Legal Writing Competition 2008

"SADC integration, human rights and the role of the lawyer"

Papers are welcome from law students in any SADC jurisdiction. The winning author will receive full sponsorship to attend the SADC Lawyers' Association Law Conference in Gaborone, 6-10 August 2008.

Typed entries of no more than 2 000 words of original, unpublished work, together with proof of eligibility, must be received by SADC LA by 30 May 2008. The judges' decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Entries must be emailed.

Please send entries to :
SADC Lawyers' Association
Unit 2, Chobe House, BBS Mall, Gaborone
Email : sadclawyers@info.bw

Guidelines

Declaration of the second day of May 2008 as a public holiday throughout the Republic
PR 7/GG 30900/20-03-2008 **

Determination : earnings threshold
All employees earning in excess of R149 736 (one hundred and forty nine thousand seven hundred and thirty six rand) per annum be excluded from sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17(2), 18(3) of the Act with effect from 1 March 2008
GNR 300/GG 30872/14-03-2008 *

Exchange Control Regulations

Appointment of an authorised dealer in foreign exchange with limited authority
GNR 302/GG 30875/20-03-2008 *

Health Professions Council of South Africa

Regulations relating to the registration of psychology students
GNR 312/GG 30881/19-03-2008 *

Labour Relations Act, 1995

Correction Notice
Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO) - Extension to non-parties of Main Collective Amending Agreement
Corrections to GNR 220/GG 30806/29-02-2008
GNR 303/GG 30875/20-03-2008 *

Transformation Charter for Agriculture
GN 314/GG 30886/20-03-2008 *

Public Finance Management Act 53 of 2003

In terms of section 20.2 and 20.3 of the Act, extension of the term of office of all members of the Ministerial Committee to draft a Green Paper on a revamped Adult Education and Training System for South Africa
GN 305/GG 30874/20-03-2008 *

South African Police Service Act 68 of 1995

National Municipal Policing Standard for Crowd Management during Gatherings and Demonstrations, as set out in the Schedule
GN 307/GG 30882/20-03-2008 *

Standards Act 29 of 1993

Standards matters
All South African standards that were previously published by the South African Bureau of Standards with the prefix "SABS" have been redesignated as South African national standards and are now published by Standards South Africa (a division of SABS) with the prefix "SANS"
GN 304/GG 30874/20-03-2008 *

*	Source : LexisNexis
**	Source : Mbali

28 March 2008
CCT 37/07
Njongi v Member of the Executive Council Department of Welfare Eastern Cape Province

Building plans spat goes to top court - 26 March
The constitutional court has been asked to rule on whether neighbours should have the right to object to the building plans of adjacent properties before they are approved by local authorities. According to Local Government Research Centre director Clive Keegan, at issue is whether a municipality is under a duty in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act to give the neighbours notice of building or alteration applications they receive, and an opportunity to make representations before it decides on the applications. - Business Report website

28 March 2008
61/2007 [2008] ZASCA 42
Du Preez v Zwiegers
Attorney negligent in paying out money in trust account without establishing from depositor what latter wanted done with it

28 March 2008
268/07 [2008] ZASCA 41
Fairoaks Investment v S Oliver
Sale of land – agreement of sale lapsed because of non-fulfilment of suspensive condition – agreement to revive agreement of sale with amendments has to comply with provisions of Act 68 of 1981

28 March 2008
233/2007 [2008] ZASCA 40
Miloc Financial Solutions (Pty) Ltd v Logistic Technologies (Pty) Ltd
Contract - exceptio non adimpleti contractus – principle of reciprocity – when applicable – payment, allocation of

28 March 2008
168/07 [2008] ZASCA 39
Guardrisk Insurance Company Ltd v Registrar of Medical Schemes
Interpretation of 'business of a medical scheme' in the Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998 and 'accident and health policy' in the Short Term Insurance Act 53 of 1998 – ascertainment of whether selling certain policies constitutes the business of a medical scheme

28 March 2008
666/06 [2008] ZASCA 38
Taljaard v Botha Properties
Estate Agency Affairs Act 112 of 1976 – section 34A – estate agent not entitled to remuneration if functions performed in absence of fidelity fund certificate – client who pays remuneration in such circumstances not entitled to claim its return

28 March 2008
655/06 [2008] ZASCA 37
Buckman Laboratories v Bromine Compounds
Patent – revocation in terms of s 61(1)(c) of Patents Act 51 of 1978 – absence of inventive step

28 March 2008
83/2007 [2008] ZASCA 36
Swartzberg v Law Society, Northern Provinces
Attorney – re-admission of – s 15 (3)(a) of Attorneys Act 53 of 1979

Old fraudster can't practice law - 27 March
A 77-year-old lawyer convicted of the theft of trust funds lost his Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) bid to be reinstated as an attorney on Thursday. Isaac Swartzberg, who was admitted as an attorney in 1995 had been found guilty of not keeping proper books and of hoodwinking his auditor into certifying his financial affairs after there had been complaints against him relating to deficiencies of about R249 000 in the accounts. - IOL website

28 March 2008
164/07 [2008] ZASCA 35
Joint Stock v Absa Bank Ltd
Appropriation by bank of money held in client's account - account used for specific purpose of funding the establishment of a mine and processing facilities by other parties - bank's client having no legal interest in the money appropriated - held that appellant proved an entitlement to the money appropriated - bank ordered to repay the money

28 March 2008
153/2007 [2008] ZASCA 34
Madinda v Minister of Safety and Security
Prescription – limitation of actions – Institution of Legal Proceedings against certain Organs of State Act 40 of 2002 ss 3(1) and (2) – legal proceedings against SAPS – failure to give notice of intention to institute such proceedings within 6 months of date when debt became due – application for condonation under s 4 – 'good cause' and 'absence of unreasonable prejudice' – additional delays unrelated to failure to give timeous notice

28 March 2008
06/07 [2008] ZASCA 33
Street Pole Ads Durban v Ethekwini Municipality
Mandament van spolie – despoiled party seeking relief going wider than despoiled property – respondent entitled to challenge title in counter-application – Contract law – contract not permitting party to 'subcontract any of its obligations' – meaning of 'subcontract'

28 March 2008
137/2007 [2008] ZASCA 32
M Abrahams v Springbok Atlas
Claim for personal injury – negligence – fittings in bus – absolution from the instance

28 March 2008
91/07 [2008] ZASCA 31
Casino Enterprises (Pty) Ltd (Swaziland) v The Gauteng Gambling Board International
Exception to claim – excipient not accepting plaintiff's facts but advancing contradictory facts on which to base averment of absence of crucial allegation in claim

28 March 2008
469/2007 [2008] ZASCA 30
Ntaka v The State
Sentence – appeal against effective sentence of six years' imprisonment imposed on 17 year-old boy on conviction of rape of fellow pupil – correctional supervision not appropriate in the circumstances – majority finding custodial sentence under s 276(1)(i) of Act 51 of 1977 appropriate – appeal allowed – order in para [46]

28 March 2008
385/07 [2008] ZASCA 29
Firstrand Bank v National Lotteries Board
Lotteries Act 57 of 1997 – lottery – bank deposit conferring chance to win a prize – whether a prohibited lottery

27 March 2008
133/07 [2008] ZASCA 28
Seale v Van Rooyen NO
Administrative Actions : where an initial act is set aside on review subsequent acts, which depend on the initial act for their validity, are of no force or effect. The analysis of Forsyth as adopted in Oudekraal Estates (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town 2004 (6) SA 222 (SCA) applies to the validity of acts consequent upon the initial act only for so long as the validity of the initial act has not been set aside on review ; and the analysis does not deal with whether the initial act should be set aside

27 March 2008
250/07 [2008] ZASCA 27
Transnet Ltd v The MV Snow Crystal
Use of dry dock – does dock master contract or perform administrative function? – mora ex re  – supervening impossibility – damages – general or special

27 March 2008
39/07 [2008] ZASCA 26
Transnet Ltd v Maela
Two mutually destructive versions - probabilities favouring version of the appellant's witness

27 March 2008
621/2006 [2008] ZASCA 24
Fraser v Viljoen
Sale of immovable property – authorising other party to insert material terms after delivery of uncompleted document – non-compliance with s 2(1) of Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981

27 March 2008
117/07 and 674/07 [2008] ZASCA 23
Bisnath v Absa Bank Ltd
Mortgage and pledge : The obligations owed by a pledgee to the pledgor at common law in regard to fruits of the property pledged, are owed by a mortgagee of immovable property to the mortgagor only where the mortgagee is in possession of the mortgaged property

27 March 2008
149/2007 [2008] ZASCA 22
Mercurius Motors v Lopez
Loss of vehicle delivered to service depot - failure to safeguard keys - reliance on exemption clause - held that clause not part of contract of deposit - the service depot held liable

27 March 2008
222/07 [2008] ZASCA 21 (27/03/08)
United Enterprises Corporation v STX Pan Ocean Company Ltd
Shipping – application to set aside arrest – exceptio rei judicatae not available where previous arrest set aside because prima facie case not established – application for countersecurity – applicant must show genuine and reasonable need for security

27 March 2008
64/2007 [2008] ZASCA 20
Macru Farming CC v Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd
Appeal against the grant of a final winding-up order – whether High Court had failed to investigate the surrounding circumstances that applicant had been improperly induced to institute winding-up proceedings. Held that the facts showed no such inducement. Appeal dismissed

27 March 2008
21/2007 [2008] ZASCA 19
CSARS v Saleem
Revenue – customs and excise – duty of officer when seizing goods in terms of s 88(1)(c) of Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 – when justified in absence of books of account and supporting documents

27 March 2008
293/2007 [2008] ZASCA 18
Road Accident Fund v Abdool-Carrim
Section 19(d) of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 is applicable only to agreements made by third parties, not to those by suppliers

27 March 2008
236/2007 [2008] ZASCA 17 (27 March 2008)
Raliphaswa v Mugivhi
Damages for iniuria - defamation and unauthorised, invasive search during which appellant was indecently assaulted - when adverse inference for failure to call witness not justified

27 March 2008
231/07 [2008] ZASCA 16
De Villiers v McKay NO
Contract : 'entire agreement' clause ; provisions of another contract must be left out of account because even if factually relevant this are not legally relevant

25 March 2008
160/2007 [2008] ZASCA 15
National Director of Public Prosecutions v Geyser
Immovable property an instrumentality of the offence of keeping a brothel in contravention of the Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957 – property bought and renovated for sole purpose of that offence – forfeiture under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 not disproportionate to the Act's remedial purpose to inhibit crime undertaken as a business

House used as brothel forfeited to state - 26 March
The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that a property owner who used his property for the sole purpose of prostitution should forfeit the property, worth about R2m, to the state. The court found that the property was instrumental in the commission of an offence. - allAfrica website

Braamfontein

10 March 2008
JS 818/06 [2008] ZALC 23
National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa and Others v Shakespear Shopfitters (Pty) Ltd

25 February 2008
J230/08 [2008] ZALC 22
Dladla v Council of Mbombela Local Municipality and Another

Durban

19 February 2008
D38/08 [2008] ZALC 18
National Teachers Union v Superintendent General : Department of Education & Culture, Kwazulu-Natal and Another

Johannesburg

21 February 2008
JR 1037/05 [2008] ZALC 21
Tourism, Hospitality & Sport Education & Training Authority v TMS- Shezi Industrial Services (Pty) Limited

21 February 2008
JR 1869/06 [2008] ZALC 19
National Union of Mineworkers and Another v Commission For Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration and Others

14 February 2008
JR3232/06 [2008] ZALC 16
Vodacom (Pty) Ltd and v Gildehuys and Others

14 February 2008
JR2360/06 ; J1805/06 [2008] ZALC 15
Basson v Oosthuizen NO and Others

Port Elizabeth

21 February 2008
P168/05 [2008] ZALC 20
Yawa v Speaker, Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature

15 February 2008
P118/07 [2008] ZALC 17
South African Police Services v Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council and Others

20 March 2008
15572/2007
Fisher and Another v President of SA and Another
On Thursday, 25 October 2007 second respondent, the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, announced in a press release the complete suspension of the commercial fishing of wild abalone, otherwise known as "perlemoen". This decision has far-reaching consequences, not least for the rights-holders in the sector, and led ultimately to these proceedings in which the applicants seek to review and set aside that decision. In taking his decision second respondent purported to act in terms of s 16 of the Marine Sources Act, 18 of 1998

20 March 2008
12099/2007
NDPP v Starplex 47CC
This is an application for a final order in terms of s 38(1) of Chapter 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 121 of 1998 preserving certain cash amounts seized at premises at the Cape Town railway storage facility on 13 December 2006

17 March 2008
3172/2008
Chopper Worx (Pty) Ltd and Another v WRC Consultation Services (Pty) Ltd
This is the return day for the confirmation of the rule nisi and interim interdict granted by Waglay J on 21 February 200 in an ex parte application for mandament van spolie. Applicants alleged in their founding papers that they were in the peaceful and undisturbed possession of a Robinson R44 helicopter with registration number ZS-HAG. They further alleged that, on 16 February 2008, respondent's representative, one Enzo Kuun (Kuun), removed the helicopter from their possession, wrongfully and unlawfully and thus committed mandamant van spolie

10 March 2008
13189/07 [2008] ZAWCHC 14
Thubelisha Homes and Others v Various Occupants and Others

Police to return 'terror raid' material - 26 March
In a settlement reached in the Cape High Court on Tuesday between the state and two Muizenberg men whose home was raided in January, police have agreed to return some of the items that were confiscated in what they said was an attempt to foil a terrorist plot to overthrow the government. The police agreed to return two computers, an identity document and a driver's licence to Mustafa Mohamed, an English-Arab translator, law student and the first applicant against the raid. - IOL website

Rare court case exposes limits to CC protection
Business owners remain very vulnerable to the illegal practice of CCs and companies that buy goods on debt and then liquidate when the time comes for repayment. This is despite a rare high-court victory for a business owner who won the right to attach the personal assets of a family that owed him thousands of rands through their now-bankrupt CC.
Lawyers say that although the Cape High Court judgement confirmed the law that reckless traders may not hide behind their companies and CCs, the case illustrates how difficult it is for business owners to recuperate money from the owners of a liquidated CC. - Espresso Business Magazine on the Standard Bank website

19 March 2008
7940/07 [2008] ZAKZHC 18
Cele v South African Social Security Agency and 22 Related Cases

11 March 2008
326/07 [2008] ZAECHC 17
Transnet (Pty) Limited v Zaaiman and Others

28 March 2008
1220/2004 [2008] ZAECHC 16
Swart v Vorster NO and Others

Richmond Hill high-rise block halted - 21 March
High Court Judge Dayalin Chetty yesterday permanently halted the development of a multi-storey luxury apartment block to its proposed height in Richmond Hill because it would have obscured the visibility of the Richmond beacon which is vital to guiding ships into Port Elizabeth Harbour. The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality had approved the plans for the development on the corner of Richmond Hill Street and Dagbreek Crescent, despite being warned by the National Ports Authority of the dire consequences for the harbour and the safety of ships. - Herald Online website

10 March 2008
12862/2007 [2008] ZAKZHC 17
Hughes v John Dory Trucking (Pty) Limited and Others

27 March 2008
3829/08 [2008] ZAGPHC 90
Ngoyingoho v Minister of Home Affairs and Others

14 March 2008
A1244/2006 [2008] ZAGPHC 89
S v Sekgobela

Pretoria

Mcbride's defence argues head injury and diabetes were to blame - 20 March
Suspended Ekurhuleni metropolitan police department chief Robert McBride's defence tried to show the Pretoria Regional Court yesterday that McBride was not drunk on the day of his accident in December 2006, and that his behaviour was of someone who had suffered a head injury. McBride's advocate Jimmy Howse told the state's second witness, Itumeleng Koko, that a boxer beaten on the head would stagger and behave as if he were drunk. Howse said McBride's behaviour after the accident suggested that he was dazed as a result of the head injury he sustained. - allAfrica website

Pietermaritzburg

Wife murder accused granted bail - 27 March
A Howick resident who is accused of murdering his wife was granted bail of R20 000 in the Pietermaritzburg magistrate's court on Wednesday. Sunesh Manilall, 34, is alleged to have plotted the murder of his wife, Monika, who was shot and killed at her Howick home on February 3, 2006. Manilall stands charged with the murder along with his new wife, Mumtaz Osman, who was arrested last year. Altogether seven people have been implicated in the murder - Manilall and his new wife, Osman, who were the alleged masterminds, Victor Mbatha, Siyabonga Mdlalose, two men who have since died and another man who has turned state witness. - The Post website

Comair Tribunal witness helps SAA out - 27 March
A witness brought in by Comair to help make its case at a Competition Tribunal hearing yesterday into uncompetitive behaviour by South African Airways (SAA) ended up instead conceding an important point to SAA. A casual observer stumbling into the third day of the commission hearing would have been forgiven for thinking that Tourvest commercial director Conrad Mortimer was a witness for SAA after he agreed during cross-examination by SAA that it would have been difficult for travel agents to make customers use an airline they did not want to use. - allAfrica website

Statements and Speeches

27 March 2008
Labour Force Survey : September 2007

27 March 2008
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, announces a prohibition on the use, processing or manufacturing of asbestos or asbestos containing products at the launch of the Asbestos Regulations, Pretoria

South Africa bans use of asbestos - 27 March
The final regulations to enforce the prohibition on the use, processing, or manufacturing of asbestos or asbestos containing products in South Africa would be gazetted for implementation on Friday, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced on Thursday. The decision was welcomed and heralded as overdue by the Asbestos Relief Trust and the Kgalagadi Relief Trust, which were established to compensate those suffering from asbestos-related diseases. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

26 March 2008
Remarks by the Deputy Minister for Provincial and Local Government, Ms N Hangana, on the occasion of consideration of the Local Government Laws Amendment Bill in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP)

26 March 2008
More than two billion US dollar investment for KwaZulu-Natal

20 March 2008
South African National Taxi Council's review of its role in Taxi Recapitalisation Programme

Committee Minutes

Correctional Services Committee

18 March 2008
Department of Correctional Services Budget 2008/2009 : Public Hearings

Defence Committee

19 March 2008
Castle Control Board 2006/2007 Annual Report Briefing

Education Committee

19 March 2008
Department of Education Budget & Strategic Plan 2008/9

Environmental Affairs and Tourism Committee

19 March 2008
National Environmental Management Amendment Bill : Department Briefing & Deliberation

Finance Committee

25 March 2008
Taxation Laws Amendment Bill and Taxation Second Laws Amendment Bill : Deliberations

19 March 2008
Mineral and Petroleum Royalty Draft Bill : Public Hearings

Housing Committee

19 March 2008
Housing Development Agency Amendment Bill : deliberations

Joint Rules Committee

19 March 2008
Oversight and Accountability Final Report by Parliamentary Task Team

Justice and Constitutional Development Committee

19 March 2008
Deliberations on the Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Bill and the Child Justice Bill

Labour and Public Enterprises Committee

25 March 2008
Department of Communications Budget and Strategic Plan, 2008-2011

19 March 2008
Department of Labour Budget and Strategic Plan 2007- 2010

Mineral and Energy Affairs Committee

19 March 2008
SAPIA on Biofuels Industry Strategy

Public Accounts Committee

19 March 2008
Robben Island Museum, The Africa Institute of SA, Mine Health And Safety Council, & Department of Arts and Culture : Audited financial statements

Social Development Committee

19 March 2008
Social Development Budget Hearings : Black Sash, Unicef and Children's Institute

Trade and Industry Committee

26 March 2008
Department Trade and Industry Strategic Plan and Budget 2008-2011 Briefing

19 March 2008
Competition Commission & Competition Tribunal Budget & Strategic Plans 2008/09

Expropriation Bill

Expropriation bill will stop any form of appeal on redistribution - 27 March
With the new expropriation law tabled in Parliament's public works committee yesterday the government takes the controversial step of seeking to restrict any appeal to the courts from landowners objecting to a planned expropriation. The bill, which has already prompted promises of opposition from organised agriculture, will broaden the legal basis of expropriation for a "public purpose" to "in the public interest". - Business Day website

New Expropriation Bill to advance land reform - 26 March
The Expropriation Bill which has recently been passed in Parliament will advance land reform and replace the so-called unconstitutional Expropriation Act of 1975. Public Works Minister Thoko Didiza, briefing the Public Works Portfolio Committee on Wednesday, said the 1975 Act is inconsistent with the current Constitution of South Africa in several key areas. These areas include the recognition of rights of tenants and farm workers ; the basis for payment of compensation and the rationale for expropriation, said the minister. The recently endorsed Bill seeks to align the Expropriation Act with the Constitution in order to provide a common framework to guide land reform in South Africa. - BuaNews Online website

Bill addresses land parity eros - 23 March
A black farmers' organisation has rallied behind government efforts to expropriate land from reluctant white farmers to fast-track land reform in South Africa. Cabinet recently approved the Expropriation Bill which seeks to speed up South Africa's land reform programme. It has set itself a target of transferring 30% of farmland to black owners by 2014. So far it has transferred only 4% of the land. - News24 website

Social Assistance Act

27 March 2008
Department of Social Development on the high court ruling in respect of the Social Assistance Act Regulations
SA Government Information website

Nigeria

20 foreign law firms on trade mission to country - 25 March
Twenty law firms based in London would be visiting Nigeria this week on a trade mission with a view to establishing links with their Nigerian counterparts during the 3rd business law conference of the Nigerian Bar Association which begins today in Abuja. This was made known yesterday by the president of the Law Society of England and Wales, Andrew Holroyd, during a media session with the United Kingdom delegation to the 2008 conference of the NBA section on business law in Abuja. - Trading Markets website

Black Economic Empowerment

Sasol empowerment deal sets new broad-based benchmark - 25 March
South African petrochemicals group Sasol arguably set a new benchmark for broad-based black economic-empowerment (BBBEE) on Tuesday when it unveiled the terms of a R7,2-billion transaction for 10% of the global group – valued at nearly R26-billion, it was also the biggest deal of its kind in South Africa's corporate history. Making it particularly distinct from earlier-generation empowerment deals, no big name beneficiaries were included. In fact, the deal was specifically structured in such a way as to steer clear of the "usual suspects" and to be, in CEO Pat Davies' words, unparalleled in both "size and reach". - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Conservation

A tale of two terrors : Robben Island and the Cape fur seals - 23 March
These days Robben Island represents another kind of apartheid. Just as before, this apartheid has its own oppressors and freedom fighters ; this time the victims are the seals, dangerously close to the edge of the precipice. Only in 1991 did South Africa legally suspended clubbing and culling of seals, approximately 89 years after intensive culling began, stained on a canvas reflecting more than 500 years of commercial sealing. Cape fur seal territory extends from the eastern and western coastlines of South Africa, Namibia and Angola and around the tip of Africa; cumulatively the range encompasses about 4 000km ; due to the presence and volume of fisheries located in this stretch and the brutality of their policies, more than 50% of seals are now extinct. The Seal Act of 1973 designated 11 islands and 10 "rocks" as protected land mass for the seals. - Khadija Sharife on the Thought Leader blog

Courts

Daveyton Court to benefit 700 000 people - 26 March
A 700 000-strong community is to benefit from the newly refurbished and extended Magistrate office in Ekurhuleni. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development unveiled the new building on Wednesday, which will bring legal services that were previously unavailable closer to the community. The new office will include a criminal, civil, regional and sexual offences court. - allAfrica website

25 March 2008
Official opening of the Daveyton Magistrate's Office
SA Government Information website

Criminal Justice System

No confidence in police and courts - 25 March
The courts and the police get similarly low scores at the bottom end of the scale when it comes to trust and confidence in South Africa's law-enforcement structures. This was found by an Ipsos-Markinor survey commissioned by Independent Newspapers of 1 496 adults in urban areas throughout the country. After adjustment and weighting, the survey represents the views of 6 911 000 South Africans. It looked at opinions on five law-enforcement structures : the courts, the police, the metro police, the autonomous Special Investigating Unit and the National Prosecuting Authority's Scorpions. Perceptions of the latter were "significantly more positive than for any of the other law-enforcement agencies". - IOL website

Education

Plans to 'name and shame' unethical SA teachers - 27 March
Educators who have been struck off the roll for unethical behaviour could soon be named and shamed. The South African Council for Educators plans to publish the names and information on its website. - SABC News website

Employment Equity

Queens on colour : should white women still benefit from EE legislation? - 26 March
The debate raging over whether white women should be included as beneficiaries of employment equity legislation is an emotionally and historically loaded one. While women of all colours suffered exclusion in South Africa's past industrial and economic spheres, black women were totally excluded from many professions that were still open to white ones. Moreover, black women – like all black South Africans – faced crippling educational impediments under apartheid that effectively cut short their aspirations. The issue is both complex and controversial and is causing further divisiveness in an already polarised economy.  Article by Prof Lize Booysen on the Leader website

Environment

Clampdown on environmental law implementation - 21 March
Of late, government is increasingly clamping down on environmental compliance, reports diversified law firm Bell Dewar & Hall. Bell Dewar and Hall senior associate Justine Sweet reports that in the past, economic and mining concerns were given priority and, consequently, there was little to no implementation of environmental law. The conflict between these and environmental concerns is high ; however, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (Deat) is apparently not going to be sidelined by the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME). - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Durban told to clean up its beaches - 27 March
The international Blue Flag organisation says that it will not beg Durban to stay in the Blue Flag programme because it had no choice but to revoke its approval of four of the city's beaches. Speaking to The Times from Denmark, the organisation's international co-ordinator, Elena von Sperber, said it did not force any country to participate in its programme. Von Sperber confirmed yesterday that she had received an e-mail from Durban city manager Michael Sutcliffe in which he asked her to send a delegation to meet him to discuss the withdrawal of the flags. He said he would withdraw Durban from the Blue Flag programme if his demands were not met. Sutcliffe also asked that Blue Flag's local co-ordinator, Alison Kelly, be axed for what he called "double standards". Von Sperber said Kelly had offered to meet Sutcliffe several times to discuss the faecal pollution that led to the beaches losing their Blue Flag status but he did not respond. - The Times website

SA blue flag beach coordinator to stay - 27 March
A demand by Durban's municipal manager Mike Sutcliffe for the international Blue Flag beach scheme to fire its South African co-ordinator Alison Kelly was on Thursday rejected by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa). Wessa chief executive Mumsie Gumede said : "There is not going to be any firing that's going to happen. That's definitely not going to happen". - The Citizen website

The stinking state of SA's waters - 23 March
Due to mismanagement, many of South Africa's beaches and rivers have become cesspools of human waste and a threat to health and the environment. Despite being given two weeks to clean up their act, the eThekwini municipality failed to take the necessary steps to ensure its beaches were clean. This inertia led to the city losing four of its six "Blue Flags" - an internationally accredited rating - at its beaches this week. - The Times website

Cities must act fast to repair damage - 23 March
Pollution has reached crisis proportions in South Africa's rivers and at least 142 of them now pose an extreme health hazard. And the reason for the dangerously high pollution levels in our rivers : the government’s failure to maintain our sewerage systems. Environmental experts say they have been sounding the alarm for several years following a spate of health and pollution-sparked incidents. Yet the government does not appear to have pressed the panic button and insists all is well with the country’s water situation. - The Times website

Health

Medi-Clinic prepared to challenge minister in court - 28 March
Medi-Clinic would turn to the courts, if necessary, to challenge the health minister's attempts to add more regulation in the private healthcare industry, Biren Valodia, the spokesperson for the hospital group, said yesterday. Valodia said that though the group did not yet know the details of the new regulation, it knew it was price-related. He said the second-largest private hospital group believed that cutting the prices would not solve the issue of accessibility and affordability. Two weeks ago, health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang told parliament she would table draft legislation to regulate the private healthcare sector within two months. - Business Report website

Intellectual Property

Leveraging intellectual property - 25 March
The UCT Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) has partnered with the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to launch a new course designed to teach business leaders how intellectual property (IP) can be strategically leveraged to create value and sustain competitive advantage over time. Intellectual Property (IP) management – which includes patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and copyright – as a discipline and practice has assumed major significance over the past decade due to the emergence of the knowledge economy, globalisation and advances in information and communication technologies. - Cape Business News website

Labour Issues

Shedding light on wages during power cuts
Faan Coetzee, chairman of law firm Hofmeyer, Herbstein & Gihwala, says the hours an employee is obliged to work are agreed in a contract of employment. The contract could for instance say that "the employee shall be required to work Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm". Coetzee says under common law, when an employee arrives at work and tenders his or her services with the view to discharge his or her obligation under the employment contract, the employer is obliged to pay the employee, notwithstanding the fact that the employee is not able to work because of a power cut. - Espresso Business Magazine on the Standard Bank website

Land Affairs and Property

Development

Hype has left the building - 27 March
With strong rental demand, the commercial and industrial property market will remain a solidly performing investment for the foreseeable future, but the current climate is against the unrealistic speculator, says Cape Town broker Jonty de la Porte. Experienced investors who have stuck to the basic fundamentals of property investment are very much still in the market but are more circumspect about what they are prepared to pay for properties. - Cape Business News website

Land process blamed for costly homes - 26 March
A lengthy "land to stand" process might be adding as much as 20% to the cost of a residential unit and could explain big price increases experienced in the affordable housing market, the Banking Association of SA said yesterday. Although the perception existed that cost increases were due to developer profits and increases in the prices of materials and finance costs, the banking industry suspected it might be due to the lengthy period it took to transform a piece of raw land into a serviced stand ready for development. - allAfrica website

Land Reform and Restitution

District 6 rivals gear up for showdown - 26 March
A showdown between two adversaries in the embattled District Six land restitution process is looming ahead of the annual general meeting this week of the District Six Beneficiary Trust. The Trust has acted on behalf of District Six claimants throughout the drawn-out restitution process, but not all claimants accept its bona fides. It is also a respondent in an upcoming court case that seeks to halt development of the historic Cape Town area of District Six pending a forensic investigation into the Trust and the restitution process. - IOL website

Riemsvasmaak community to return to ancestral land - 20 March
Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs, Lulu Xingwana, will next Friday hand over land that was taken from the Riemsvasmaak community, 35 years ago. "The people of Riemvasmaak were forcefully removed from their land of about 122 000 hectares by the apartheid regime. "The land was declared a 'Black Spot' in 1973 making way for military training and testing of weapons," according to the Free State and Northern Cape Regional Land Claims Commission. The minister, together with the regional Land Claims Commissioner of Free State and Northern Cape, Sidney Hlongwane will hand over 1653.3521 hectares of the Vaal drift farm to the Riemsvasmaak community. - BuaNews Online website

Minerals and Energy

Mining forces out thousands in SA - 25 March
Nearly 20 000 South Africans have been displaced by mining giant Anglo American in its search for platinum, a BBC File on 4 investigation has found. It was also shown evidence the UK-based firm had polluted water sources and scores of miners had been killed. The rising price of platinum has seen a new wave of open-cast mines in South Africa, the world's largest producer. Anglo American has said it is treating safety as a priority and that it is aiming to make communities better off. - BBC News website

Poor communities bear high cost of platinum - 25 March
Remote rural communities have lost their land and access to clean water in South Africa as a result of mining by Anglo Platinum, the world's largest platinum company, according to a report released by ActionAid today (Tuesday 25 March). The report – Precious Metal : the impact of Anglo Platinum on poor communities in Limpopo in South Africa – highlights how the Bapedi community is suffering increased hunger and poverty while the company reaps record profits. - actionaid website

See Report at http://allafrica.com/sustainable/resources/view/00011488.pdf

Court ruling affects Jagersfontein dumps alone, says DME's Rocha - 20 March
The court ruling on Jagersfontein diamond dumps related specifically to Jagersfontein alone and not to mine dumps in general, Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) Mineral Regulation DDG Jacinto Rocha said on Thursday. The Bloemfontein High Court ruling has sparked legal interpretations that mine-dump retreatment operations are outside of South Africa's new minerals legislation. Rocha told Mining Weekly Online that the Bloemfontein High Court decision, which excluded dumps from the provisions of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), No 28 of 2002, gave the precise location of the tailings in question as being situated on subdivision 16, of the farm Jagersfontein 14, in the magisterial district of Fauresmith. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

No decision on retrenchments : BHP Billiton - 27 March
No decision has been made on retrenching workers from BHP Billiton's Bayside aluminium smelter in Richards Bay, a spokesperson said on Thursday. BHP Billiton's Bronwyn Wilkinson said that no decision had been made on retrenchments and that the company was not planning to send out final notices to workers. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Concerns about electricity-price increase premature : Cabinet - 20 March
South Africa's Cabinet said on Thursday that the response to State-utility Eskom's plans to raise tariffs by as much as 60% was understandable, but premature. Government spokesperson Themba Maseko said in a statement that, although the response was "fully understandable", it was premature because the new tariff was still a proposal that was subject to consideration by the regulator. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Municipal Management and Procedure

No cause for panic over rates - 26 March
If you're thinking of selling your home because of the increased municipal rates and possible further hikes in the bond rate, don't panic because you may be jumping from the frying pan into the fire! That's the advice from Russell Scorer, joint managing director of one of South Africa's leading real estate companies, MaxProp. - The Post website

Property owners have right to get information municipality holds - 21 March
The market value of a property is the base of the municipal tax edifice. If it is faulty, the rates are faulty. An owner may object to the value on the valuation roll, on various grounds, including that the municipal valuer was not in possession of all the relevant facts, or because irrelevant considerations were taken into account, or relevant considerations were not considered, or that the decision was arbitrary, or the procedure was unfair. These are also grounds upon which the High Court may review the value on the valuation roll. Article by Robert Martindale, a Port Elizabeth attorney specialising in constitutional and administrative law. - Herald Online website

BCM may become a new mega city - 26 March
Buffalo City Municipality could be transformed into a mega city if plans to declare it a metro are approved by the national government. The plans emerged yesterday when the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) unveiled a proposal to elevate Buffalo City to a metro by 2011. The MDB proposes that BCM amalgamates with the beleaguered Great Kei Municipality to form a new municipality. Mangaung in Free State and Msunduzi in KwaZulu-Natal are also being proposed for metro status. - Dispatch Online website

Cape Town

Communities unhappy with name changes - 27 March
Cape Town is holding fire on a decision on the renaming of streets and public places, mayor Helen Zille announced on Thursday. A list of proposed changes, that would among other things see apartheid era names such as Hendrik Verwoerd Drive replaced by those of struggle heroes, was on the agenda for approval at Thursday's council meeting. However Zille told the council that it was "with some regret" that she had asked for the item to be withdrawn. She said the city obviously wanted to promote harmony and healing. Although there was an extensive public consultation process, it is understood that ward councillors have been reporting dissatisfaction in communities over the proposals. - IOL website

eThekwini

Randage the same for everyone : Ethekwini - 27 March
Everyone will pay the same randage for their properties irrespective of where they live, the eThekwini Municipality said on Friday. City manager Mike Sutcliffe and Durban Mayor Obed Mlaba were addressing the media after various misconceptions by home owners about the valuations of their properties under the new municipal rates act. The residential randage rate is R0.009 in Durban. - The Citizen website

Concern at race quotas for houses - 27 March
Undergoing pencil tests, carrying pass books and returning to an apartheid society : these were the comparisons made with the eThekwini Municipality's new housing project, which is based on racial quotas. There was a heated debate at a city council meeting on Wednesday during discussion of the project which allocates homes to low- and middle-income earners based on whether they are black, Indian, coloured or "other". The project will provide homes in four areas. The Newlands project will be allocated on the basis of 45 percent black, 25 percent Indian, 35 percent coloured, 5 percent other; in KwaMashu it will be 25 percent black, 35 percent Indian, 35 percent coloured, 5 percent other; in Chatsworth and Westville Triangle 50 percent black, 35 percent Indian and 15 percent other (coloured included). - IOL website

Johannesburg

Jo'burg's new tariff proposals target wastage - 27 March
The City of Johannesburg has proposed a new tariff structure for essential services that would hit high consumers of water and electricity hard. The measures are an attempt to promote conservation of scarce resources and curb wastage. Yesterday the city invited residents to comment on a new system of tariffs for essential services, such as water, electricity and refuse removal, in a public participation process. - allAfrica website

New rate tariffs approved by Joburg Council - 26 March
The City of Johannesburg has approved the new assessment rates, which will come into effect on 1 July this year. However, the public is still able to raise objections until 27 May. The city said it is committed to implementing the new Municipal Property Rates Act in a fair and equitable manner to its ratepayers. - allAfrica website

Msunduzi

Objection rate 'not a true reflection' - 21 March
The small number of objections to property valuations received by the Msunduzi Municipality can be attributed to residents experiencing difficulty in filling in the objection forms, says an ANC councillor. The municipality has received 450 objections despite the huge outcry from residents of Pietermaritzburg's northern suburbs, who have complained that their properties have been overvalued. - IOL website

Nelson Mandela Bay

Increase in illegal house extensions - 28 March
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has intensified its inspection of housing extensions after an increase in people extending their properties without municipal approval. A number of illegal extensions have already been destroyed in Port Elizabeth. Architect Khuselo Ndima said he had dealt with many cases of people building structures without plans. "Sometimes extensions are built on water pipes and that could be dangerous," he said. He advised people to get a plan that would be approved by the municipality. - Herald Online website

Council accused of 'turning blind eye' to Denton disaster - 28 March
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has been accused of "turning a blind eye" and failing to prosecute Irish property magnate Ken Denton. Raising the issue in a council meeting yesterday, DA councillor Terry Herbst said the municipality had been able but "perhaps unwilling to halt this rape of our heritage". He said that after several attempts to raise awareness of the matter with the municipality, nothing had changed. "The municipality is experiencing one of the most shameful episodes in its long history. I refer to the ongoing mindless destruction of unique, irreplaceable buildings in historic lower Central Hill – once a wonderful tourist drawcard but now an environmental eyesore of filthy slums". - Herald Online website

National Prosecuting Authority

DA bid to stall scrapping of Scorpions - 25 March
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has taken advantage of a private court challenge to the decision to scrap the elite Scorpions crime-fighting unit, to request National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete to delay any parliamentary work on legislation until the court challenge has been finalised. While the General Laws Amendment Bill, which will give effect to the African National Congress' (ANC's) decision to scrap the Scorpions, has not yet been tabled in Parliament, it is expected either late this month or early next. - allAfrica website

The Scorpions : no good deed goes unpunished - 25 March
In politics, transparency, I believe, is when a politician tells you enough for you to think that he has told you everything there is to know. If I had something to hide, I would certainly want the Scorpions to be disbanded ; make no mistake about it. - Khaya Dlanga on the Thought Leader blog

Trade and Industry

'Rich countries should bear burden of Doha Round Adjustments' - 25 March
The World Trade Organisation's negotiations on the lowering of industrial tariffs - known as non-agricultural market access (NAMA) - have now reached a critical stage. Faizel Ismail, South Africa's Geneva-based lead negotiator who also coordinates the NAMA 11 coalition of emerging developing economies, talks to Aileen Kwa about his concerns. - allAfrica website

EU and US offering special WTO deal to lure South Africa - 25 March
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has been an active civil society player in South Africa's decisions during the current World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha Round of talks on non-agricultural market access (NAMA). COSATU's labour market policy coordinator Rudi Dicks spoke to Aileen Kwa about its concerns and the special offer from the EU and US to encourage South Africa to drop its resistance to NAMA and leave the NAMA 11 negotiating group of developing countries. - IPS News website

Traditional Leaders

Traditional leaders move closer to govt - 27 March
Traditional leaders in Mpumalanga are being given their own offices in the province's three municipalities so that they can work more closely with government officials. The Nkangala and Gert Sibande Houses of Traditional Leaders will move into their new offices next Tuesday, while the Ehlanzeni house will share the offices of the provincial House of Traditional Leaders until they get their own space. - allAfrica website

Miscellaneous

S African anti-conscription activist dies - 26 March
Ivan Toms, a South African doctor who played a key role in the campaign to end conscription of young white men to bolster the racist apartheid security forces has died. He was 55. Toms, director of health for Cape Town, was found dead in his home on Tuesday, police said. Police spokesman Superintendent Billy Jones said foul play was not suspected, and an autopsy was to be performed to determine the cause of death. - AP website

And the anti-coconut parents descended upon the sandwich platter . . . - 23 March
If you had told me that South Africans were passionate about their constitutional right to call each other by derogatory terms, I would have told you to put the blunt down or pass it along coz you're clearly smoking potent stuff. So what got my peeps' drawers so twisted into a bunch that they descended upon me like parents on a sandwich platter at a Tuesday PTA meeting? Well, it seems that quite a few people read the piece and started fantasising about a lot of things I didn’t actually say. I'll confine myself only to my favourite hallucinations from my beloved readers. - Ndumiso Ngcobo on the Thought Leader blog

Shared interest honors Justice, US leaders for work in building economic democracy - 20 March
In celebration of the organization’s one millionth beneficiary, Shared Interest, a leading New York-based international social investment fund, honored South African Constitutional Justice Albie Sachs and outstanding US leaders for their commitment and ongoing work to build economic democracy and development in South Africa. Albie Sachs, South African Constitutional Court Justice and a chief architect of the country's democratic Constitution, was recognized for his lifelong work at the forefront of South Africa's fight for social and economic justice and human rights for more than five decades as an activist, lawyer and member of the ANC. His tireless efforts in South Africa's freedom movement have impacted the lives of millions of South Africans and have firmly established him as a founding father of South Africa's new democracy. - allAfrica website

SADC considers single visa for member states - 27 March
Members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have signed a deal to speed up the process of establishing a single visa system, or Univisa, for travelers in the SADC region. - BuaNews Online website

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe : white farmer Mike Campbell mounts last stand over land grab - 23 March
The names on the court affidavit are stark ; William Michael Campbell vs Robert Gabriel Mugabe. While 4 000 white farmers have been thrown off their land in Zimbabwe, Mike Campbell is the first to take the president himself to an international court. On Tuesday his case will open at the new tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Namibian capital of Windhoek. - Times Online website

Pakistan

Dozens of Pakistani judges freed - 25 March
Dozens of Pakistani judges detained under emergency rule have been released following orders from newly elected Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. Former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry appeared on the balcony of his house in Islamabad cheered by supporters. In November, President Pervez Musharraf sacked dozens of judges as the Supreme Court was set to rule on whether his re-election was legal. Mr Gillani was chosen as prime minister by the Pakistan People's Party. - BBC News website

Alaska

Land deal could open Alaska wildlife refuge to oil - 25 March
A controversial land swap proposal could open portions of an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, dividing Alaska natives and stoking opposition from environmentalists seeking to protect the bears, moose and birds that live there. Supporters of the plan to exchange land in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, which lies just south of the more-famous Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, say they would like the plan to be approved by the administration of US president George W Bush before the election in November. - Reuters website

Courts

Hearst gang woman back in prison - 23 March
A member of a radical US 1970s group has been returned to jail, less than a week after being released on parole. Sarah Jane Olson was freed on Monday after seven years in jail for attempted bombings and second-degree murder during a campaign in 1975. But officials found an "administrative error", and realised she still had one more year to serve before being freed. Olson's lawyer said the California prison authorities were "bowing to political pressure". Olson, 61, will not now be eligible for parole until March 2009. - BBC News website

Conservation

EU considering steps on seal hunt - 27 March
The European Union is considering taking measures against Canada over its annual seal hunt. Spokeswoman Barbara Helfferich said the EU's Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas "is looking into the matter of the inhumane killing of seals". The hunt starts later this week, off Canada's Atlantic coast. One option for the EU would be a ban on seal imports, although there was no sign that this was under immediate consideration. - BBC News website

Conservation of freshwater fish biodiversity : a challenge for the countries of the south - 27 March
Humans have regularly been introducing exotic species into natural environments in order to provide for their nutritional necessities or meet less indispensable purposes such as horticulture, fishing or hunting. However, the particular environments are not always adapted for hosting new arrivals. The 2002 Convention on Biodiversity recognized that the species introductions can cause regression of biological diversity, following destruction of natural habitats. - Science Daily website

This new edition of a book that has established itself as a leader in accessible information on the BCEA has been thoroughly updated and overhauled and is now up to date as at February 2008. Written by two experienced practitioners from a major law firm, the book offers the uncommon combination of heavyweight opinions backed by authority and experience with a rare accessibility and lucidity, and is used by legal and non-legal audiences alike. It is ideal for businesses & unions, HR advisers, as well as for lawyers who do not specialise in the field.

The legislative constraints on the employment relationship as laid down (mainly by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, or BCEA) are clearly and logically set out, as are the areas in which employer and employee are free to bargain unfettered by legislative intervention.

Special Features

▪ The Must Know boxes that follow most sections in the book provide a valuable quick-reference to and oversight of the contents of the topic
▪ They also provide an alternative means of access to the content, which is accessible through an Index and a detailed Table of Contents as well
▪ Foreword by Nerine Kahn, Director of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (the CCMA)

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