8 April 2008

Cape Town attorney Vincent Saldanha and Pretoria attorney CP Fourie were elected Co-Chairpersons of the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) at its annual general meeting on 1 April 2008.

The Law Society of South Africa brings together its six constituent members – the Cape Law Society, the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society, the Law Society of the Free State, the Law Society of the Northern Provinces, the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) and the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (Nadel) – in representing South Africa's 17 800 attorneys and 4 300 candidate attorneys.

Mr Saldanha has identified as challenges in the year ahead the discussions with stakeholders in the legal profession and the Justice Department around the drafting of the Legal Practice Bill which will transform the governance and regulation of the profession. This goes hand-in-hand with consolidating the transformation of the profession as regards attorneys and advocates, as well as defining and recognising a clearer role for paralegals in the provision of access to justice.

Besides aligning himself with the above, Mr Fourie also intends for the LSSA to refocus on the commitments contained in its constitution, namely to build an organised legal profession which is non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, representative, transparent and accountable to its members and the public, whom the profession serves.

As an attorney at the Legal Resources Centre, Mr Saldanha has focused primarily on civil and criminal litigation around public and socio-economic rights. He is currently the President of Nadel ; he is a councillor and member of the LSSA's Management Committee and is chairperson of its Committee on Human Rights and Constitutional Affairs. Mr Saldanha is a past president of the SADC Lawyers Association (SADCLA), and still represents the LSSA on the SADCLA council. He has been a member of the Legal Aid Board since 1998 and is currently the chairperson of its legal services committee.

Mr Fourie is a director of Pretoria attorneys' firm FourieFismer Incorporated. He is a councillor of the LSSA and a member of its Management and Finance Committees. He is also a councillor of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces and was its president in 2003-2004. Mr Fourie is a director of the Attorneys Insurance Indemnity Fund and is also a member of the Board of Control of the Attorneys Fidelity Fund. In practice, Mr Fourie focuses on High Court litigation.

Mr Saldanha has been an acting judge on the Cape Town High Court bench and Mr Fourie has been an acting judge in the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court in Pretoria.

At its annual general meeting, the LSSA made a number of resolutions :

Legal Practice Bill

According to the LSSA, the time had come for active engagement with all the relevant stakeholders in the legal profession and the Justice Department to move forward on the draft Legal Practice Bill to transform the governance and regulation of the legal profession. There was a need to acknowledge the principles that had been put in place by the LSSA in crafting its previous draft of the Bill which had been handed to former Justice Minister Dr Penuell Maduna in 2002. There was also a need to take into account developments since 2002 such as the fused profession that has existed for some time in a number of SADC countries, the Legal Services Sector Charter and the liberalisation of legal services required by the World Trade Organisation's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

Through a number of parallel processes, some of the less controversial aspects of the existing draft Bill could be considered for interim implementation such as

▪ the creation of a legal ombud ; and
▪ the unification of the professional and accounting rules of the four statutory law societies, as well as engaging the advocates' profession with regard to its rules.

During these parallel processes the LSSA will consult with other stakeholders, such as the paralegals, advocates, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Attorneys Fidelity Fund. It will also review developments in the SADC region, the United Kingdom – which recently negotiated its Legal Services Act – and other relevant jurisdiction on the governance of the legal profession.

Pro bono

The LSSA's six constituent members have all embraced the principle that attorneys should provide pro bono services to the public. The provincial law societies have appointed pro bono coordinators and the LSSA is in the process of appointing a national projects coordinator who will also be responsible for coordinating pro bono on a national basis to ensure uniformity.

Zimbabwean lawyers

As an active member of the SADC Lawyers Association (SADCLA), the LSSA resolved to give its unreserved support to the SADCLA and to lawyers in the SADC region. It resolved to assist Zimbabwean lawyers in particular, especially following the outcome of the elections in Zimbabwe.

The President of the SADCLA, Sternford Moyo, who was a guest speaker at the LSSA's AGM, called on attorneys to protect the 'fragile' democratic institutions in the SADC region. He urged lawyers to undertake advocacy work around the transparency of electoral processes in the region : 'We as lawyers and as custodians of law must be heard to speak out on these issues'. He urged the LSSA to participate in missions of solidarity which the SADCLA would undertake to trouble spots in the region. Last year it had conducted solidarity and fact-finding missions to Zimbabwe and Lesotho.

Issued on behalf of the Co-Chairpersons of the Law Society of South Africa by :
Barbara Whittle
Communication Manager, Law Society of South Africa
Telephone : 012-366 8800 or 083-380 1307
E-mail : barbara@lssa.org.za
Website: www.lssa.org.za

Law Society chooses new leaders - 8 April
Attorneys Vincent Saldanha and C P Fourie have been elected co-chairpersons of the Law Society of SA, the society said on Tuesday. Saldanha works at the Legal Resources Centre in Cape Town, while Fourie is a director of Pretoria attorneys' firm FourieFismer Incorporated. - IOL website

GN 313/GG 30884/18-03-2008 *

Publication of explanatory summary
GenN 377/GG 30887/18-03-2008 *

Protection of Information Bill

Introduction of the Bill
GN 376/GG 30885-18-03-2008 *

Traditional Courts Bill, 2008

Explanatory summary
GN 392/GG 30902/27-03-2008 *

Draft regulations
GNR 321/GG 30892/28-03-2008 *

Labour Relations Act, 1995

Bargaining Council for the Laundry, Cleaning and Dyeing Industry (Cape) : renewal of period of operation of Main Collective Agerement
GNR 322/GG 30892/28-03-2008 *

Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965

Regulations relating to a transparent pricing system for medicines and schedule substances

Determination of maximum increase in the single exit price of medicines and schedules substances for the period up until 31 Juyl 2008
GN 339/GG 30901/27-03-2008

Information to be published by manufacturers and importers of medicines and schedules substances before taking an increase in the single exit price
GN 340/GG 30901/27-03-2008 *

Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors
Schedule of fees and charges
BN 20/GG 30891/28-03-2008 *

Electricity Act, 1987

License fees payable by licensed generators of electricity
GN 323/GG 30891/28-03-2008 *

Engineering Profession Act 46 of 2000

Engineering Council of South Africa
Guideline scope of services and tariff of fees
BN 19/GG 30891/28-03-2008 *

Hazardous Substances Act 15 of 1973

Declaration of leaded paint and similar surface coating materials containing lead or compounds as Group 1 hazardous substances
GN 325/GG 30891/28-03-2008 *

International Trade Administration Commission

Customs Tariff Application List 4/2008
GenN 380/GG 30891/28-03-2008 *

Natural Scientific Professions Act 27 of 2003

South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions

Recommended consultation fees
Retraction of BN 27/GG 29761/23/03/2007
BN 18/GG 30891/28-03-2008 *

Registration and annual fees
Retraction of BN 24/GG 29689/16-03-2007 with effect from 1 April 2008
BN 17/GG 30891/28-03-2008 *

Ports Regulator of South Africa

Discussion paper
Regulator principles
GenN 391/GG 30891/28-03-2008 *

Thembelihle Local Municipality

Draft By-laws
PN 27/PG 1181/26-03-2008 *

Capricorn District Municipality

Water Services By-law
PN 108/PG 1451/26-03-2008 *

Greater Tzaneen Municipality

Cemetery By-law
PN 107/PG 1452/26-03-2008 *

Limpopo Drank Wet, 2008

PN 58/PG 1447/11-03-2008 *

*	Source : LexisNexis
**	Source : Polity

10 April 2008
64/2007 [2008] ZASCA 51
Mthembu v The State
The evidence of an accomplice extracted through torture, (including real evidence derived from it), is inadmissible, even where the accomplice testifies years after the torture

1 April 2008
494/07 [2008] ZASCA 50
Maneli v The State
Robbery – duplication of convictions
Not yet online

31 March 2008
470/2007 [2008] ZASCA 47
Geldenhuys v The State
Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957 – constitutional validity of ss 14(1)(b) and 14(3)(b) of Act – distinction drawn between heterosexual and same-sex sexual activities by setting legal age of consent at 16 and 19 years, respectively, held to be unconstitutional – severance and reading-in so far as to make legal age of consent in respect of both heterosexual and same-sex sexual acts 16 years – qualified retrospectivity of the order of constitutional invalidity – appeal against conviction on six counts relating to same-sex sexual acts with boy over the age of 16 years but under the age of 19 years set aside, subject to confirmation by Constitutional Court of order of constitutional invalidity – appeal against convictions on four counts in respect of sexual acts at times when boy in question under the age of 16 years dismissed

31 March 2008
241/2007 [2008] ZASCA 49
Graham Dick v Angela Dick
Final interdict – Requirements for – no injury committed or reasonably apprehended.  Dispute of fact not soluble on papers

31 March 2008
584/2007 [2008] ZASCA  48
Head of Western Cape Education Department v Governing Body of Point High School
Administrative action in terms of s 6(3) of the Employment of Educators Act 76 of 1998 – review by court – failure by decision-maker to weigh competing interests – resulting decisions unreasonable – decisions set aside – when court will give directive as to decision

31 March 2008
278/07 [2008] ZASCA 46
Northpark Trading v Ausplow
Patent – revocation – not involving an inventive step

31 March 2008
218/07 [2008] ZASCA 45
Alan Vermaak v The State
Sentence – application to receive new evidence – no case made out – no misdirection on the part of magistrate

31 March 2008
383/2006 [2008] ZASCA 44
Murray v Minister of Defence
Employment law – dismissal – constructive dismissal – member of South African National Defence Force – constitutional right to fair labour practices applicable – common law contract of employment developed to include protection against constructive dismissal – intolerable conditions, created by employer, not enough – employer must be to blame for conditions – duty of fair dealing with employee - breach of – employer refusing to return employee to former post – must inform employee fully of alternative

31 March 2008
131/07 [2008] ZASCA 43
Minister for Justice & Constitutional Development v Moleko
Malicious prosecution – requirements for – act or omission by magistrate in the exercise of his judicial functions – section 60(11)(a) of Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 –release on warning of persons charged with Schedule 6 offences without any evidence being led

31 March 2008
54/2007 [2008] ZASCA 25
Preddy v Health Professions Council of SA
Health Professions Act 56 of 1974 – ss 42 and 43 - medical practitioners guilty of unprofessional conduct – Penalties imposed by Professional Committee of Enquiry suspended on certain conditions – whether such conditions competent.
Interpretation and application of section 42(1) and 43(1)(b) of the Act – intention to empower sentencing authority to select one or more of the penalties – substitution of 'and' for 'or' not to be lightly resorted to

Million a Month account ruling sets precedent - 31 March
First National Bank (FNB) closed its Million A Month account competition on Friday after the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld a high court ruling that barred the bank from running the competition on the grounds that it contravened the National Lotteries Act. The court's decision sets a precedent that could result in similar competitions being banned. - allAfrica website

See :
28 March 2008
385/07 [2008] ZASCA 29
Firstrand Bank v National Lotteries Board

SARS wins clothing seizure appeal - 29 March
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled this month that the South African Revenue Service (SARS) was entitled to seize goods belonging to a small business in the absence of any import documents or documentary proof of where they were purchased. The appeal court held that the owner of the business was under a duty to keep proper books of account and documents to reflect where the goods were purchased from . These provisions were introduced into the Customs and Excise Act of 1964 for the purpose of facilitating the policing of the importation of goods into the country.The court held that the owner's inability to produce any such documents was a reasonable ground for SARS to conclude that the goods were liable to forfeiture. SARS was entitled to seize them. - allAfrica website

See :
27 March 2008
21/2007 [2008] ZASCA 19
CSARS v Saleem

Johannesburg

Trust Deed amendments may draw tax - 8 April
A recent  tax court judgment has highlighted the need for trustees to be cautious when making changes to a trust deed, as the tax consequences can be costly. The Johannesburg Tax Court ruled in a case involving a trust known as T-Trust that where all the trustees and beneficiaries of a trust were substitutes, a new trust was created with significant tax consequences. The tax court was asked to consider whether transfer duty was payable. The trust's primary asset was property in Houghton. In exchange for R1,9m, which was applied to discharge various loan accounts, the beneficiaries of the trust agreed to resign, and new trustees and beneficiaries were appointed. - allAfrica website

Justice delayed - 8 March
The case of negligence brought against the state by freelance photographer Alix Carmichele, who was brutally assaulted by a known sex offender let out on bail 12 years ago, will hopefully end in a degree of justice when the amount of compensation is finally determined in the Cape High Court this week. Carmichele is seeking R4,6m in damages, including R2m for loss of earnings. - allAfrica website

Fidentia Case

NPA wants to try Fidentia man 'on SA soil' - 10 April
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it wants alleged Fidentia "mastermind" Steven William Goodwin to be extradited from the US and tried "on South African soil". Goodwin was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at Los Angeles airport on Tuesday. The office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions said in a statement on Wednesday that Goodwin would face charges of theft, fraud and corruption if an extradition order was obtained. - IOL website

FBI nabs Fidentia brain box - 8 April
Fidentia's "fugitive from justice" was detained in the US over the weekend by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, roared South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority in a news release out on Tuesday. With any luck, the extradition proceedings will work out and the mastermind behind Fidentia's R1,4bn cash heists will be winging his way back here, whether he likes it or not. - Moneyweb website

Court tells Eskom to keep firm plugged in - 18 April
In what is believed to be the first court challenge to power cuts, and which could impact on the Durban's ability to cut electricity supply in industrial areas, a Durban manufacturing plant has scored a temporary four-day reprieve from the blackouts. Should Durban High Court Judge Jan Hugo rule finally in favour of Feltex Holdings (trading as Hosaf) in its attempt to stop the eThekwini Municipality from switching off its power three times a week, it could open the floodgates to court applications from other industries in the city. Feltex launched its urgent application at 2pm on Thursday - with only four hours to go before the power at its resin manufacturing plant in Jacobs was due to go off. - IOL website

4 April 2008
1936/07 [2008] ZAECHC 22
Directory Solutions CC v TDS Directory Operations (Pty) Ltd and Others

1 April 2008
3207/06 [2008] ZAECHC 21
Van Vuuren and Another v MEC, Department of Health, Eastern Cape and Another

Woman who lost baby wins lawsuit - 31 March
A young Port Elizabeth woman who lost her baby due to the negligence of staff at Dora Nginza Hospital was awarded more than R200 000 in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Friday. The judgment in favour of Meagan Pringle, 20, came after she sued the Eastern Cape health department following the death of her newborn baby. In his judgment, Judge Johan Froneman said the fact that a gynaecologist, employed at the hospital as a specialist, testified that the baby would have lived had staff acted more swiftly to help Pringle, proved negligence on the part of hospital staff. Froneman said this concession Dr Ivan Berkowitz made was based on proper medical reasons. Pringle was represented by advocates Pieter Mouton and Helen Ayeres, on instruction of Francois Swanepoel of GP van Rhyn Minnaar and Company. - Herald Online website

28 March 2008
3384/2006 [2008] ZAECHC 20
Tulumani v Road Accident Fund

19 March 2008
213/2007 [2008] ZAECHC 19
Deysel v Road Accident Fund

13 March 2008
A114/2007 [2008] ZAECHC 18
Lebaka v Minister of Safety and Security and Another

19 February 2008
351/08 [2008] ZAFSHC 8
Workforce Group (Pty) Ltd and Others v Bezuidenhout and Others

15 February 2008
2896/2004 [2008] ZAFSHC 7
Lupacchini and Others v Minister of Safety and Security

14 February 2008
5008/07 [2008] ZAFSHC 6
Ramsamy v Nonxuba

7 February 2008
5896/05 [2008] ZAFSHC 5
Air Products SA (Pty) Limited v Peninsula Scrap Metals Cape CC t/a Peninsula Scrap Metals and Another

Scorpions subpoenas scrapped - 5 April
The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday set aside subpoenas on Scorpions bosses advocate Gerrie Nel and investigator Andrew Leask calling on them to testify on the sentence of a man convicted of possessing cocaine. The subpoenas were issued at the behest of Pietermaritzburg magistrate Ashin Singh. Singh, who has been at odds with several Scorpions, wanted Nel and Leask to advise on a sentence he intended passing on a man convicted of possessing cocaine. In calling for the subpoenas, Singh said that since Glenn Agliotti was walking about free after admitting he had dealt in a huge amount of drugs, he could not see that he should jail a man, Christopher Anakubeze, for possessing 31.866g of cocaine. - News24 website

SAHRC to probe mines - 31 March
An explosive report on alleged human rights abuses by Anglo Platinum has jump-started a South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) probe into rights abuses throughout South Africa's mining industry. International human rights organisation ActionAid released the report last Tuesday. Entitled Precious Metal : The Impact of Anglo Platinum on Poor Communities in Limpopo, it immediately hit the international media, with the BBC broadcasting a special report on the issue. - Mail & Guardian website

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

Statements and Speeches

28 March 2008
Protocol amending the tax treaty between South Africa and Australia

27 March 2008
Minister of Arts and Culture, Dr Pallo Jordan's address to the Unesco's sub-regional (southern and eastern Africa) workshop on capacity building on the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Child Justice Bill

MPs want numbers in Child Bill query - 28 March
The capacity of the state to deliver probation services to children in trouble with the law came close to derailing the passage of the critically awaited Child Justice Bill through Parliament yesterday. Frustrated members of Parliament's justice committee yesterday demanded that state officials from correctional services, justice, s afety and security and social development define how many children would need to be assessed by probation officers before their first appearance in court. They said they needed to understand exactly what was happening in order to make rational decisions in the legislation. - allAfrica website

Expropriation Bill

Opposition to Expropriation Bill mounts - 1 April
Pressure continues to mount on the government's new draft expropriation law, with a top Johannesburg businessman and a constitutional rights watchdog joining organised agriculture in condemning it as being in violation of the constitution's property clause. Before its introduction to Parliament's public works committee last week by Public Works Minister Thoko Didiza, the Expropriation Amendment Bill had been sharply criticised by organised agriculture as being a violation of the constitution. The bill seeks to allow for expropriation in the public interest rather than the public purpose, and if approved would also constrain the courts in their ability to rule on fair compensation. - allAfrica website

Ireland

Govt publishes bill to set up Legal Services Ombudsman - 31 March
The Government has published a Legal Services Ombudsman Bill aimed at introducing new regulations for the legal profession. The proposed legislation would set up a review process for clients of solicitors and barristers who are unhappy with the handling of a complaint by the Law Society or the Bar Council. - Belfast Telegraph website

United Kingdom

Recruitment Director slams 'irresponsible' Law Society Gazette - 31 March
Jonathan Fagan, managing director of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment, slammed the Law Society Gazette this week for its continued apparently unsubstantiated reporting of opinions of academics and commentators predicting the end of the high street end of the legal profession. Mr Fagan said, after reading an article in the Law Society Gazette on the 20th March 2008 about Professor Stephen Mayson, an academic speaking at a conference in London, who effectively predicted the shedding of half of all qualified solicitors and hence the collapse of many 100s of law firms in the next 4 years : "I find it incomprehensible that the Law Society Gazette would continue to report on an ongoing basis that the legal profession is on the verge of collapse according to yet another academic or commentator, without any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise". - WebWire website

Correctional Services

Partnership between depts needed to rehabilitate offenders - 9 April
The Correctional Services Area Commissioner in KwaZulu-Natal, Andile Mdletshe has urged other departments to aid correctional services in rehabilitating offenders to be reintegrated into society. "We as a department, cannot do this alone. We need a partnership with other government departments, municipalities, communities and members of the community," said Mr Mdletshe, adding that the department has moved away from the approach of locking offender's way, to one of rehabilitation. He was speaking during a tour of the New Prison Correctional Services in Pietermaritzburg by the MEC for Social Development in KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Meshack Radebe. - BuaNews Online website

Courts

Justice Minister to unveil Traditional Justice Framework - 28 March
Justice and Constitutional Development Minister, Brigitte Mabandla will on Friday launch the policy framework on the Traditional Justice System in Mpumalanga. "The objective of this policy framework and the envisaged legislation is to preserve the African justice value system which has evolved over time". Although the traditional courts exist in eight of the nine provinces in the country with the Western Cape being the only province which does not have traditional courts, they will still operate in terms of the old Black Administration Act of 1927. - allAfrica website

Education

Afrikaans principal faces the axe - 31 March
Hoerskool (High school) Ermelo principal Koos Kruger would probably be fired after being found guilty of four misconduct charges relating to the former Afrikaans-only school's struggle against the education department's decision to force it to admit children who wanted to be taught in English, said Mpumalanga education department spokesman Hlahla Ngwenya on Friday. Kruger was found guilty on Thursday of four charges by a Mpumalanga education department disciplinary hearing. - allAfrica website

Environment

The big stink over Durban beachfronts - 30 March
The stink caused by the withdrawal of Blue Flag status - the international eco-stamp of approval for pristine beach management - from several of eThekwini's beaches is a pointed reminder that municipal manager Mike Sutcliffe takes criticism very badly. - Mail & Guardian website

Michael Sutcliffe - 29 March
Four of Durban's most popular beaches have lost their Blue Flag status, and city manager Michael Sutcliffe is up in arms. Chris Barron asked him . . . - The Times website

Health

Stinking medical waste stacked in open shed - 8 April
Dozens of plastic disposal bags containing medical waste lie stacked in an open shed behind the mortuary of the Usher Memorial Hospital in Kokstad, southern KwaZulu-Natal. The waste includes post-operative human tissue remains, severed limbs, afterbirths and other pathological specimens. The bags have allegedly been there for three weeks. Maggots and blue flies feast on the bloated bags. The stench is overwhelming. The site is close to the playing field of Kokstad College, where children normally gather to eat their lunches. - BuaNews Online website

Human Rights

Suspected child trafficker will go on trial in South Africa - 31 March
The main suspect in the case of trafficking of three Mozambican children, who were used as sex slaves in South Africa for two months, and one of whom has subsequently disappeared, is soon to appear before a South African court. The case of these children, aged between 14 and 16 was first reported by Mozambican Television (TVM) after two of them were rescued from a Pretoria brothel by a Mozambican lawyer living in South Africa. The lawyer, Inacio Mussanhane, said he refused a bribe of two million rands to buy his silence. - allAfrica website

Judiciary

Advocate grilled for lack of transformation - 9 April
A senior advocate scrambled for answers as members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) pounded him with questions about lack of transformation in the Free State Bar. Facing a grilling from the JSC on Tuesday, advocate Andre Jordaan, SC, was at pains explaining to the commission that the Bar was trying very hard to get as many black advocates as possible. Jordaan was one of two candidates interviewed by the JSC for the position of a judge in the Free State Provincial Division. - IOL website

Judge withdraws KZN bench bid - 8 April
Arguably one of the more colourful judges on the Pretoria Bench will not be transferring to KwaZulu-Natal after a last-minute withdrawal of his Judicial Service Commission (JSC) application on Monday. Judge Ntsikelelo Poswa was one of three candidates for a vacancy on the Natal bench to be interviewed by the JSC on Monday afternoon, but he apparently had a sudden and mysterious change of heart. - IOL website

'SA needs free press, independent judiciary' - 31 March
Chief Justice Pius Langa, speaking at the Durban University of Technology on the role of the judiciary and its relationship with the media, said : "The courts do not want a media that is uncritical and that is over respectful". Both the media and judiciary were critical to the country "because they play a central role in keeping our government in check and holding it accountable for the exercise of its mighty powers. The independence of the judiciary and the freedom of expression are two of the pillars of an open and democratic society". - Dispatch Online website

Langa wants the press to judge SA judiciary - 31 March
South Africa's judiciary does not need an uncritical media that is over respectful of the courts, Chief Justice Pius Langa said in Durban on Sunday. He said the judiciary should "jealously protect" the media and its right to free expression, but at the same time the media's right was "not totally unfettered and unrestricted". - IOL website

Land Affairs and Property

New Web portal offers built-environment intelligence - 31 March
The Council for the Built Environment (CBE) launched a new electronic portal - dubbed the information and knowledge centre - on Monday, which was designed to provide a "one-stop" solution for those seeking access to information on the built environment. Topics encompassed included engineering, landscaping, architecture, project and construction management, property valuation and quantity surveying. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

See :
Information and Knowledge Centre via http://www.cbe.org.za/Jan2008/knowledge_info.html#

Development

Hershel Jawitz: CEO, Jawitz Properties [interviewed by Chris Buchanan] - 10 April
One of the biggest effects [of the rate hike] on the consumer is undoubtedly in the property sector. We've seen a significant slowdown in house price growth, and bond repayments are reaching a stage where property owners will have to start making some tough decisions. CEO Hershel Jawitz of Jawitz Properties is at the coalface. Hershel, what is this decision likely to do for the property market? - Moneyweb website

Commercial property performed strongly in 2007, but moderate slowdown forecast - 31 March
While there is growing concern about aspects of the South African property market, particularly given the collapse currently under way in the US, a commercial property index released on Monday indicated some domestic resilience, with property in that category having yielded a total return of 27,7% for 2007, the fourth consecutive year of returns exceeding 25%. Moreover, while something of a broad-based slowdown is expected, continued underlying strength is still expected for the commercial sector, underpinned, particularly, by the office market. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Property Law

Altron billionaire sparks controversy - 8 April
One of South Africa's richest businessmen is embroiled in a heated beachfront property row with far-reaching implications for large swaths of dune vegetation which shield the country's shoreline from sea erosion. The dispute centres around Gauteng billionaire Bill Venter and a tiny strip of land in Marina Beach in KwaZulu-Natal at the bottom of the grounds of his luxury holiday mansion. The disputed land forms part of the historic Admiralty Reserve which extends in an almost unbroken line along the coastline and which is due to become a legally protected conservation zone. Provincial government officials believe Venter may have violated sections of the National Environmental Management Act by clearing indigenous vegetation without a permit - while several residents believe he has simply helped himself to a piece of public land. The legal status of the land remains in dispute. Some maps clearly show it as part of the old Admiralty Reserve, while Hibiscus Coast municipal manager Sbu Mkhize contends the council controls the land and is free to get rid of it. - IOL website

Land Reform and Restitution

Air Force programme yields SA avionics milestone - 7 April
On the 3rd September 2007 more than twenty comrades were arrested in community protests organized by the Anti Privatisation Forum against the slow or non-delivery of services in Soweto (Kliptown and Protea South). Criminalising protestors makes it more difficult to find free legal representation. In the past, there has been distrust from the community to the use of Legal Aid Board lawyers given experiences where defendants have been effectively forced to submit guilty pleas so that they could get suspended sentences. However, in recent months, through engagements between poor communities organised by the APF and the Legal Aid Board, the relationship with the Legal Aid Board has taken a more positive turn. Nonetheless, securing committed and affordable legal assistance/aid for community members arrested for legitimate social and political protest, remains a huge challenge for organisations of the poor. In this regard, the APF renews its call for progressive lawyers to step up and be counted in the struggle of the poor for their basic rights. - Anarkismo website

All charges against the Kennedy 6 dropped- 31 March
The Kennedy Road shack settlement was were Abahlali baseMjondolo began and although the movement now has 14 affiliated settlements and a further 25 branches the state has always been obsessed with the Kennedy Road settlement. This is where the brunt of the repression has been borne and where, a week and one year ago, 6 key activists were arrested on trumped up murder charges (the same tactic had been used against the Landless People's Movement in Johannesburg a year before). After they were denied bail and subject to ongoing violence in the prison they went on a highly publicised two week hunger strike after which they were granted bail. Now the state has quietly conceded that it never had any evidence and dropped all charges against the 6 activists. - IndyMedia website

Anglo Platinum receives demand from community over expansion - 30 March
Anglo Platinum Ltd, the world's biggest platinum producer, has received demands from a rural community in South Africa for compensation, including a stake in the Amandelbult mine, over the loss of grazing land. The company has agreed to respond within 10 days to the demands of the Baphalane ba Mantserre community, said Simon Tebele, a spokesman for Johannesburg-based Anglo Platinum. - Bloomberg website

Farmers in court bid to stop coal mining - 29 March
A group of vegetable farmers is taking government to court in a bid to stop their land being mined by a massive black empowerment company. The case could impact on future mineral policy and affect the rate at which coal is being dug up to feed the country's battling power stations. The farmers, near Belfast in Mpumalanga, claim they were never consulted when government issued prospecting licences to Exxaro, South Africa's largest black-controlled diversified-mining company and the biggest supplier of coal to Eskom. - The Times website

Minerals and Energy

Assmang Plant operations ban lifted - 8 April
The prohibition notice for one of the six Assmang Plant furnaces which claimed the lives of six employees in an explosion earlier this year has been revoked by the Department of Labour. All six furnaces at the plant in Cato Ridge received an operations ban shortly after an explosion which resulted in the deaths and several other employees sustaining injuries on 25 February. The department closed the facility pending the outcome of a risk assessment. - BuaNews Online website

Loss of public confidence likely to be bonus consideration, says Eskom chief - 2 April
For the first time since the issue of Eskom executives' salary bonuses was brought to the fore, Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga commented on the process that would lead to the determination of the bonuses, but he stressed that responsibility for the outcome lay with the board. The underperforming group's audited results would likely only be released at the end of June. And, only after audited results had been released would performances be compared with the year before, and decisions regarding bonuses be made. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Overwhelming majority of municipalities sign up for electricity-distribution restructuring - 1 April
The highly-vexed process of restructuring South Africa's electricity distribution industry into six regional electricity distributors, or Reds, was advancing, with 108 out of a total of 187 affected municipalities having signed accession agreements. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Angloplat describes ActionAid report as one-sided and inaccurate - 1 April
The world largest platinum producer Anglo Platinum (Angloplat) issued a detailed statement on Monday refuting the report from non-governmental organisation ActionAid, decscribing it as an "unwarranted attack on its integrity". - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Top official puts miners on notice that new ANC will 'push harder' on social issues - 1 April
The newly elected African National Congress (ANC) leadership would ensure overall continuity to legislation governing mining in South Africa, but there could also be some change, particularly with regard to the role mining could play in rural development, secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Tuesday. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

No resolution yet on dispute over Big Hole rights - 31 March
ASX- and JSE-listed diamond explorer Tawana Resources has been advised that, until the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) responds to De Beers' legal opposition to the granting of a prospecting right in Kimberley, it remained registered and valid. Tawana, which reported its financials on Monday, learned in January that De Beers had applied for a judicial review to set aside the exploration right for the prospect, or a portion thereof, which was located near the famed Kimberley "Big Hole". De Beers was the surface owner of the land constituting the southern half of the St Augustine's mine prospecting right. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Municipal Management and Procedure

Cape Town

How to run a city - 28 March
Helen Zille speaks on the governance of Cape Town. - politicsweb website

National Prosecuting Authority

News release

1 April 2008

Response by government to Scorpion interdict

The members of government served by businessman Hugh Glenister have responded to the urgent interdict filed in the High Court on 17 March to prevent the Scorpions from being disestablished.

The President, the Minister of Safety and Security and the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development have indicated they will oppose the matter while the National Director of Public Prosecutions and the head of the Directorate of Special Prosecutions have filed 'notices to abide' by the High Court ruling. The last day for the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces to file an Intention to Oppose ; none were filed.

The respondents' named above had 15 business days from 27 March to file their answering affidavit ; ten days thereafter, Glenister's legal team will file replying affidavits.

The Application has been set down in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday 6 May for the hearing. The hearing is open to the public and is located in the High Court Building on Vermeulen Street in Pretoria when Advocates David Unterhalter and Alfred Cockrell, assisted by attorney Kevin Louis, will argue the case for the urgent interdict.

Glenister will be introducing as evidence the petition members of the public are signing, number 39 on www.mypetition.co.za, and those collected from SMS 31970 where people are sending the word KEEP and their full names to register their protest that the government wants to disband the Scorpions.

Issued by : FD Beachhead

Pension Funds

Alexander Forbes faces R1,1-billion claim - 1 April
Alexander Forbes, the country's largest pension fund administrator, is facing a R1,1-billion claim from seven retirement funds because of the role it played in stripping millions of rands out of the surpluses of the funds in the 1990s. Summons was served on Alexander Forbes by Tony Mostert and David Wandrag, the co-curators of the funds, on Friday. Former senior executives of Alexander Forbes also face criminal charges for their role in the surplus stripping. - IOL website

Social Welfare

Constitutional Court scolds Eastern Cape - 31 March
The Eastern Cape government should read and not simply file court judgments regarding its conduct, the Constitutional Court said on Friday. The province is renowned for poor administration. The court ordered the Eastern Cape social development MEC to pay Deliwe Njongi, whose disability grant was stopped without notice for three years, her grant, interest on the grant and her legal costs. When the court heard the case in November, it questioned why the Eastern Cape government had felt it necessary to spend millions of taxpayers' money opposing a claim of R5 800, which one judge said was indefensible. - Business Day website

Constitutional Court almost becomes really brave - 31 March
The judges of the Constitutional Court are usually rather tame in their criticism of the government. Although they have made some brave decisions, they have been criticised in the past (sometimes – but not always – unfairly, in my opinion) for giving government officials and Ministers the benefit of the doubt – even when this might seem wildly optimistic or even a bit Pollyanna-ish. Given this history, the judgment of the Constitutional Court in Njongi v MEC, Department of Welfare of the Eastern Cape handed down last Friday seems like another missed opportunity. - Constitutionally Speaking blog by Pierre de Vos

Judges crack whip over profiteering lawyers - 20 March
Attorneys and advocates making a "handsome profit" out of social grant cases have come under fire from judges in KwaZulu-Natal, who have now cracked the whip and issued new court rules to stop the expensive tidal wave of court applications. While not absolving the social security agency, the welfare minister or department of any blame for the fiasco, Acting Judge Malcolm Wallis - in a judgment prepared with the blessing of all judges in the province - repeatedly pointed to a "deplorable production line of litigation", with a handful of lawyers making exceptional profits for very little work. - IOL website

Taxation Issues

Tax deduction for security costs mooted - 1 April
Businesses might be able to claim tax deductions for security expenses in future, according to a draft proposal which was recently released by the South African Revenue Service (SARS), writes Sanchia Temkin. Businesses are having to fork out millions of rands annually to prevent and combat crime in SA, say tax analysts. - Business Day website

Trade and Industry

SA rushes to respond to EU on trade battle - 8 April
South Africa and other developing countries are scrambling to come up with a united response to the latest round of trade agreements with the EU, after many, including South Africa, refused to sign economic partnership agreements (EPAs). - Business Report website

Quota imports of Chinese clothing into South Africa : the first year analysis - 25 March
Tralac has just completed a full year analysis of the impact of the arbitrary quotas imposed in 2007 by South Africa on selected key lines of textile and clothing lines from China. In the past year tralac monitored and reported on a quarterly basis the trade flows between China and South Africa - the results of which were published as tralac Trade Briefs (see Fundira, 2007 ; and van Eeden and Sandrey, 2007). - tralac website

Import quotas hit clothing factories - 8 April
Clothing manufacturers, which should have benefited from the curb on cheap clothing and textile imports from China, are being clobbered as quotas have cut the supply of fabric. It has been 15 months since the quotas were instituted.  Research by economists Ron Sandrey and Taku Fundira of the Trade Law Centre of Southern Africa shows Chinese imports in textile and clothing quota lines have declined by 48% to R3,7bn in the first year of the quotas. - allAfrica website

Miscellaneous

No argument, no content, no clue - 10 April
University of South Africa rector, Barney Pityana, in a recent address to the Law Society of South Africa, warned against a Jacob Zuma presidency. He presented various pieces of evidence, in support of his argument. I will not set out all of them here, but by way of illustration here are three. - Politicsweb website

Best of Radio 2000 : The Brett Kebble story - 31 March
Well, as it is the last edition of the Moneyweb Power Hour right here on Radio 2000, we thought it was a prudent idea to look backwards a bit at some of the big stories that got the tension rising in the studios. And one of the most dramatic stories we covered on the Power Hour must be the slaying of Brett Kebble. There was much speculation at the time of his death and, although a lot has transpired since then, the drama of the assassination and the subsequent arrest of Glenn Agliotti made for riveting radio. We put this package together in December 2006. - Moneyweb website

Best of Radio 2000 : The Fidentia story - 31 March
The other story that grabbed the attention on the Moneyweb Power Hour was that of Fidentia. This is how we saw the saga a week or so after the initial dust began to settle. - Moneyweb website

Book
Along the way : ten lives. ten portraits / disturbance, Niall McNulty and Tamlyn Young
In December 2007 a call went out to Durban's creative community inviting proposals for an upcoming art festival, Cascoland. Under the theme of 'mobility', the festival was to take place along a specific route with the aim of interaction with public space. As the project took shape it began to form a narrative map of the walk that embodied the original theme of mobility.
Contact Cindine or Andile on 031-202 0059 for more information

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea issues warrant for Thatcher over coup plot - 30  March
Equatorial Guinea has issued an international arrest warrant against Mark Thatcher, son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, accusing him of being an instigator of an abortive coup plot in 2004, the country's chief prosecutor said Saturday. "We are more than ever convinced that Mark Thatcher took part in the plot along with Simon Mann," who was extradited to Equatorial Guinea in January after serving a jail term in Zimbabwe, prosecutor Jose Olo Obono told AFP. - AFP website

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe-exposed stocks rise on possible Mugabe exit - 3 April
Zimbabwe-exposed shares surged this week, ramped higher by hopes of new leadership and an economic revival in what was once one of the star performers of Africa. And South Africa's rand has bounced five percent against the dollar this week, partly on signs Robert Mugabe, the long-running ruler of neighbour Zimbabwe, may lose office after last weekend's election. Until now, investors have shunned the impoverished southern African country, repelled by the world's highest inflation rate and laws stripping foreigners of company holdings. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

SADC lawyers barred from observing elections - 29 March
"The Legal Assistance Centre learned with disappointment of the failure, refusal or neglect by the Zimbabwean government to process the application of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Lawyers' Association to observe the forthcoming elections in Zimbabwe," Norman Tjombe, who heads the LAC and is also a member of the regional body, said yesterday. - Zimbabwe Journalists website

Call for curbs on Antarctic ships - 31 March
Environmental campaigners are calling for greater restrictions on shipping around Antarctica in order to prevent damage to its unique ecosystems. - BBC News website

Why the white wilderness needs our care - 31 March
The number of ships visiting the Antarctic is growing ; and that brings an increasing risk of accidents that could pollute the coastline and the Southern Ocean. In the Green Room this week, James Barnes says that governments must act now to protect the White Continent. - BBC News website

Peers dismiss EU Treaty concerns - 28 March
The Lisbon Treaty would have no major impact on UK sovereignty, says an influential committee of peers. Ahead of a debate on the treaty next week, the Lords constitution committee said it would have "no constitutional implications" for UK citizenship. But it said Parliament should get the final say on "opt ins" to controversial parts of the document. - BBC News website

France

War heroine 'not classed leader' - 1 April
A female agent of WWII was assessed as "not having the personality to act as a leader" before she was parachuted into France, files have revealed. Pearl Cornioley, who died in February, ended up in command of 3 000 French resistance fighters. Documents released at the National Archives say Mrs Cornioley was later commended for "colossal bravery" and "outstanding powers of leadership". - BBC News website

Conservation

Sealers 'breaking humane law' (+video) - 31 March
Animal rights activists have claimed that sealers were not totally complying with a new rule designed to make their hunt more humane on the ice off the Gulf of St Lawrence. Hunters were this year required by the Canadian Government to take extra steps to make sure the seals are dead before skinning them. After a hunter shoots or clubs a seal, he now must check its eyes to ensure it is dead, and if not, the animal's main arteries must be cut under its flippers. - NZ Herald website

Environment

From China to South Africa, reporters investigate local impacts of climate change - 31 March
As a result of support and mentoring in covering climate change issues, reporters from the Philippines, the Caribbean, China, Uganda and South Africa have produced five in-depth new stories about issues affecting their local environment. - Internews website

Caribbean
Caribbean tourist trade counts the cost of climate change / Petre Williams

China
What Bali means for China / Hujun Li

Philippines
Food versus fuel in the Philippines / Imelda V Abano

South Africa
Will South Africa lead the solar energy revolution? / Yolandi Groenewald

Uganda
Landless and exposed to the elements / Salome Alweny

Transport

Open skies deal comes into effect - 31 March
The long-awaited "open skies" agreement between the US and European Union is coming into effect, aiming to open up trans-Atlantic air travel. The deal ends limits on which airlines can fly between the US and EU, and it is expected to lead to a large rise in the number of carriers on the routes. - BBC News website

Rights group urges South Africa to win UN Security Council action on Somalia, Darfur - 1 April
An international watchdog group has appealed to this month's presiding delegation on the UN Security Council to use its influence to relieve human suffering in Somalia and in Sudan’s embattled Darfur region.   South Africa assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of April today, with calls from Human Rights Watch to push for progress on crises in Somalia and Sudan's Darfur.  The organization's UN advocacy director Steve Crawshaw says that Pretoria has a unique opportunity to bring an end to horrible abuses in these places and save lives. - VoaNews website

Draft Addendum A to General Note 29 : Second Schedule to the Income Tax Act, 1962 : Apportionment of Surplus and Minimum Benefit Requirements 1 April 2008 Comments to policycomments@sars.gov.za by 30 April 2008 http://www.sars.gov.za/new/GN29%20-%20Addendum%20A%20draft.pdf Draft Interpretation Note : Income Tax : Determination of the amount of the deductions allowable in terms of section 11(e) 1 April 2008 Comments to policycomments@sars.gov.za by 30 April 2008 http://www.sars.gov.za/it/Draft%20Interpretation%20Notes/Draft%20Interpretation%20Note %20-%20Section%2011(e).pdf Draft Interpretation Note : Income Tax : Section 10(1)(q) : Scholarships or bursaries 31 March 2008 Comments to policycomments@sars.gov.za by 30 April 2008 http://www.sars.gov.za/it/Draft%20Interpretation%20Notes/Draft%20Interpretation%20 Note%20Scholarships%20or%20Bursaries.pdf Draft Interpretation Note : Income Tax : Sections 10(1)(cN), 11, 11E and 30 : Amalgamation of amateur and professional sporting bodies 1 April 2008 Comments to policycomments@sars.gov.za by 30 April 2008 http://www.sars.gov.za/it/Draft%20Interpretation%20Notes/Draft%20Interpretation%20Note %20-%20Amalgamation%20of%20sporting%20bodies.pdf Draft Interpretation Note no.16 (Issue 2) : Income Tax : Section 10(1)(o)(ii) : Exemption from income tax : foreign employment income 1 April 2008 Comments to policycomments@sars.gov.za by 30 April 2008 http://www.sars.gov.za/it/Draft%20Interpretation%20Notes/Draft%20Interpretation%20Note %2016%20Exemption%20from%20Income%20Tax%20Foreign%20Employment%20Income.pdf

Guide on the employer's tax responsibilities with regard to artists/models/crew in the film industry
26 March 2008
http://www.sars.gov.za/it/Brochures/2008/Film%20Industry%20Guide.pdf

Guide on the taxation of foreigners working in South Africa
28 March 2008
http://www.sars.gov.za/it/Brochures/2008/Foreigners%20working%20in%20South%20Africa.pdf

Interpretation Note no.41 (Issue 2) : Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 : Sections 1, 8(13), 8(13a), 9(3)(e), 16(3)(a), 16(3)(d), 16(3)(e), 17(2)(a), 17(2)(c) and 72 : Application of VAT to the gambling industry
1 April 2008
http://www.sars.gov.za/it/Interpretation%20Notes/2008/Interpretation%20Note%20No%2041%
20(Issue%202).pdf

Value-Added Tax : guide for motor dealers 28 March 2008 Comment can be e-mailed to policycomments@sars.gov.za by 30 April 2008 http://www.sars.gov.za/v_a_t/VAT%20Guides/VAT%20420%20Guide%20Motor%20 Dealers%20(Draft).pdf

Contact

Telephone : 031-561 6460
Email : joy@yorkpersonnel.com

Admitted Attorney with one or two years' experience in insolvency procedures.

Contact

Telephone : 031-561 6460
Email : joy@yorkpersonnel.com

Contact

Telephone : 031-561 6460
Email : joy@yorkpersonnel.com