRC to probe rights abuse in Delft eviction - 21 February
The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will visit Delft on Thursday to investigate whether the rights of people evicted from the N2 Gateway houses they invaded had been violated. Leaders of the Adam Kok V Royal House lodged a complaint with the SAHRC on Thursday after hundreds of people, including children and the disabled, slept in the open and later sat in searing heat following Tuesday's eviction. - IOL website

Evicted Gateway tenants vow legal battle - 21 February
Backyard tenants and shack dwellers evicted from partially completed houses in Delft, part of the government's flagship N2 Gateway housing project, have vowed to continue their legal battle. They are now set to challenge the allocation process for housing being applied by the Cape Town city council and the Western Cape provincial government. - allAfrica website

Legal residents evicted in Delft move mayhem - 21 February
A legal Delft resident was caught in the middle of the mass evictions of illegal squatters, when officials removed her possessions from her home while she was at work. Thubelisha's Prince Xhanti Sigcawu said the sheriff of the court had not received instructions from his office to remove residents. "When people started being evicted, we did not expect that this would happen and we have informed the police and the sheriff. "It was a mistake on their part," he said. - IOL website

DA councillor could face R20m lawsuit - 22 February
The Western Cape government may join in a contemplated R20-million lawsuit claim against a Democratic Alliance councillor it claims is behind the illegal occupation of houses at Delft on the Cape Flats. Premier Ebrahim Rasool said on Friday that his administration had been given "preliminary" legal advice that it could sue the DA as well. - IOL website

DA councillor's role in Delft is 'criminal' - 20 February
A political row has blown up over the alleged role that DA councillor Frank Martin has played in fuelling racial tension in Delft by encouraging the illegal occupation of government housing. The ANC in the province has asked Local Government and Housing MEC Richard Dyantyi to intervene in the controversy and the ANC's city caucus is calling for Martin's head. Tensions in Delft Symphony simmered this morning after violence erupted when up to 2 000 people were evicted from their homes on Tuesday after a court order. - IOL website

Law must prevail on N2 Gateway - 20 February
The rule of law must prevail at the N2 Gateway at Delft where more than 1 000 backyard dwellers were illegally occupying unfinished government housing, says the Housing Department. - allAfrica website

19 February 2008
N2 Gateway must be protected from anarchy
SA Government Information website

'I will die here' - 19 February
There were tears, threats of violence and volleys of verbal abuse in Delft from dawn today as evictions got under way after illegal occupants of the N2 Gateway houses were refused leave to appeal against their eviction in the High Court on Monday. As each house was cleared by the eviction team, makeshift wooden boards that were used as panes were knocked out of the windows and a guard was posted outside each empty house to prevent people from returning. The Cape Argus witnessed dozens of residents screaming racially abusive epithets at "people from the Transkei" who they said would be moved in. - IOL website

Delft refuse, resist eviction - 19 February
Violence broke out in Delft Symphony section of N2 Gateway on Tuesday after residents who had been evicted from their homes following a court order tried to pull their belongings from removal trucks. Police opened fire with rubber bullets and stun grenades after hours of tension erupted into chaos. The tension built up after a large eviction team, backed by security guards and a heavy police presence, moved into the area at 4.30am and began evicting about 1 600 illegal occupants from N2 Gateway houses after their application for leave to appeal against their eviction was refused in the Cape High Court on Monday. - IOL website

Police cordon off Delft area - 19 February
Heavily armed police and security officials have cordoned off with barbed wire the area in Delft where the eviction of about 1 000 backyard dwellers is set to go ahead on Tuesday, SABC news reported. The Western Cape's anti-eviction campaign has appealed to Delft residents not to resort to violence. This follows the dismissal on Monday of backyard dwellers application for leave to appeal an eviction order in the Cape High Court. - IOL website

Delft residents lose eviction appeal - 19 February
The 1 600 Delft residents - some heavily pregnant, others elderly - who had illegally occupied N2 Gateway houses will on Tuesday morning begin the task of finding other accommodation following Monday's Cape High Court refusal to allow them leave to appeal against their eviction. Judge Deon van Zyl ruled their lawyers had more than enough opportunity to raise the arguments listed in their appeal, and that the application lodged last Friday was a deliberate attempt to delay eviction. - IOL website

19 February 2008
7816/2007 [2008] ZAKZHC 9
Naidoo v Sanbonani Express Freight and Another

28 January 2008
496/2006 [2008] ZAKZHC 5
Nedbank Limited v Chance and Others

Abahlali baseMjondolo take the provincial government to court over the totorious Slums Act - 13 February
On Tuesday we lodged papers in the High Court requesting the Court to declare the notorious KwaZulu-Natal Slums Act unconstitutional. Today we can announce that the sheriff has just served those papers on the provincial government. They and our appeal to the court are now in the public domain. The Slums Act is an attack on the poor that has been celebrated by estate agents and lamented by the poor. - Abahlali baseMjondolo website
Keyphrases :
Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA and Sibusiso Zikode v Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Member of the Executive Council for Local Government, Housing and Traditional Affairs, KwaZulu-Natal, Minister of Housing and Minister of Land Affairs
KwaZulu-Natal Elimination and Prevention of Re-emergence of Slums Act 6 of 2007

Shack dwellers take on Slums Act - 16 February
Shack dwellers in KwaZulu-Natal have set out to show that the provincial government acted unconstitutionally in promulgating its controversial anti-slums legislation in August last year. This was disclosed in papers filed in the Durban High Court by the Wits Law Clinic, acting on behalf of the shack dwellers' movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo, which represents about 25 000 people in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. - Mail & Guardian website

City escalates its war on the poor - 18 February
The day after Abahlali baseMjondolo announced that we would be challenging the legality of the notorious Slums Act in court the Kennedy Road settlement was attacked by the Municipality. They arrived with the South African Police Services, including the dog unit, and the Municipal Security. They were very heavily armed. They began at one side of the settlement and started to disconnect everyone from electricity. They disconnected the people who have connected themselves and they disconnected the people who have prepaid meters in their shacks. They dug up the cables and destroyed them. No warning was given and people's homes were entered without their permission. We estimate that there were more than 300 hundred disconnections. The Kennedy Road community immediately held a mass meeting and prepared banners. We expected them to return today to continue the mass disconnection. Many people stayed away from work but they didn't come. We don't know when they will come back. - anarkismo website

Comment on KwaZulu-Natal Elimination and Prevention of Re-Emergence of Slums Bill, 2006 - 13 May 2007
By Marie Huchzermeyer, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand. - Abahlali baseMjondolo website

Shack demolitions halted - 25 January
The urgent court action against the eThekwini Municipality by six Annette Drive settlement residents came after officials from the city's land invasion unit destroyed three shacks there earlier this month and another yesterday. Residents claimed the demolishers warned they would be back this week to tear down more shacks. In an affidavit before Judge Sharmaine Balton yesterday, one of the residents, Musa Jaca, who is also the local chairman of the shack dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, said people had settled on the vacant lot in 1972 after being evicted from Newlands East and, before that, Cato Manor. - Mercury article published on the Abahlali baseMjondolo website

Court victory for Abahlali! : city interdicted against evicting in Arnett Drive - 24 January
Abahlali baseMjondolo has won another important court victory against the eThekwini Municipality. Today the Durban High Court interdicted the City against evicting illegally in the Arnett Drive settlement. More than 50 Abahlali members from settlements across the city were in the court room, and spilling out into the corridors, to witness the victory. - Abahlali baseMjondolo website

Zuma Case

Zuma asks Mauritius to oppose NPA - 20 February
ANC president Jacob Zuma served an affadavit on the Mauritius attorney-general on Wednesday in a bid to prevent the NPA from obtaining documents pertaining to meetings between Zuma, French arms manufacturer Thint and Schabir Shaik, the Daily News reported. The newspaper said that Zuma stated in his affadavit that the decision to recharge him was "a carefully orchestrated, politically inspired and driven strategy". - The Citizen website

Zuma in gag bid for an open secret - 17 February
Jacob Zuma went all the way to Mauritius this week to try to suppress some documents - but everyone involved in his legal tussles already knows what's in them. Zuma's problem was that the island's law requires that anyone bringing a legal action be present in court. Zuma and his legal team spent a couple of days in Mauritius trying to halt the handing over by the authorities there of certain documents to South Africa's national prosecuting authority (NPA). They will return to Mauritius in the next few days to continue their efforts. - IOL website

'Zuma's constitutional rights violated by court' - 14 February
ANC President Jacob Zuma believes the judge who issued the letter of request to the Republic of Mauritius, requesting evidence on the raids on Thint, had no authority to do so. This is contained in Zuma's heads of argument filed in the Constitutional Court today. In the Constitutional Court challenge, Zuma is challenging the validity of evidence obtained in a number of raids as well as information which was obtained from Mauritius. - SABC News website

29 January 2008
295/06 [2008] ZAECHC 3
Spoornet, a Division Transnet Limited v T A Construction Limited and Others

28 January 2008
2314/06 [2008] ZAECHC 4
Mkumatela v Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality and Another

Police shooting victim to get R142 000 - 22 February
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula was yesterday ordered by the High Court to pay more than R142000 to a man from Despatch after police opened fire on him with R5 rifles during a high-speed chase in the town. Mbulelo April took the minister to court after police shot at him and his vehicle because they mistook him for a person they thought might have been involved in a planned cash-in-transit heist on April 24, 2006. April was represented by attorneys from GP van Rhyn Minnaar. - The Herald Online website

18 February 2008
AR 202/2007 [2008] ZAKZHC 8
Zondo and Another v Road Accident Fund

5 February 2008
AR 236/2004 [2008] ZAKZHC 7
S v Mbhense

25 January 2008
180/06 [2008] ZAKZHC 6
Nzama v Zondi

Minister's ex-wife wins huge settlement - 19 February
The Pietermaritzburg High Court awarded Kate Mabuyakhulu, the former wife of local government and traditional affairs MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu, more than R500 000 in a divorce settlement on Monday. - IOL website

15 February 2008
96/07 ; 97/07 ; 98/07 [2008] ZANCHC 4
S v Olifant and Others

21 February 2008
3753/2007 [2008] ZAGPHC 46
Van Staden NO en 'n Ander v Visscher en Andere

20 February 2008
39972/05 [2008] ZAGPHC 45
Ngobeni v Ngobeni

19 February 2008
A136/2008 [2008] ZAGPHC 42
S v Gouws

15 February 2008
52917/07 [2008] ZAGPHC 44
Powell v Powell

14 February 2008
A1105/2005 [2008] ZAGPHC 38
S v Mafu and Others

13 February 2008
15760/06 [2008] ZAGPHC 37
Molefe Attorneys v Phaahla Mafore Vincent

11 February 2008
2007/06719 [2008] ZAGPHC 36
Mandel and Another v Johncom Media Limited ; Johncom Media Limited v Mandel and Others

Gaye Derby-Lewis's damages claim postponed - 20 February
A damages claim of almost R1,4-million, instituted by Gaye Derby-Lewis against Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula for her alleged unlawful arrest more than five years ago, was postponed indefinitely in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday. - Mail & Guardian website

18 February 2008
26122/05 [2008] ZAGPHC 41
Tecmed (Pty) Limited v Hunter and Another

18 February 2008
07/22367 [2008] ZAGPHC 40
Lamula Partnership v Masingita Group (Pty) Limited and Another

14 February 2008
2008/6510 [2008] ZAGPHC 39
Els v Media 24 (Pty) Ltd and Another

Mtubatuba

Legal history made in KZN court - 20 February
Legal history was made this week when a northern Zululand regional court imposed a life sentence in KwaZulu-Natal for the first time. It was the first time in the province that a magistrate had been able to sentence a convicted criminal to life imprisonment. - Daily News website

Kempton Park

SA deports millionaire - 17 February
An Indian national who built a multimillion-rand business empire while in South Africa is believed to have been illegally operating in the country for the past 15 years. Manjar Ali Shaik Yusuf Ulde of Rondebosch, Cape Town, was deported to India on Monday after the department of home affairs alleged that his passport and identity documents were fraudulently obtained. He was deported even though he is out on bail and scheduled to appear in the Kempton Park magistrate's court on March 4 on criminal charges relating to the documents. - IOL website

Pietermaritzburg

Gangster sentenced to life - 20 February
A Pietermaritzburg gangster was given two life-in-jail sentences in the magistrate's court on Wednesday for taking part in a R20 000 armed robbery in which two men were shot and killed. The men - Vintner De Wet Joubert and gang member, Sandile Jili were shot in a busy Pietermaritzburg shopping mall in April 2004. In his plea before Judge Ron McLaren, John Vusimuzi Ndawonde of Cato Ridge said that Joubert and Jili had shot each other. Although Ndawonde did not shoot Joubert or Jili he was convicted of their murders because he knew that there could be deaths but took part in the armed robbery. Ndawonde's fellow perpetrators, Lungisani Mchunu and Sibonelo Khanyile, were given two life sentences for the same crimes in July. Ndawonde and fellow gang member, Patrick Luthuli, stood trial with Mchunu and Sibonelo but absconded during the trial. All four were on bail, which the state had opposed. While on bail, Mchunu took part in a raid on a Greytown farm in which David Varty was shot dead. - IOL website

Port Elizabeth

Magistrate called to explain controversial eviction orders - 22 February
A Port Elizabeth magistrate has been called to explain the issuing of controversial eviction orders. Senior magistrate Jerry Mbude is alleged to have issued two irregular orders authorising the eviction of a tenant in Algoa Park. He has been summoned to the Grahamstown High Court, where he will be required to provide reasons to Judge Clive Plaskett on April 24 why the judgment he handed down last week should not be reviewed and set aside. This follows a civil application brought by landlord Patrick Grootboom and his wife, Zoliswa, who are embroiled in a protracted legal battle with their tenant, Nasira Abdi, and her husband Ahmed. - The Herald Online website

Pastor takes church to tribunal - 16 February
What started as an SMS competition meant to financially empower members of the Assemblies of God's Bethel Church has turned ugly. Pastor Malcolm Jacobs is now taking the church to the labour tribunal next month to contest what he terms an unfair dismissal. Jacobs, who was dismissed from the church in November last year and was also ex-communicated, with his entire family, will face his former boss, Pastor Colin La Foy, at the Commission for Conciliation and Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on March 5 in Durban. - The Independent on Saturday website

18 February 2007
Commission on Gender Equality and South African Human Rights Commission condemn attacks on women in Noord Street, Johannesburg Taxi Rank
SA Government Information website

Minister slams miniskirt incident as 'barbaric act' - 22 February
The assault of a woman at a taxi rank for wearing a miniskirt indicates just how necessary it is for the taxi industry to transform, Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Friday. - Mail & Guardian website

Taxi alliance apologises for miniskirt incident - 21 February
The Gauteng National Taxi Alliance tendered an apology on Thursday to the woman who was assaulted at the Noord street taxi rank, allegedly by taxi drivers, and called on all taxi associations to investigate and suspend drivers implicated in the attack. - Mail & Guardian website

Update on licenses for financial services providers - 22 February
Financial Services Board (FSB) deputy executive officer for Market Conduct and Consumer Education, Gerry Anderson says that progress is continuing to be maintained in the finalisation of applications received from Financial Services Providers (FSP's) for authorisation. To date the FSB has finalised the processing of 17 201 (previously - 17 024) applications. In total, 1 439 of these applications have been declined (previously 1 395). - itinews website

FAIS Act : progress on the hedge funds manager : Category IIA applications - 21 February
All hedge fund FSPs must be licensed as Category IIA FSPs by 27 April 2008, failing which their activities of managing hedge funds portfolios will be illegal. The legislation becomes effective on 27 April 2008. - itinews website

11 February 2008
South African (SA) Human Rights Commission welcomes the President's announcement of equality in the provision old age grant
SA Government Information website

Statements and Speeches

20 February 2008 Budget Speech Manuel extends UDZ incentive period - 21 February City of Johannesburg website SACCI response to the Budget Speech - 21 February itinews website People's Budget 2007/2008 - 21 February Polity website 2008 Budget : tax proposals Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs website Budget 2008 interview : Trevor Manuel - 20 February Business Day website Chris Buchanan, Martin Jankelowitz, Wayne McCurrie and Brigid Taylor [interviewed by Alec Hogg] - 20 February Moneyweb website Wayne McCurrie, Steven Jones, Martin Jankelowitz & Brigid Taylor : Market commentators [interviewed by Alec Hogg] - 20 February Moneyweb website Martin Jankelowitz (Ginsberg Asset Consulting) and Steven Jones (Moneywebtax) [interviewed by Alec Hogg] - 20 February Moneyweb website Ian Liddle : Market commentator, Allan Gray [interviewed by Alec Hogg] - 20 February Moneyweb website Pravin Gordhan : Commissioner, SARS [interviewed by Alex Hogg] - 20 February Moneyweb website Martin Jankelowitz, Wayne McCurrie, and Brigid Taylor (RMB) [interviewed by Alex Hogg] - 20 February Moneyweb website SA introduces levy on power from nonrenewable sources - 20 February Creamer Media's Engineering News website 2008 Budget lowers taxes, keeps surplus - 20 February bizcommunity website Social, disability grants increase by R70 - 20 February allAfrica website R2,2bn for informal settlements - 20 February Daily News website Manuel keeps a firm hand on the tiller - 20 February The Times website Manuel puts the brakes on - 20 February The Times website R10-billion for police, prosecutors - 20 February Mail & Guardian website Strong budget, strong outlook, says Manuel - 20 February Moneyweb website Those annoying extras - 20 February Moneyweb website Manuel extends R60bn support for financially strained Eskom - 20 February Creamer Media's Engineering News website Manuel stokes investment with corporate tax reduction - 20 February Business Day website 726 trees sacrificed for Budget - 20 February IOL website

22 February 2008
Address of the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, at the Annual Opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders (NHTL) : Old Assembly Chamber, Parliament, Cape Town

7 February 2008
Address by the Minister of Health Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang at the meeting with the Traditional Leaders

20 February 2008
Department of Environmental Affairs to launch norms and standards for the management of elephants in South Africa

18 January 2008
Opening remarks by the Minister of Public Works, Ms Thoko Didiza on the occasion of South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) Department of Public Works Property owners Indaba

15 February 2008
Government, taxi accord set to benefit many on UIF pension

12 February 2008
Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster media briefing, Cape Town

11 February 2008
Input by the Minister of Public Works, Thoko Didiza to the National Government Workshop on Expropriation, Kopanong Centre

8 February 2008
State of the Nation Address : President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki

Afrikaans
Ndebele
Sesotho
Setswana
Swati
Tsonga
Venda
Xhosa
Zulu

Interesting Documents and New Bills

15 February 2008
Draft Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty (Administration) Bill
Will come into operation for all mineral resources transferred on or after 1 May 2009
http://www.pmg.org.za/files/bills/080215RoyaltyBillAdmin.pdf

15 February 2008
Draft Explanatory Memorandum for Mineral and Petroleum Resources
This Act will come into operation for all mineral resources transferred beginning on or after 1 May 2009 (the date the MPRDA takes full effect)
http://www.pmg.org.za/files/bills/080215RoyaltyBillExplanatoryMemo.pdf

Public Hearings of the Portfolio Committee on Finance on the draft Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty Bill, 2008

The Portfolio Committee on Finance will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty Bill and the Draft Minerals and Petroleum Resources Royalty (Administration) Bill, 2008. The Bill mainly provides for purposes of giving effect to the money related provisions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act 28 of 2002).

The hearings will take place on Wednesday, 19 March 2008 from 9:30, in Parliament. (Venue will be confirmed at a later stage)

Should any person or organization like to make written submissions on the Bill to the Committee, they should do so by no later than 03 March 2008.

Any person or organization who would like to give further oral evidence before the Committee should notify the Committee of such intention by no later than 03 March 2008.

The Bill can be obtained here : www.pmg.org.za/bill

Enquiries : Bradley Viljoen, telephone 021-403 3759, fax 021-403 8204, e-mail bviljoen@parliament.gov.za

Issued by Mr NM Nene
Chairperson : Portfolio Committee on Finance

Committee Minutes

Agriculture and Land Affairs Committee

12 February 2008
Food Price Review : National Agricultural Marketing Council

Arts and Culture Committee

19 February 2008
2001 Unesco Convention on Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage : Arts Department briefing

12 February 2008
2003 UNESCO Convention for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage : briefing and Ratification, Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions – Post Ratification Strategy presentation

Committee of Chairpersons

12 February 2008
Panel for Assessment of Parliament : public hearings

Correctional Services Committee

12 February 2008
Precautionary Suspensions and Claims Against Department : Minister’s and Department's briefing

Defence

15 February 2008
SANDF Deployment to DARFUR, Sudan & within South Africa, Committee Annual Report

Economic Cluster II

11 February 2008
Economic Cluster II : Infrastructure (Public Enterprises ; Minerals and Energy ; Transport ; Communication)

Education Committee

12 February 2008
Matriculation Results 2007 and Fluctuating Pass Rates : Department briefing

Environmental Affairs and Tourism Committee

12 February 2008
Committee Reports : adoption

Finance Committee

14 February 2008
Social Development Provincial spending 3rd Quarter 2006/7

13 February 2008
Local Government and Housing Provincial Spending : 3rd Quarter 2007 Spending

12 February 2008
Sports, Arts and Culture :  3rd Quarter Spending 2007 : Provincial Department briefings

11 February 2008
Agriculture Provincial Conditional Grants 3rd Quarter 2007/8 spending

7 February 2008
Provincial Health Departments : Conditional Grant and Capex Spending 3rd Quarter 2006/07 : briefings

Home Affairs Committee

12 February 2008
Home Affairs Annual Report 2006/07 : Ministerial and Department briefing

Housing Committee

13 February 2008
Committee Programme on Housing Development Agency Bill

Labour and Public Enterprises Committee

12 February 2008
Department of Public Enterprises Annual Report 2006/07 briefing

Land and Environmental Affairs Committee

12 February 2008
Environmental Impact Assessments : Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism briefing

Local Government and Administration Committee

7 February 2008
Local Government Laws Amendment Bill : deliberations

Matters Relating to Ex-Mineworkers Committee

15 February 2008
Mineworker's Provident Fund & Mines 1970's Provident Fund briefings

Members' Legislative Proposals

13 February 2008
Joyce Gongxeka's Petition : briefing by Department of Defence

Monitoring Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women

19 February 2008
United Nations Commission Invitation & Media Report on Taxi Rank Attacks

Provincial and Local Government Committee

12 February 2008
South African Local Government Association Annual Report 2006/07 briefing

Security and Constitutional Affairs Committee

14 February 2008
Judicial Services Commission Amendment Bill : briefing

Science and Technology Committee

12 February 2008
Technology Innovation Agency Bill : deliberations

Social Services Committee

19 February 2008
Films and Publications Amendment Bill : Constitutionality

Sport and Recreation Committee

19 February 2008
Cricket SA Dispute ; SA Rugby discussion, Committee Annual Report, Committee Report on Department 2007 Annual Report

12 February 2008
Sports Committee Annual Report and Korea/Japan Study Tour Report : adoption

Transport Committee

13 February 2008
International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships & 1991 Amendments Department briefing

Water Affairs and Forestry Committee

13 February 2008
Water Affairs and Forestry Committee Programme : adoption

Draft Companies Bill

Archiving can be good for you - 15 February
The draft Companies Bill, which may become law as early as mid-2008, promises to streamline the business environment by simplifying bureaucratic procedures, increasing efficiencies and promoting transparency and good governance. One of its implications is that sound records management will move from being best practice to legally obligatory practice – with penalties including jail terms for those who fail to comply.- Cape Business News website

Corporate Laws Amendment Act

The Corporate Laws Amendment Act - 8 February
The Corporate Laws Amendment Act (the "Act"), which became law at the end of last year, has introduced a number of changes to our company legislation. The Act has introduced the concept of a "widely held" company together with certain compliance requirements which must be met should a company be categorized as widely held. Article by Stephen Kennedy-Good of Deneys Reitz on the Mondaq website
* * * Free subscription required * * *

Protection of Information Bill

Bill to clamp down on rogue spying activities - 20 February
Abuse of state information will soon be a punishable crime as the government clamps down on private security companies taking advantage of legislative loopholes. However, Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils said security analysts, academics and investigative journalists should not fear the Protection of Information Bill because it was aimed at penalising abuses. - IOL website

Social Services Professions Bill

19 February 2008
Social Services Professions Bill out for public comment
SA Government Information website

Taxation Laws Amendment Bills

21 February 2008
Taxation Laws Amendment Bills, 2008 : Company restructuring measures
SA Government Information website

20 February 2008
Media statement on Taxation Laws Amendment Bills, 2008 : General Overview

Canada

Nobody likes a lawyer until they need one - 12 February
"Nobody likes a lawyer until they need one" goes to the old adage. Public opinion studies on the legal profession support this view. A 2006 Harris poll found that only 18 per cent of Americans trust lawyers completely. Closer to home, a 2004 Leger poll found that only 44 per cent of Canadians trust lawyers. Yet, despite the public's general lack of trust in the legal profession, surveys reveal that people have the highest regard for lawyers they've actually retained, as William Johnston, past president of the Canadian Bar Association, argued in The National Post in December of 2004. So why is there such a wide disconnect between the negative public perception of lawyers and the positive consumer satisfaction with lawyers? Angela Fernandez, a law professor at the University of Toronto, was tasked to find the answer to this question by the Law Society of Upper Canada. - The Lawyers Weekly website

Fiji

Fiji Law Society says ban on International Bar Association makes no sense - 18 February
The president of Fiji Law Society has expressed concern over the International Bar Association's cancelled visit. The IBA says it cancelled its visit planned for this week because the interim government has banned them, although the Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum denies this. Isireli Fa says it will take up the matter with the Attorney General this week, and that Mr Sayed-Khaiyum's concerns about the IBA prejudicing court cases has no basis. - Radio New Zealand International website

British lawyer deported from Fiji - 17 February
A lawyer who was visiting Fiji to assess its legal system has been refused entry by the country's military-led interim government. Reports describe Felicia Johnston as a British lawyer from the International Bar Association (IBA). She was detained shortly after arriving at the airport. - BBC News website

Kenya

Lawyers differ on calls to stop regulation of fees - 15 February
Lawyers yesterday opened a new front to the ongoing debate on a proposal to lift the ban on advertising of legal services. The highly contested subject of liberalisation of legal fees took centre stage in the debate that followed reports that a committee of the Law Society of Kenya's (LSK) had proposed a repeal of the ban law. Mr Jimnah Mbaru, the chairman of the Nairobi Stock Exchange and a lawyer urged the LSK to go further and lift the restriction on the pricing of legal services. - Business Daily website

United Kingdom

'Cheap' conveyancers potentially in breach of Law Society rules - 19 February
Cut-price conveyancers who charge excessive fees may be in breach of the Law Society Code of Conduct, according to MTA Solicitors. The law firm claims many conveyancers who operate their business on the internet quote 'fixed-fees' of as little as Ł99. Their online application forms, however, often charge the consumer a lot more than this, adding on shared ownership fees, mortgage fees and stamp duty fees. The final quote can often rise significantly above the initial Ł99 quote, the firm said. - Your Mortgage and Re-mortgage website

2010 FIFA World Cup

Bad news for motorists - 11 February
Motorists will be barred from the city centre and Green Point on match days during the 2010 World Cup. The ban on vehicles, revealed by an adviser to the province, has immediately sparked concerns that business in the city will grind to a halt. The no-go zone is meant to ensure stricter security at matches and to allow free movement of spectators. Motorists may be forced to use public transport. - IOL website

Arbitration

Werksmans sees starring role for country in arbitration - 21 February
SA has the potential to become a global centre for arbitration of legal disputes, says Des Williams, Werksmans Attorneys chairman. Some African legal disputes were being heard at the International Court of Arbitration in London or Paris when many of these cases should be heard in SA, Williams said yesterday. - allAfrica website

Company Law

No solution - 18 February
The news that a new financial reporting investigations panel is to be formed no doubt filled many with dread. And not because misleading financial statements should not be weeded out and the perpetrators brought to book, but rather because the financial services industry is already groaning under the weight of regulators and laws. From the JSE's Listings Requirements to the Financial Services Board (FSB), the new Companies Act, the Security Services Act, the Securities Regulation Panel (SRP), the Gaap Monitoring Panel, the Financial Sector Charter, the Competitions Act, King 2 and the planned King 3, there is a plethora of rules that companies in SA, particularly listed companies, need to abide by. Adding yet another regulator to this industry seems a ridiculous proposition. - allAfrica website

Correctional Services

Less protection for children in horror jails - 20 February
Our prisons are often called the "universities of crime". They are certainly not a place any adult would want to be, let alone a child. Particularly one accused of a relatively minor crime. Enter the Child Justice Bill. In public hearings this week, Lukas Muntingh of the Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative told Parliament's justice committee there were about 2 000 children in prison now. Some have been sentenced and some not, and others are awaiting trial. He says this is down from about 4 000 previously , and has commended the government on reducing the number of children in prison. He warns, however, that about 6 000 children are circulated through the prison system each year. - Business Day website

Courts

A serious slap in the face - 17 February
Pity the judges of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). Fifteen years ago this court - then led by the chief justice - was the highest court of appeal in South Africa. The prestige and standing of the judges serving on this court were unchallenged among the majority of influential South African lawyers and judges, and academics pored over their decisions and wrote learned articles about their decisions. Now the judges of the SCA face a further puzzling downgrading of their role and status. According to the resolution on the transformation of the judiciary adopted by the ANC in Polokwane, the Constitutional Court must become the final court of appeal in both constitutional and non-constitutional matters, leaving the SCA as an intermediary court to hear appeals from high courts. - Article by Pierre de Vos. - Mail & Guardian website

Shortage of magistrates leads to major backlogs - 18 February
A shortage of magistrates in the Port Elizabeth courts and surrounding areas has led to a backlog of more than 2000 cases in the city with lawyers complaining that they and their clients are being prejudiced by the justice system's sluggish bureaucracy. A number of trials and bail applications set down for last week in regional and district courts had to be postponed because magistrates were unavailable. - The Herald Online website

Defense

SADF vs SANDF : which way to go - 14 February
My morning paper last Friday carried a picture of a soldier with a Jacob Zuma T-shirt on the front page. He was the spokesperson of the soldiers' trade union and he was threatening to disrupt the opening ceremony at parliament. The soldiers' protest action was in support of a demand for better salaries and the SANDF's promotions policies. But the police had refused the soldiers permission to march in Cape Town on the day of the opening of parliament. The union leader then threatened revolt - that they would invade Cape Town in their thousands and take on the police. "The Eskom crisis will look like a circus when we rise up," he was reported to have said. Soldiers threatening to make a major city ungovernable, threatening violent clashes with the police? It's very clear and simple : it is sedition. Armies aren't democratic institutions. A commander's orders aren't meant to be debated. Article by Max du Preez. - IOL website

Education

A Bill of Responsibilities for the youth of South Africa (February 2008) This document forms the foundation of the proposed pledge for South Africa's schools. - Polity website

Environment

Govt to start Assmang inquiry on Monday - 22 February
A formal inquiry by the Department of Labour into the exposure of poisonous fumes at a Cato Ridge manganese company will begin on Monday. The inquiry follows six cases of manganism that were reported at the Assmang plant. - Mail & Guardian website

Greg be Nimble and was quick to net UN eco-library for Bay - 19 February
A local eco-group has pulled off an unusual coup that should go a long way towards empowering residents to be able to tackle environmental issues. Greg Smith, founder of Nelson Mandela Bay Local Environmentalists (Nimble) said yesterday he had been browsing the internet eight months ago when he spotted the opportunity to gain access to a giant online eco-library co-ordinated by the UN Environmental Programme (Unep). Billed as "one of the world's largest collections of environmental science research", it contains information about everything from climate change to environmental law, population and migration, oceanography, biodiversity, remote-sensing technologies, development economics and wetlands. Besides research reports, it includes maps and other images, media coverage, government policy, discourses between key figures and training opportunities. The cost is graded according to where the applicants are based, with those in developed countries having to pay an annual fee of $1000 (R7500). This fee is reinvested for the body to be able to offer the facility for free to applicants in developing countries. Smith says anyone wanting to gain access to the Oare site should e-mail him on info@nimblesa.org. - The Herald Online website

If you destroy the woods today, you are in for a big surprise - 19 February
We are experiencing an increase in environmental litigation. When one thinks of compliance issues in a corporate environment, one readily thinks of issues relating to company law, tax, finances or the labour implications in respect of certain decision-making processes. One's first thoughts when one hears the word "compliance", very rarely deal with the environment or the contribution to the degradation of the environment by the board of directors on which one serves or the company one runs. However, from an environmental point of view, the tide is turning in South Africa. Article by Neil Kirby of Werksmans Attorneys. - itinews website

Skills shortage blamed for sewage leaks into rivers - 17 February
Skills shortages are to blame for sewage leaks into water sources such as dams and rivers, a senior Rand Water Board official says. "The problem is skills. There are enough danger signs showing that a lack of skills is responsible for some of the sewage spills in the Vaal River and Hartebeespoort Dam for example," the official said. - Sunday Independent website

Deat prioritises environmental approvals for power, strategically important projects - 15 February
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (Deat) confirmed this week that it was fast tracking the environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies of priority power-related projects, and that it was working on a guideline to identify and speed up the processes for strategically important developments. Deat acting head of communication Mava Scott said that the department and power utility Eskom meet on a monthly basis, and that priority projects had been identified and were being fast tracked in the legal framework. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Paying the price for mining - 15 February
One legacy of South Africa's extensive mineral deposits is the infrastructure and wealth of the country. But another more troubling legacy is emerging as an increasingly urgent problem : environmental contamination from over 100 years of mining that could severely pollute the country's water, affecting the food chain and citizens' health. The magnitude of the potential problem has government agencies scrambling to coordinate a response to a relatively new issue for the regulatory bodies. - allAfrica website

Environmental waste time-bomb - 14 February
The government is under fire for neglecting environmental protection. It has also been accused of flouting legislation for the sake of development that can generate revenue. Nicole Barlow, chairperson of Ekurhuleni's Environment and Conservation Association, says the destruction of wetlands is one such problem. She has accused the department of minerals and energy and the department of water affairs and forestry of incompetence and of not implementing legislation. - IOL website

Floor-Crossing

Is this the end of floor-crossing? - 21 February
Floor-crossing is finally to be scrapped. Following on a decision by the ANC's Polokwane conference, Parliament's committee on private members' legislative proposals on Wednesday agreed to a draft bill that will lead to the scrapping of the practice. It came after the IFP's Koos van der Merwe first proposed the idea in 2006 and finally got the "unanimous" support of his fellow committee members on Wednesday. Added to Van Der Merwe's success was the fact that private members' bills are infamously unsuccessful. - IOL website

Health

KZN doctor cleared on treatment charge - 21 February
The KwaZulu-Natal health department has dropped a misconduct charge against rural doctor Colin Pfaff, following a storm of protest, the doctor confirmed on Thursday. Pfaff faced the charge for administering dual therapy - two antiretroviral drugs - to prevent the infection of babies born to HIV-positive mothers. At the time he was charged, official policy was that only a single drug, nevirapine, be administered. The department's decision to act against him elicited angry reaction from members of the medical profession throughout the country. - Mail & Guardian website

TAC condemns disciplining of AIDS doctor - 20 February
On Friday 25 January the Department of Health announced that a new Prevention of Mother-to-Child-Transmission (PMTCT) protocol would be released. The new protocol includes what is known as dual-antiretroviral prophylaxis. But with this good news, also came disappointing news. Disciplinary action is being taken against Acting Medical Manager Dr Colin Pfaff, who works in Manguzi Hospital in Umkhanyakude district, Kwazulu-Natal, for providing dual antiretroviral prophylaxis to pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic. Although the nevirapine programme in the province is reaching nearly all obstetric facilities, about 22% of HIV-positive mothers transmit the virus to their babies. This is why Dr Colin Pfaff and other medical doctors working in Manguzi Hospital have put patients before the process. The AZT he used was donated by Manguzi Mission Fund, so the provincial hospital incurred no cost for the HIV infections prevented by Dr Pfaff. - politicsweb website

Why I am not a rural doctor - 19 February
Dr Pfaff knew that dual therapy is more effective than monotherapy in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). He was able to obtain the necessary medicines, in an innovative donor process, to implement dual therapy. He showed exactly the kind of initiative and leadership embodied in the KwaZulu-Natal department of health's own "Batho Pele" principles. The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for health, Peggy Nkonyeni, is meanwhile reported to have made the most extraordinary statements on a visit to Manguzi Hospital where Dr Pfaff works. She stated that antiretrovirals (ARVs) are "toxic", and questioned the motives of rural doctors who provide Aids treatment. - Blog by Roy Jobson on the Thought Leader blog

Housing

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Housing - http://www.kznhousing.gov.za/

Provincial legislation
http://www.kznhousing.gov.za/Provincial_legislations.htm

Provincial policies
http://www.kznhousing.gov.za/Provincial_Policies.htm

'Change the tender processes for housing' - 20 February
South Africa has a huge crisis in terms of housing. This need for housing has been linked to the ever-growing informal settlements and the government's backlog in building formal residential communities.  For years, shack dwellers have been on the receiving end of eviction orders after illegally occupying land designated for new homes. Development Action Group Programme Director Moegsien Hendricks believes the question as to who and why people keep building these 'shacks' should be borne in mind. - IOL website

Will razing shacks solve housing crisis? - 17 February
Lindiwe Sisulu, the minister of housing, declared in parliament in 2004 that all shacks in South Africa would be eradicated within 10 years. Increasingly, though, planners and development activists are arguing that the destruction of shacks may not be the best policy after all. It's all very well for the lives of 100 million shackdwellers to be improved, but there are an estimated one billion people living in informal settlements across the world. What happens to the other 900 million? - IOL website

Country aims to clear slums by 2014 - 14 February
Housing delivery will continue to be fast tracked with the objective of accommodating all those seeking homes in formally planned settlements by 2014, says Health Minister Manto Tshabalala. Speaking at the Social cluster briefing in Cape Town Thursday, the minister said the Department of Housing's focus in the coming financial year will be its programme of slum eradication. The department would also be implementing the lessons learnt from the Breaking New Ground Strategy to expedite housing delivery for poor and middle-income groups. - allAfrica website

Human Rights

K***** slur = R15 000? - 20 February
Cash offered by a Durban man as a "settlement" to his former domestic worker for allegedly sending a racist SMS about her was rejected on Tuesday. And unless the two parties can agree on the way forward before next month, the dispute between Cameron Forsyth, of Waterfall, and Zandile Magubane will be aired at a full trial before Durban's Equality Court. - IOL website

Rights commission tells Khoza to apologise, or else - 22 February
Chairperson of the 2010 Local Organising Committee Irvin Khoza has a week to apologise for using the word "kaffir" at a media conference or he will be taken to court. While the South African Human Rights Commission said it would be happy to meet with Khoza to dispose of the matter as soon as possible, if he failed to respond to their correspondence by next week Friday it would have no option but to "consider instituting proceedings in the Equality Court". - Mail & Guardian website
Keyphrase :
2010 FIFA World Cup

K-word OK in townships : Khoza - 19 February
Irvin Khoza, chairperson of the Local Arrangements Committee (Lac) for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, was unrepentant on Tuesday about using the dreaded K-word. Khoza says the word is still used regularly in the townships of South Africa. - News24 website

Irvin Khoza's racial slur warrants apology : HRC - 19 February
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has called on the FIFA 2010 World Cup Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Chairperson, Irvin Khoza to apologise to the public following a derogatory comment he made about a journalist. The commission said such language, after 14 years of democracy, had no place in South Africa. - SABC News website

Irvin Khoza not amused - 19 February
Fifa World Cup local organising committee chairman Irvin Khoza shocked journalists yesterday by repeatedly using the "k" word while addressing the media. His utterances were picked up by Talk Radio 702 microphones. "I'm going to use a strong word and the media will forgive me for this, but people must stop thinking like 'kaffirs'," he said, reacting to weekend reports of strife within his committee. - The Citizen website

Ensure justice for police raid victims - 19 February
The South African government should bring to justice officials responsible for the January 30 arbitrary arrest and mistreatment of some 1 300 people seeking refuge at Johannesburg's Methodist Church, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 15, a Johannesburg High Court judge ordered the immediate release of nine of those arrested, saying that the raid and the state's response was "a brutal, indifferent, and cruel treatment of human beings". - Human Rights Watch website

KwaZulu-Natal

'Anc to blame'  - 22 February
The IFP finance spokesman, Blessed Gwala, yesterday blamed the uncollected R4,4 billion owed to provincial municipalities on the ANC’s culture of boycotts during the apartheid era. Gwala was speaking during the debate on budget performance of municipalities in the provincial legislature. He said the underlying problem of uncollected municipal debts was that the ANC is soft on credit control and debt collection, for fear of losing votes. - The Sowetan website

R200m statue of Shaka Zulu - 16 February
A 106 metre statue of King Shaka Zulu ka Senzangakhona will be built on the banks of Thukela River north of Durban, the Weekender newspaper reported on Saturday. The statue would cost R200-million to build and was expected to be 13 metres higher than the Statue of Liberty in New York. In his state of the province address, KwaZulu-Natal premier Sbu Ndebele announced a memorandum of understanding with a Dubai based developer for the erection of the statue. He suggested that the statue would become a tourist destination like the Statue of Liberty and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Among the justifications given for the project were economic consideration. - IOL website

Billions to be pumped into KZN - 14 February
KwaZulu-Natal's strategy of wooing investors to the province was beginning to pay off with a multi-billion rand tourism investment to be made north of the uThukela River, Premier S'bu Ndebele announced in Pietermaritzburg during his state-of-the-province address on Wednesday. Ndebele told the legislature that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the provincial government and an international developer based in Dubai earlier in 2008, paving the way for the investment. - IOL website

Land Affairs and Property

How will the electricity crisis affect property? - 13 February
Commenting on the relationship between economic growth and electricity consumption, property economist Erwin Rode, from Rode & Associates, notes : "We built a simple statistical model using data for the past 10 years, which shows that a 1% increase in economic growth was accompanied by an increase in electricity consumption of roughly 0,8%. This shows that in a modern economy growth in economic activity is highly dependent on the availability of electricity - in case we needed any reminding". - Rode Property Consultants website

Green landowners to receive tax break - 20 February
Landowners who opt to preserve habitats and biodiversity on their land are set to receive an income-tax deduction for their efforts, according to the Budget Review tabled by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. "Tax reforms to encourage biodiversity conservation by private landowners will be considered," said the review. The deduction will cover expenses incurred "in developing and implementing an approved conservation management plan under either the National Biodiversity Act, or the Protected Areas Act". The document said these will be limited to income "derived from the land". - Mail & Guardian website

Power constraints drive a green agenda in property sector - 14 February
Seeking the silver lining in the power crisis, the commercial and industrial property sector, unified by the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa), has affirmed that power outages "might just provide the push needed for South African businesses to accelerate their green initiatives and catalyse more effective energy management to South Africa". "Energy management is certainly not a trend that is unique to South Africa, but a very real part of the drive towards green building world-wide," said Sapoa president Marna van der Walt. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Green future for building design and infrastructure developments - 15 February
Consulting engineering and project management group SSI has placed a strong focus on eco-friendly construction practises by offering sustainable building designs as an alternative to conventional designs to its clients, reports the company. Also referred to as eco-friendly construction, green building is defined as the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources, such as energy, water, and materials, while reducing building impacts on human health, and the environment, through better design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal in the complete building life cycle. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Core developmental issues under scrutiny - 22 February
Cape Town is at present addressing core developmental issues that will almost certainly affect the residential property sector in the future. These include Environmental MEC Tasneem Essop's recent announcement of the final criteria for the Green Point open spaces adjacent to the soccer stadium and Metropolitan Golf Course, and the re-activation of the Western Cape Energy Risk Management Committee. The Greenpoint Ratepayers and Residents Association recently succeeded in convincing authorities to start the process of clamping down on irresponsible residential development by defending existing title deed conditions essential to preserve the character of green areas, as the GPRRA believes the erection of a five storey block of flats along the Signal Hill tree-line will set a precedent for high-rise developments along the ecologically sensitive Atlantic Coastline. - allAfrica website

Premier sees golf estates as catalyst for development - 22 February
Golf estate developments in the Western and Southern Cape play a significant role in the economy and could be a catalyst for socio-economic development in previously disadvantaged communities, says Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool. Rasool said it was important for local and regional government to be involved in issues surrounding the golf industry. - The Herald Online website

Knysna River Reserve receives go ahead - 19 February
The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk has given developers the green light to commence with the Knysna River Reserve (KRR) development. This comes after taking into consideration the three appeals lodged against its proposed establishment. The Director-General of the department Pamela Yako said the KRR would be developed as a sport based resort which is linked to the South African "Hall of Fame". The development would include accommodation units consisting of 60 stadium resort units, 275 clustered resort units, and a resort hotel with 60 suites. Furthermore, a nature resort and golf course with 91 units, comprising 15 hillside, 34 forest fringe and 42 terrace units for use by tourist and holiday makers, will be constructed. A nature reserve, with the highest conservation status is also planned. No developments will go up on this land. - allAfrica website

18 February 2008
Statement by the office of Marthinus Van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
SA Government Information website

Brakes on third city project - 15 February
Yet another multi-million rand Mthatha development hangs in the balance because of an unresolved land claim affecting large parts of the city. The development, a R160-million lifestyle centre and office park planned for Owen Dam next to Nelson Mandela Drive, is now the third major construction project to have stalled. Putting the brakes on the city's expansion is the land claim lodged by KwaLindile community leader Nkosi Ngubesizwe Njemla. Last year he caused a stir when he applied for a court interdict to halt the development of a casino and multi-million rand shopping mall near Nkululekweni.- Dispatch Online website

Circular fails to tackle cost of lost title deeds - 22 February
The property law committee of the Pretoria Attorneys Association has expressed concern about the failure of a Pretoria deeds office circular to address the cost implications of the process to recover about 335 000 title deeds lost by the office. The circular states that a court order must be obtained to cancel a lost bond. A conveyancer said it would cost a minimum of R15 000 to get such a court order. The conveyancer questioned who was going to pay for the costs of obtaining the order, particularly as the problem was caused by the deeds office. - Business Report website

Struggling with "tenants from hell"? - 17 February
A tax deduction is available. MoneywebTax rounds up its series on the three main worries for taxpayers with a look at property. So you now know how to claim your car expenses on your tax return, and are reasonably confident that you can now manage your share investments without incurring the wrath of the South African Revenue Service (Sars).  But the one thing that really keeps you awake at night is how Sars views your investment in property. - Moneyweb website

Khayelitsha house row turns bloody - 15 February
Mitchells Plain teacher Adrian Adams, at the centre of a row about ownership of a Khayelitsha house, was attacked at his home early on Friday, allegedly by the previous owner. Adams told the Cape Argus that he had been hit in the face with a brick. Adams, a teacher at Woodlands Secondary in Mitchells Plain, has spent the past month battling with Nozibele Stamper, the original owner of the house in Monde Street in D-Section. Stamper and three relatives were arrested on various charges on Friday morning and were due to appear in court later on Friday. - IOL website

Manuel : one cannot just inherit land and then farm - 22 February
Throwing money at land redistribution in South Africa had the potential to trigger enormous speculative activity in the agricultural market, finance minister Trevor Manuel told parliamentarians yesterday. He was responding to ANC MP Bafunani Mnguni, who questioned whether the allocation to the land affairs department in the next year was enough to reach the target of transferring 30 percent of agricultural land to the previously disadvantaged by the year 2014. Taking a far more cautious line than his colleague, agriculture and land affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana, who said last week that she would welcome it if agricultural land prices plummeted, the finance minister said the land issue was a complicated matter involving legal processes. - Business Report website

Law firm criticises land numbers in budget - 21 February
The Legal Resources Centre (LRC), a public-interest law firm working on land issues, expressed scepticism on Thursday at the claim in Wednesday's national budget that the land-restitution process is nearing completion. The LRC said on Thursday that according to independent assessments, a mere 150 community claims (as opposed to claims by individuals) in which agricultural land was restored were settled between 1996 and mid-2005. - Mail & Guardian website

Land reform failure rate may be 50% - 19 February
The government has admitted to a significant degree of failure in achieving the sustainable agricultural development of rural communities benefiting from land reform policies. The failure rate could be as high as 50%, Thozi Gwanya, the acting land affairs director-general and former chief land claims commissioner, said at the launch of the land affairs department's Settlement and Implementation Support strategy yesterday. - Business Day website

Euros to help local land reform - 18 February
The Belgian government has donated €7,5-million (R83,6-million) to further land reform in South Africa. "Belgium is a staunch supporter of land reform," said Belgium ambassador Jan Mutton on Monday, at the launch of the Settlement and Implementation Support (SIS) strategy at the Sheraton hotel in Pretoria. The strategy has been developed to help support beneficiaries of land reform. - IOL website

Ten questions for . . . Niall Mellon - 12 February
Since 2003 Niall Mellon has been bringing groups of construction workers and other volunteers to South Africa to build homes in some of the poorest parts of the country. We asked the man behind the 'Building Blitz' about the trust, the search for volunteers and plans for the future. - RTE News website

Minerals and Energy

SA cancels flow-through share plan, unveils new legislation to boost exploration - 20 February
Government has proposed new legislation that would see it offering a 50% payback on investments in junior mining exploration companies, instead of the previously discussed flow-through share system, and it could be introduced this year, the National Treasury revealed on Wednesday. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in his 2008 Budget speech called the incentive a "50% deduction", and Treasury officials told Mining Weekly Online that this meant that government would effectively reimburse investors in local junior mining exploration firms half of their investment, which they said would boost this sector. While the framework around such an incentive would still have to be drawn up, after consulting the industry, one of the officials said that it could be introduced this year. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

New-order rights for all Anglo American mines, DME announces - 20 February
New order mining rights had been granted to all Anglo American mining operations, South Africa's Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) said on Wednesday. The new rights had been granted for all platinum, coal, iron-ore and base metals mines, subject to completing the final documentation, Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll said. "I can confirm that we have reached an agreement with Anglo American on all regulatory matters that hitherto have been outstanding, for us to be able to grant them their new-order rights," DME DG Sandile Nogxina said from London. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Public Works to make all govt buildings energy efficient - 19 February
The Public Works department said on Tuesday that it was implementing an energy efficiency programme in all government-owned and -leased buildings and that it would appoint consultants to undertake energy audits. Immediate initiatives included the promotion of efficient individual use of air conditioners and heaters, as opposed to centralised systems, and the installation of energy efficient bulbs, card-controlled devices and motion detectors. The Department of Public Works, which is South Africa's largest property owner on behalf of the government, would also formulate specifications on newly acquired properties to make them energy-efficiency compliant. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Valli Moosa : Chairman, Eskom [interviewed by Alec Hogg] - 18 February
You've got to be in the hottest seat in the country right now. Eskom, everywhere we've been since coming back from Davos, seems to have been whacked this way and that way - what's morale like in the organisation? - Moneyweb website

Municipal Management and Procedure

See also Municipal Rates Policies and Other Information below

Ekurhuleni

'It's life, I borrowed it' - 18 February
Despite the long-standing recognition of the importance of addressing the racial segregation of South Africa’s apartheid-designed cities, there has been little political enthusiasm for developing policy that addresses the markets that are considered to allocate the different uses of urban land most productively and efficiently. Notwithstanding recent refinements to national housing policy, government officials remain hamstrung by having to resort to housing interventions to address land issues. The creativity and the diverse social identities people create through transactions are in stark contrast to the relative bluntness of interventions framed in terms of national housing policy. - Mail & Guardian website

eThekwini

Durban rates : soundness of valuations - 13 February
Durban ratepayers should not worry that the new valuations on some properties are unsound, just because valuers did not enter the properties to take actual measurements and check renovations, says eThekwini officials in an article in today’s edition of Metro ezasegagasini. The edition is a special eThekwini Rates Policy Supplement. - Rodney Hayter website

Randage to determine new rates - 15 February
As the flurry of interest in Durban's new market value rates roll continues unabated, the city's number crunchers are formulating the new randage rate that could hold the biggest financial ramifications for homeowners. To be calculated by the City Treasury, the randage rate will essentially determine how many cents to the rand a homeowner would pay. This is then directly linked to the new market valuations, which has seen some properties jump in value by more than R1-million. - IOL website

Msunduzi

Outrage over house values – 22 February
The city’s new valuation roll has been greeted with outrage by Northdale residents, who were shocked to discover that their houses have been valued at R1 million or more. The residents, who live next to a squatter camp and whose properties are close to Lotus Park, a high crime area, say no houses in their area have been sold for R1 million in the last five years. Estate agents were equally shocked to learn of these high values and all confirmed that they have never sold a house for R1 million in that area. Blackie Zwart, Msunduzi municipal manager for real estate and valuations, confirmed that they received a host of queries, including some from people who said they were not on the roll. – Witness website
Comment online

Msunduzi loses track of money - 22 February
Poor record keeping by various business units in the Msunduzi Municipality has left council unable to establish how much money it is owed by 46 employees who abandoned their studies after using council’s employee bursary scheme. The human resources unit has requested that council write off payments, which could amount to thousands, as bad debt as there are no records of payment vouchers needed to verify the amounts paid to educational institutions at which the employees studied. – Witness website

Nelson Mandela Bay

Hobie yacht club study findings to be tabled soon - 22 February
Plans to turn the last remaining prime beach-front sports club, the Hobie Beach Yacht Club, into plush lifesaving club facilities, will be tabled before the Nelson Mandela Bay recreation and culture portfolio committee next month. The plan has caused outrage among water sports enthusiasts in the city, with suggestions to use the facility as a multi-water sport centre being put forward. - The Herald Online website

National Prosecuting Authority

NPA to get a slice of R10bn pie to fight crime - 20 February
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has allocated an additional R10 billion over the next three years to hire more police, prosecutors, judges and magistrates, as part of the overhaul of the criminal justice system. The money will also be used to build 40 police stations, prisons and improve technological equipment in fighting crime. - Cape Argus website

Scorpions

Scorpions : Parly has last say - 19 February
The disbanding of the Scorpions is still only a "proposal" and will go to Parliament and include public participation, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said in Cape Town on Tuesday. The unit would also stay on the high-profile cases it was currently working on, he told a media briefing on the future of the criminal justice system. - News24 website

Scorpions' incorporation 'on track' - 19 February
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula told the African National Congress (ANC) yesterday that everything was "on track" for the integration of the Scorpions into the South African Police Service (SAPS). It is understood that Nqakula briefed a two-hour meeting of the ruling party's subcommittee on peace and stability. Nqakula is said to have been invited to brief the meeting as a member of the subcommittee. - allAfrica website

Public urged to attend Scorpions briefing - 17 February
The public should attend the presentation of the National Prosecuting Authority's annual report to parliament this week to show their sense of betrayal at the dissolution of the Scorpions, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) said on Sunday. - IOL website

See also media release by the Law Society of South Africa above

Road Accident Fund

RAF error leads to legal row - 20 February
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is facing a legal wrangle with a personal injury lawyer over a botched proclamation published by President Thabo Mbeki in July last year. The proclamation, R27 of 2006, brought the wrong number of sections of the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act into operation, and could have far-reaching consequences for thousands injured in road accidents. The proclamation mistakenly referred to sections four, six, 10, 11 and 12 of the amending Act. It should have referred to sections one to five. - The Citizen website

Social Development

State set to add 1-million child grants - 15 February
The government looks set to add about another 1-million children to its social security network following a study to probe the means test of all social grants. Over the next three years the child support grant will be extended to all children aged 18 or lower, against 14 years now. - allAfrica website

Child grant will be extended to 18-year-olds, says minister - 14 February
The child support grant will be extended to the age of 18 and the means test will be recalculated, Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya said yesterday. He would not elaborate as he did not want to steal Finance Minister Trevor Manuel's "thunder" in his Budget speech, but told reporters in Cape Town this would be phased in over the next two to three years. - Cape Times website

Trade and Industry

Incentives to support long-term learnerships - 21 February
The treasury is considering options for a wage subsidy to contribute to employment creation, while the department of trade and industry is reintroducing longer-term apprenticeships to improve technical skills. Both of these initiatives are aimed at encouraging growth in the small business sector. The treasury has also earmarked R5 billion to be used over the next three years for tax incentives for industrial projects in support of sectors identified as key to the emerging industrial strategy. - Business Report website

Quota on common sense - 21 February
It has been over a year since the Department of Trade and Industry introduced quotas, restricting the amount of clothing and textile imports entering South Africa from China. And according to industry bodies the quotas have not made the struggling clothing and textile companies more competitive because "the two year period (January 2007-December 2008) is too short for them to earn a return on investments in new machinery". - iAfrica website

Transport

Relatives condemn South African death crash investigation - 20 February
Relatives of four Britons killed in a road crash in South Africa in 2004 today criticised a local investigation into the accident as "farcical", at the conclusion of a British inquest into the deaths. The East Sussex coroner, Alan Craze, recorded verdicts of death from a road traffic crash at Hastings law courts today, but was unable to come to any conclusions about the actions of the driver of the truck that hit a car carrying the Britons. The coroner said today he was "completely dependent on the information that has been given to me by the authorities in South Africa". Craze said an investigation into such a crash in the UK would have been very different. No criminal proceedings were taken in connection with the crash after an inquest in South Africa in October 2005. In a transcript of the court proceedings, magistrates said they could not find that the truck driver was negligent. - The Guardian website

R50bn road shock - 16 February
South African municipal and provincial roads are in crisis - on a similar scale as the recent Eskom meltdown - with road networks on the brink of collapse because of poor maintenance, bad planning and an exodus of professional engineers. This is the view of the South African Road Federation (SARF) - a non-political body comprising road engineers, senior department of transport officials and professional consultants - which says it will cost tens of billions of rand to fix the problems. - IOL website

Miscellaneous

The Prescription Act and judgment debt : good news for creditors, bad news for sureties - 19 February
The Prescription Act provides that the basic period of prescription shall be 30 years in respect of 'any judgement debt' and 3 years for 'any other debt'. The Act further provides that 'prescription shall commence to run afresh on the day on which the judgment of the court becomes executable'. In the recent case of K H Eley v Lynn & Main Inc [2007] SCA 142 (RSA), the question before the Court was whether a claim against Mrs Eley, bound as surety and co-principal debtor where the principal debt was confirmed and reinforced by judgement, prescribed after 3 or 30 years. Article by Christo van der Spuy of Deneys Reitz Attorneys on the Mondaq website
* * * Free subscription required * * *

Disgraced boss rewarded - 17 February
Instead of being brought to book for alleged gross mismanagement, including the fact that more than R80 million went missing from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture, former boss Jabulani Mjwara was rewarded with maximum performance bonuses for "outstanding performance".  - Sunday Tribune website

The Kigali Protocol for the NEPAD ICT network comes into force - 19 February
The protocol on policy and regulatory framework for NEPAD ICT Broadband Infrastructure Network, known as the Kigali protocol, came into force on 13th February 2008. Malawi became the seventh country to ratify the protocol. Other countries that have already ratified the protocol are : Lesotho, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Ratification by seven countries was the majority needed to bring the protocol into force. - African Press Organization blog

Only 24 African countries have ratified protocol for Human Rights Court - 18 February
Only about half of the member states of the African Union (AU) have ratified the Protocol establishing the African Human Rights Court whose seat is in Arusha, according to the Court's President, Professor Gerard Niungeko. "Out of the 53 member states of AU that are also party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, only 24 member states have so far ratified the Protocol," he said in his address to the Tanganyika Law Society annual meeting over the weekend. Regrettably, he added, it was only Burkina Faso which has issued declaration accepting the Court's competence to entertain cases from individuals and NGOs. - allAfrica website

Excerpt :
" . . . countries which have ratified the Protocol . . . Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Comoros, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda"

Kenya

Lessons from S Africa on reconciliation - 19 February
South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) does not provide a model that can be simply replicated elsewhere, in Kenya or elsewhere but it does provide important insights into possible methodologies of engagement. The TRC  provides one of the continent's boldest initiatives to address the nature and causes of gross violations of human rights perpetrated during conflicts of the past, in this case relating to the struggles against apartheid. - Business Day website

Malawi

Malawi court fines South African driver, deported - 14 February
A South African driver and a Malawian conductor of MOPI Luxury Coach who were caught by Fiscal Police for operation [sic] bus transport service between Malawi and South Africa illegally have been found guilty by the court. The South African Alfred Makangwa has since been deported to his country. In the case, prosecution told the Blantyre Magistrate Court that Makangwa was found with a bus that had no legal documents to operate a transport business in Malawi. - Nyasa Times website

Mauritius

S African heroin courier jailed for 11 years on Mauritius - 19 February
A South African woman was jailed for 11 years and fined 100 000 rupees (3 500 dollars / 2 500 euros) Tuesday after being convicted of drug-smuggling in Mauritius. - IC Publications website
Keyphrase :
Drug smuggling

Zambia

Zambia won't negotiate mine taxes : President - 19 February
President Levy Mwanawasa said on Tuesday his government will not renegotiate controversial mining taxes with foreign owners of the copper and cobalt mines barely a week after he invited them to talks. Mwanawasa said last week that the ministers of finance and mines would meet managers to discuss their grievances over introduction of a 25% windfall profit tax and a rise in mineral royalty to 3% from 0,6%. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Stolen paintings found in Zurich - 19 February
Two paintings stolen in one of the world's largest art thefts have been recovered in an abandoned car, Swiss police have confirmed. The pictures, by Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet, were among four paintings worth $160m (Ł82m) that were stolen from Zurich's Emil Buehrle Collection. They were discovered on the back seat of a white sedan parked outside a psychiatric hospital in the city. - BBC News website

Anti-Terrorism

UK says US rendition flights used its territory - 22 February
Britain said for the first time on Thursday the United States had used British territory to transfer terrorism suspects, in an embarrassing apology that corrected previous denials. Britain, after maintaining for years it was unaware of a British link to such "rendition" flights, said Washington had now told it two planes with detainees refuelled at a US base on the British Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia in 2002. - Mail & Guardian website

Early WMD dossier draft released - 18 February
Foreign Secretary David Miliband has published an early draft of the UK's infamous dossier on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. The document, by Foreign Office press chief John Williams, was an unpublished draft of the dossier which was unveiled by Tony Blair on 24 September 2002. The Foreign Office failed in its appeal against the Information Commissioner's order that it should release the draft. - BBC News website

Cayman Islands

Law firm Truman Bodden & Co gains strength - 19 February
South African born lawyer Eddie Stafford joined the growing property and commercial departments at Truman Bodden & Company, Attorneys-at-Law, on Monday, 4 February. Mr Stafford brings with him a wealth of legal experience gained not only in his home country, but also in the United Kingdom (UK) and in the Cayman Islands. He was admitted as an attorney in South Africa in 1996. He moved to the UK in 2001 where he was admitted as a Solicitor in 2003 and was employed by a Legal500 firm. He was admitted as Attorney in the Cayman Islands in 2007. - Cayman Net News website

Courts

Net news 'threatens court cases' - 19 February
Articles relating to high-profile court cases should be removed from online news archives, the former Lord Chancellor has told the BBC. Lord Falconer believes the action is necessary to avoid news stories written before a case influencing its outcome. Action would be necessary for around 20 cases a year, he said, in trials which attract a lot of pre-trial coverage. - BBC News website

Judgment reserved on McCartney/Mills divorce - 18 February
Paul McCartney and Heather Mills have reached stalemate in their divorce hearing with the presiding judge, Mr Justice Bennett, reserving judgment on the case. The hearing, which began last Monday (11th February), was originally expected to last five days but ran into this week. The settlement is expected to be the largest in divorce history with Mills expected to receive a sum anywhere between Ł10m and Ł80m. John Charman's divorce from Beverly Charman set the previous settlement record of Ł48m in May 2007. - The Lawyer website

'Happy slap' death girl convicted - 14 February
A 15-year-old girl has admitted filming the death of a man on her mobile phone in a so-called "happy slapping" attack. She pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting manslaughter at Leeds Crown Court after filming the attack on Gavin Waterhouse last September. Mr Waterhouse, 29, from Keighley, later died from a ruptured spleen. The Crown Prosecution Service said the decision to prosecute the girl was a legal landmark. Mark Masters, 19, and a male, 17, have admitted manslaughter. All three defendants will be sentenced at a later date. - BBC News website

Housing

New houses in flood areas "uninsurable" - 14 February
Major housing developments are being given the go-ahead despite flooding risk, meaning they could be "unsaleable, uninsurable and uninhabitable", the insurance industry trade body said on Thursday. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said 13 major developments had been given the green light in the past year, despite the Environment Agency warning of flood risk. Of the government's target of three million new homes to be built by 2020, a third could be on floodplains, it said. - Reuters website

Human Rights

Parents get new sex crime checks - 17 February
Parents may get new powers to check if people with access to their children have paedophile convictions. The scheme could be rolled out across England and Wales if trials in four regions are successful. It will allow single mothers to ask police whether a named individual - such as a carer or new partner - has child sex convictions. Campaigner Sara Payne said the scheme was a step in the right direction but she still wants full disclosure. - BBC News website

Land Affairs and Property

A gift horse for Fannie & Freddie?  - 20 February
It was billed as a win for mortgage borrowers, the housing market and mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As part of the bipartisan economic stimulus bill President George W Bush signed last week, Fannie and Freddie are now allowed (temporarily) to buy or guarantee mortgages worth up to 125% of an area's median home price - to a maximum of $729 750. The ability to buy loans above the old limit is a power Fannie and Freddie have sought for years, over opposition from banks and some members of Congress. So now that Fannie and Freddie have the power, will they come to regret it? - Forbes website

Environment

Call for new laws on stolen logs - 21 February
Suppliers of illegally logged timber could be prosecuted in the countries where it is sold, under new proposals. The move is being tabled at a gathering in Brazil of legislators from the Group of Eight (G8) richest economies and five key developing countries. It calls for countries to pass domestic legislation making it a criminal offence to handle such timber. - BBC News website

Sperm damaged 'passed to children' - 19 February
Sperm defects caused by exposure to environmental toxins can be passed down the generations, research suggests. Scientists say fathers who smoke and drink should be aware they are potentially not just damaging themselves, but also their heirs. Tests on rats showed sperm damage caused by exposure to garden chemicals remained up to four generations later.  - BBC News website

Map shows toll on world's oceans - 14 February
Only about 4% of the world's oceans remain undamaged by human activity, according to the first detailed global map of human impacts on the seas. - BBC News website

Management

Business divisions - 21 February
A record number of university managers are being hired from outside higher education. But does their commercial verve sit well with the unique academic ethos? If you want to be world class, you need a world-class scholar at the helm". This is the conclusion of University of Warwick research fellow Amanda Goodall's 2007 study into management and success in higher education. But figures from the past three years appear to show a different reality in UK universities. The number of employees working in management, professional and administration roles who have backgrounds outside education has shot up, rising from just 19 per cent of non-academic professional staff in 2003-04 to 35 per cent in 2005-06. Intake from the private sector has also increased, rising from 9 per cent to 15 per cent of those staff over the same period. - Times Higher Education website

Sports and Recreation

Time for Olympians to stand up and be counted - 20 February
Now the New Zealand Olympic Committee has dropped the shameful gagging clause, the onus is on New Zealand athletes to speak up. New Zealand sport has long been suspicious of athletes prepared to wear their political and social-justice hearts on their jumper sleeves. Many sportspeople have paid dearly for their principles. People such as Baker, Mourie, Gray, Burgess, even Kronfeld and Oliver, are products of New Zealand sport's amateur era when even our best athletes had lives outside sport. They lived alongside regular Joes and Joannes. Most had to work for a living. They were exposed to economic and social issues like any other Kiwi citizen. Some spent the formative years of their adolescence and early adulthood at universities – institutions which valued (then) the study of humanities instead of churning out salary slaves from law, commerce, engineering and medical schools. It made for a more rounded athlete. Sport was their release, their passion not their profession. To be fair, they also had more time to pursue outside interests. The Olympic medal aspirant of today has to have tunnel vision to achieve his or her ultimate dream. - stuff website

Beijing athletes allowed to blog - 16 February
The International Olympic Committee is for the first time permitting athletes to write blogs. The IOC has set out guidelines for blogging at the Beijing Games to ensure copyright agreements are not infringed. They include bans on posting any audio or visual material of action from the games themselves. - BBC News website

See also :

Beijing 2008 - http://en.beijing2008.cn/
International Olympic Committee - http://www.olympic.org/uk/index_uk.asp

Buffalo City (East London, King Williams Town, Bhisho)   Rates : frequently asked questions

City of Cape Town   Rates bylaw (30/05/07)   Rates policy (30/05/07)   Assessment (property) rates   Property evaluations   How to search the Evaluation Roll online   Frequently asked questions   Single residential brochure   Sectional title brochure ж Contact us

City of Johannesburg   Draft Rates Policy introduction   Draft Rates Policy     Annexure A : Rates Policy (03/05/07)     Annexure B : Overview of the requirements of the Municipal Property   Rates Act, 2004     Annexure C : Rates Policy By-laws (03/05/07)   Valuation Roll     Frequently asked questions     Brochure : How the city values your property   Sectional title owners info   Public can object to valuations (17/02/08) ж Queries and comments

City of Tshwane (Pretoria)   Draft Property Rates Policy (effective 01/07/08)   Draft Property Rates Policy By-laws (effective 01/07/08)   Public notice on Draft Rates Policy and By-laws in terms of the Municipal Property Rates Act, 2004 (effective 01/07/08)

Ekurhuleni Municipality (Alberton, Benoni, Boksburg, Brakpan,      Germiston, Kempton Park, Nigel, Springs)   Implementation of the Municipal Property Rates Act (21/01/08)   Online evaluators ID cards ж Call Centre : telephone 011-524 0135

Elias Motsoaledi Municipality (Greater Groblersdal)   Rates Policy (13/12/06)   Valuation Roll (on left navigation bar)

eThekwini Municipality (Durban)   Market Value Rates Database (20/02/08)   Valuation Roll   Frequently asked questions   Determining the market value (19/02/08)   New policy in place (20/02/08)   Property valuations (18/02/08)   Implementing the new property rates legislation (18/02/08)   Drawing up the Roll : the process so far (20/02/08)

Greater Letaba Municipality (Polokwane, Makhado and Ba Phalaborwa)   Rates Policy (24/09/07)

Mangaung Local Municipality (Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, Heidedal,      Mangaung, Thabanchu)   Property Rates Valuation Roll 2008   New Valuation Roll to determine new tariffs completed (12/02/08)   Property and land management ж Contact : email uph2@civic.mangaung.co.za

Mogale City (Kagiso, Krugersdorp, Magaliesburg, Hekpoort,      Maanhaarrand, Munsieville)   Budget Speech, including Proposed property rates, tariffs, and user charges for 2007/08 (29/05/07)

Msunduzi Municipality (Pietermaritzburg)   Draft Rates Policy     English     Zulu   Valuation Roll search   General Valuation in terms of the MPRA   The MPRA and data collection overview

Nelson Mandela Municipality (Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage, Despatch)   Property Rates Policy (Draft) (10/07)   General Valuation Roll 2008   General Valuation Roll information   Rates and valuations ж Queries : telephone 041-506 7311

Polokwane Municipality (Pietersburg)   Draft IDP for 2006 and 2007 Financial Year

Saldhana Bay Municipality   Property Rates 2007/08

P5041.1 - Selected building statistics of the private sector as reported by local government institutions December 2007

According to this monthly survey, the preliminary estimates indicate that the value of recorded building plans passed by larger municipalities (at current prices) during 2007 increased by 6,0% (R4 581,8 million) compared with 2006. Increases in the value of recorded building plans passed were reported for additions and alterations (11,0%), residential buildings (5,3%) and non-residential buildings (1,8%).

The preliminary estimates indicate that the value of buildings reported as completed to larger municipalities (at current prices) during the above-mentioned period increased by 17,3% (R6 726,0 million). Large increases in the value of buildings completed were reported for non-residential buildings (53,4%), additions and alterations (11,5%) and residential buildings (10,8%).

Source : StatsSA newsletter

Email : statsonline@statssa.gov.za

Contact User Information Services : 012-310 8600

The injuries of class - January 2008
We live in a complex, divided society. We are divided by wealth, income, education, housing, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. These divisions are much discussed ; in the last two years, there have been entire series in our major newspapers devoted to the growing income divide. What is seldom talked or written about is to me our most fundamental division, one at the center of our economic system, namely the division of our society into a very large class of working men, women, and children, the working class ; and a much smaller class of owners that employs the former, the capitalist class. These two great classes make the world go round, so to speak.

The fairest Cape - 11 September 2007
The Curve was a club on Lower Main Road in Observatory, a neighborhood with pretensions of being the home of bohemian Cape Town.  "A strange place," was how Ntone Edjabe, a DJ whose long sets of Fela-tinged Afrobeat were the highlight on Saturday nights, described The Curve.  What made it unique, according to Ntone, was that it was ". . . a darkie vibe in a joint owned and frequented by whities who feel there should be a darkie vibe in their neighbourhood".

http://www.loc.gov/law/help/russia.html