6 April 2009

Law Society elects Poyo-Dlwati and Van Rooyen as Co-Chairpersons

Pietermaritzburg attorney Thoba Poyo-Dlwati and Welkom attorney Henri van Rooyen have been elected Co-Chairpersons of the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA).

The Co-Chairpersons have singled out the Legal Practice Bill as the major challenge for the year ahead. The Bill will restructure the governance of the legal profession and promote transformation. 'Should the current Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Enver Surty, remain in his position after the elections, we are confident that the Legal Practice Bill will become a reality soon. We are committed to working with the Minister and the other stakeholders in the legal profession in this process. Since this legislation will be in force for many years to come, we must ensure that it entrenches the independence of the legal profession, as an independent profession and judiciary are fundamental to a democratic society', say Ms Poyo-Dlwati and Mr Van Rooyen.

The Co-Chairpersons also indicate that they will encourage, through the statutory provincial law societies, monitoring of the scorecards that will measure compliance of transformation and pro bono initiatives in the attorneys’ profession in terms of the Legal Services Sector Charter.

Ms Poyo-Dlwati has identified as important initiatives the implementation of a planned Attorneys Development Fund to support previously disadvantaged and new practitioners in their first years of practice to access and remain in the attorneys' profession ; as well as discussions on cross-border practice rights in the SADC region. 'I also plan to engage the South African Women Lawyers Association and women in the legal profession to encourage their greater participation, particularly in the governance structures of the profession', says Ms Poyo-Dlwati.

Mr Van Rooyen adds : 'Legal education and continuing training for attorneys are important to ensure quality legal service to the public'. He also highlights the pending court challenge by the LSSA to the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act and Regulations : 'This is an important challenge, particularly for indigent victims of motor vehicle accidents who may be unaware of the detrimental financial effects of the legislation, especially the removal of their common-law right to claim for compensation from the wrongdoer'.

Ms Poyo-Dlwati, a director at Pietermaritzburg firm Ngcobo Poyo & Diedericks, has been a council member of the LSSA since 2002. She was President of the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society in 2008 and is currently Vice-President of the SADC Lawyers Association. She has served on various committees both at the LSSA and the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society ; has been chairperson of the Gender Committees of both bodies, as well as chairperson of the Pietermaritzburg branch of the Black Lawyers Association for a number of years. Ms Poyo-Dlwati focuses on conveyancing and commercial work and is involved in low-cost housing projects and land restitution programmes.

Mr Van Rooyen, an attorney, notary and conveyancer, is a partner at Welkom firm Neumann Van Rooyen Sesele. He has been a council member of the LSSA since 2005, is currently President of the Law Society of the Free State and has served on several committees of both law societies, including the Magistrates' Courts Committee and the Contingency Fees Committee. He has represented the LSSA on the Council of Debt Collectors and is a trustee of the Legal Provident Fund.

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

Date : 24 April 2009
Venue : Protea Hotel, Bloemfontein

Date : 29 May 2009
Venue : Protea Hotel, Nelspruit

Date : 12 June 2009
Venue : Rustenburg

Time : 08h30 to 15h00

Topics to be covered

▪ The Act : its purposes and objectives
▪ Rights of the consumer

Registration fee : R250

Instructor : Ms Reana Steyn, legal advisor at the National Credit Regulator

The seminar is not exclusive to BLA members

For further information, please contact :

Ms Cwayita Nghona at the BLA-LEC
Telephone : 011-403 0802
Email : cwayita@bla.org.za

Please note that the Companies Act has been signed on 8 April 2009
GN 421/GG 32121/09-04-2009

Source : Juta Statutes Team

Boundary Financing Ltd v Protea Property Holdings (Pty) Ltd [2009]2 AllSA 7(SCA)

City of Johannesburg v Even Grand 6 CC [2009]2 AllSA 24(SCA)

Kruger v Joles Eiendom (Pty) Ltd and Another [2009]1 AllSA 553(SCA)

Mutsinya v Dande Holdings (Pvt) Ltd and Others [2009] JOL 22946(ZH)

Naidoo and Another v Naidoo and Others [2008] JOL 22674(N)

Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality v Joe Slovo Communal Property Association and Other [2009]JOL 22719(SE)
LNPD - 2009, v.13(1), p.12

Dalai Lama Case

Buthelezi goes to Concourt over Dalai Lama - 8 April
IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi approached the Constitutional Court on Wednesday to force the government to grant a visa to the Dalai Lama. - IOL website

Zuma Case

The NPA and Zuma : who did what and when . . . the role players - 6 April
Business Day website

Reasons please - 5 April
Judging from what Willem Heath said tonight in a debate on Interface on the SABC, we might not get the reasons we deserve if the NPA does go ahead and announce that all charges against Mr Jacob Zuma would be dropped. But the NPA has a legal duty to provide reasons for its decision. What we must all remember is that the decision must be taken in terms of the law and not because of political factors. If it is not taken in terms of the law the decision will be ultra vires and could be reviewed. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally Speaking website

NPA drops charges against Zuma - 6 April
The National Prosecuting Authority has decided to drop corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, boosting the ANC president two weeks ahead of the elections. Acting NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe said the decision was one of the most difficult he has ever had to made. Mpshe said tape recordings showed evidence of political interference and abuse of power by former Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy. - News24 website

Full statement by the NPA - 6 April
The Times website

Mpshe : Zuma decision not an acquittal - 6 April
Mail & Guardian website

Zuma to appear in high court - 7 April
KwaZulu-Natal police are preparing to close off one of Durban’s main roads ahead of the high court appearance of ANC president Jacob Zuma today. The court was expected to endorse the decision taken by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to have the charges against Zuma officially dropped. - The Times website

See also : North Gauteng High Court. Zuma Case : Democratic Alliance, KwaZulu-Natal High Court : Durban. Zuma Case, National Prosecuting Authority. Jacob Zuma - Dropped Charges and Politics below

Court upholds disqualifications - 4 April
The Electoral Court has upheld the disqualification of 110 candidates by chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula. It indicated that, because of the urgency of the matter, it would make its reasons for the decision available in due course, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said in a statement on Saturday. - News24 website

20 February 2009
JS 355/07 [2009] ZALC 23
Datt v Gunnebo Industries (Pty) Ltd

31 March 2009
CA&R2/09 [2009] ZAECBHC 1
S v Mazomba

23 March 2009
104/06 [2009] ZAECBHC 2
S v Sisilana and Another

2 April 2009
186/08 [2009] ZAECGHC 19
Blue Crane Route Municipality v Claasen and Others

2 April 2009
1657/07 [2009] ZAECGHC 18
Fat Belly Products (Pty) Ltd v Viljoen

27 March 2009
CA 165/2008 [2009] ZAECGHC 16
Ryan v Petrus

25 March 2009
214372 [2009] ZAECMHC 2
S v Daniso

25 March 2009
214596 [2009] ZAECMHC 1
S v Sotshangaye

26 March 2009
775/08 [2009] ZAFSHC 40
S v Mokgokane and Others

26 March 2009
A113/07 [2009] ZAFSHC 39
S v Mehloane

26 March 2009
28/09 [2009] ZAFSHC 38
S v Mlenze

19 March 2009
7139/2008 [2009] ZAFSHC 37
Radebe and Others v Ficksburg Taxi Association and Others

19 March 2009
63/2009 [2009] ZAFSHC 36
S v Leisa and Another

19 March 2009
A115/08 [2009] ZAFSHC 35
S v Monyana and Others

19 March 2009
779/2009 [2009] ZAFSHC 34
Solidarity v Atlantis Forge (Pty) Ltd

19 March 2009
2512/08 [2009] ZAFSHC 33
Khosana and Another v Minister of Safety and Security NO and Another

19 March 2009
1105/2009 [2009] ZAFSHC 32
Ex Parte Majiedt NO and Others

19 March 2009
2567/2008 ; 5614/2008 [2009] ZAFSHC 31
Mayekiso and Others v Magashule and Others

12 March 2009
6712/2008 [2009] ZAFSHC 30
Cherangani Trade and Investment 107 (Edms) Bpk v Mason NO and Others

12 March 2009
A223/08 [2009] ZAFSHC 29
S v Buwa

12 March 2009
6177/2008 [2009] ZAFSHC 28
Pelser and Another v Khumalo

12 March 2009
6800/08 [2009] ZAFSHC 27
Le Roux and Another v Ontvanger van Inkomste and Another

12 March 2009
6890/2008 [2009] ZAFSHC 26
Podbielski Mhlambi Incorporated v Fourie : Landdroshof Welkom and Others (Podbielski Mhlambi Incorporated v Fourie : Landdroshof Welkom and Others)

5 March 2009
7382/08 [2009] ZAFSHC 25
Ruwacon (Edms) Bpk v Departement van Openbare Werke

3 April 2009
16103/08 [2009] ZAKZDHC 6 ; [2009] ZAKZDHC 6
Munien v BMW Finanacial Services (SA) (Pty) Ltd and Another

1 April 2009
14030/08 [2009] ZAKZDHC 5 ; [2009] ZAKZDHC 5
Hill and Another v Magnolia Ridge Properties (Pty) Ltd and Another

Zuma Case

Zuma : five minutes to freedom - 7 April
It took less than five minutes for the state to withdraw charges against African National Congress President Jacob Zuma in the Durban High Court on Tuesday morning. Appearing before KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala, state prosecutor Anton Steynburg said that, in accordance with the decision of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), he had been instructed to withdraw charges against the accused - Zuma and the French arms manufacturer, Thint. Judge Tshabalala lent some humour to proceedings when he joked that Zuma's legal representative, Kemp J Kemp, would have no objection to this. Kemp's response was : "No, my lord". Tshabalala then withdrew charges against all the accused. - Daily News website

Zuma unlikely to be charged again, says judge - 7 April
On Tuesday morning at 10:06am, after 46 court dates, KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala rubber-stamped the State's decision to formally withdraw all 16 charges against Zuma and his corruption coaccused French arms company Thint. "I wish the accused well . . . Good luck," the judge said. Stressing that it was "not the function of a judge" say whether the National Prosecuting Authority should or should not withdraw charges against an accused person, Tshabalala said the Zuma charges decision was "the function of the NPA". He explained that, while withdrawn charges could be reinstated, "in a case like this that is unlikely because this was a withdrawal after representations". - IOL website

Zuma : I was victim of power abuse - 7 April
The leader of South Africa's governing party has said he was a "victim of a systematic abuse of power", a day after a graft case against him collapsed. African National Congress chief Jacob Zuma told reporters after the charges were formally dropped that there had never been a case against him. - BBC News website

Full Zuma speech . . . - 7 April
IOL website

See also : Constitutional Court. Zuma Case above, North Gauteng High Court. Zuma Case : Democratic Alliance, National Prosecuting Authority. Jacob Zuma - Dropped Charges and Politics below

31 March 2009
AR 498/08 [2009] ZAKZPHC 12 ; [2009] ZAKZPHC 12
Wassenaar v Alupicket CC and Another

31 March 2009
AR465/08 [2009] ZAKZPHC 11 ; [2009] ZAKZPHC 11
S v Ntanzi

24 March 2009
AR357/08 [2009] ZAKZPHC 9
S v Mkhonza

3 April 2009
A1274/06 [2009] ZAGPPHC 23
Distell Limited and Another v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services and Another

3 April 2009
6055/2007 [2009] ZAGPPHC 22
Standard Bank of South Africa Limited v Local Municipality of Madibeng In re:Local Municipality of Madibeng v Oracleprops 17 (Pty) Ltd and Others

3 April 2009
A166/08 [2009] ZAGPPHC 21
S v Masango

3 April 2009
56054/08 [2009] ZAGPPHC 20
Van Heerden NO en Andere v De Wet NO en Andere

3 April 2009
8154/09 [2009] ZAGPPHC 19
Kruger v Sanlam Lewensversekering Beperk

3 April 2009
3108/09 [2009] ZAGPPHC 18
E H Hassim Hardware (Pty) Ltd t/a E H Hassim v Thembaf Construction CC and Another (3108/09) [2009] ZAGPPHC 18

2 April 2009
6504/09 [2009] ZAGPPHC 17
Kievitskrron Country Estate (Pty) Ltd v Department of Land Affairs

2 April 2009
A671/07 [2009] ZAGPPHC 16
Member of the Executive Council Responsible for the Department of Roads and Public Works North West Province and Another v Oosthuizen

1 April 2009
A168/2006 [2009] ZAGPPHC 15
Blomerus and Another v Theron

Discovery in billion-rand lawsuit - 4 April
This week, two years after more than 300 members of Discovery medical aid first brought a class action suit against the fund administrator, Discovery Pty Ltd, lawyers filed an amended claim in the Pretoria High Court. In it, they accuse Discovery of illegally charging them - and about 246 000 other members - a monthly ancillary fee between 2001 and 2005 for extra services offered. They now want the court to issue a precedent-setting declaratory order ruling that Discovery's conduct was illegal, and order the refund of about R400 000 of members' money, with interest. This opens the door to a massive claim against the administrator should the other 246 000 members follow up with refund requests. - The Times website
Keyphrases :
Medical Schemes Act
Wynand Venter of Wynsam Wealth

Zuma Case : Democratic Alliance

DA's founding affidavit in Zuma review application
7 April 2009
Democratic Alliance v Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions, Head of the Directorate of Special Operations and Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma

See also : Constitutional Court. Zuma Case, KwaZulu-Natal High Court : Durban. Zuma Case above, National Prosecuting Authority. Jacob Zuma - Dropped Charges and Politics below

19 March 2009
90/08 ; B115/08 ; A207/08 ; B147/08 ; P300/08 [2009] ZANWHC 6
S v Molefe, S v Mothudi; S v Matunda; S v Motona

19 March 2009
57/08 [2009] ZANWHC 5
S v Joseph

19 March 2009
CA186/04 [2009] ZANWHC 4
S v Ngesi

12 March 2009
43/07 [2009] ZANWHC 3
Gwambe and Another v Premier of the North-West Province

7 April 2009
08/42229 [2009] ZAGPJHC 7
McCrae v Absa Bank Limited

3 April 2009
08/22689 [2009] ZAGPJHC 6
Darries and Another v City of Johannesburg and Others

According to the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 ("PAJA") and section 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, everyone has the right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair. Further to this, section 26 of the Constitution provides that "Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing" and that "the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right".

In the matter of Darries & others v City of Johannesburg & others [2009] JOL 23372 (GSJ), Jajbhay J dealt with the issue of whether or not it is

"lawful and constitutional for the respondents to disconnect the electricity supply to a residence without complying with the recognised components of the right to procedural fairness as envisaged by the PAJA and the Constitution and without considering the circumstances of the residents affected".

In his judgment which was handed down at the South Gauteng High Court this morning, the following factors were examined by Jajbhay J :

1. the constitutional and legislative framework of our country
2. justification in terms of section 36 of the Constitution ;
3. fairness in terms of PAJA ;
4. requirements of the Credit-Control By-Laws in respect of notice to
    the applicants prior to termination of their electricity supply ;
5. the nature and extent of applicable limitations.

The judge also presented an interesting view with regard to the issue of costs in this matter.

 Source : LexisNexis

SA billionaire accused of funding Mugabe - 31 March
John Bredenkamp, the South African billionaire accused of bankrolling Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, has won an interim order preventing Standard Bank from closing his bank accounts. In December, Standard Bank wrote to Bredenkamp, who holds several accounts with it, notifying him of its decision to close his accounts. The bank's action followed a decision by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to list Breedenkamp and his associated entities as "specially designated nationals" on November 25. This meant Bredenkamp and his companies became subject to the sanctions imposed and enforced by the US office. - IOL website

Bredenkamp, a victim of a wider plot against Mugabe - 2 April
Dear Editor - I read with shock the intention by Standard Bank to close John Bredenkamp's accounts because of a purported link to President Mugabe. I am sure many people who denied the existence of sanctions (not targetted sanctions) against Zimbabwe, have now been left with egg in face. - The Zimbabwe Guardian website

See :
30 March 2009
2009/7907 [2009] ZAGPJHC 4
Breedenkamp and Others v Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd and Another

Rich ex-girlfriend sued for maintenance - 4 April
Ian McDonald and Lesley Young shared a log home on a river bank, sailed the seas in chartered yachts and quaffed champagne with well- heeled friends at posh functions around the world. But now that it is all over, McDonald wants half of Young's luxury R4-million beach house in Port St Francis in the Eastern Cape or, alternatively, monthly maintenance to be determined by the court. If Judge Anton Veldhuizen rules in his favour on the latter, McDonald will make legal history in South Africa as the first man to successfully sue his former girlfriend for financial support. Family law expert Renee van den Heever of Herold Gie Attorneys said if McDonald was successful in court, a new precedent would be set. "Our legislation simply does not provide for these situations. When a couple live together but have no recognised marriage in place, there is no reciprocal duty". A draft version of the Domestic Partnerships Bill, aimed at regulating the rights of unmarried couples, is now before parliament. Van den Heever recommended that live-in partners protect themselves by entering into a domestic partnership agreement under contractual law. - The Times website

Man claims R415 000 after wrongful arrest - 6 April
A magistrate's failure to cancel a 2004 warrant of arrest led to the imprisonment of a 33-year-old Guguletu man four years later, when he was detained for three days. Now the man, Nelson Madal, has instituted a damages action in the Cape High Court where he is claiming R415 000 from the Minister of Safety and Security for wrongful arrest, deprivation of liberty and injury to his dignity and reputation. But the minister says that police officials executed the warrant without the knowledge that it was defective or bad in law. The minister said the police were therefore exempt from liability and asked the court to dismiss the action. - IOL website

Bishops defends R13m claim from UK pupil - 7 April
Bishops (Diocesan College) is defending itself against a R13 million damages action in the Cape High Court after a UK exchange pupil left in the school's care was paralysed in a car accident. The then 16-year-old exchange student, James Barker, was a passenger in a bakkie he and fellow Bishops students drove after they had been drinking on a farm in Bonnievale four years ago. James, now 20, and his parents, Kevin and Christine Barker, are suing the school as well as the driver of the vehicle, Bates Alheit, and the couple on the Bonnievale farm, John and Lana-Anne Koster. According to papers filed at the High Court, Bishops sent James an invitation in May 2005 to attend the school as an exchange student for one-and-a-half months to learn about South Africa and its people. He accepted the invitation and arrived in South Africa in July that year and stayed at the school as a boarder. The Barkers claim that Bishops had a legal duty to ensure that their son was safe. - IOL website

Vida to be sued for R3,39m - 8 April
The owner of three Vida e Caffe branches - two in the city centre and one in Table View - is suing the franchise for R3,39-million in the Cape High Court, claiming that its managing director fraudulently induced it to operate the branches. The three coffee shops fall under the close corporation Sweet Beans Trading, which is managed by Anton Era Marais. Sweet Beans claims it should have made a total profit of about R1-million from the three coffee shops. However, its losses amounted to close to R300 000. According to court papers filed last month, franchise managing director Grant Edward Dutton approached Marais in August 2006, about entering into a franchise agreement to operate the three coffee shops. Now he is suing the franchise, alleging that Dutton failed to disclose hidden costs and to conduct proper market research on the feasibility of the chosen locations. - IOL website

Fidentia Case

J Arthur Brown 'living the high life' - 27 March
Fraud accused Arthur Brown is living in the plush home and driving the luxury car of controversial businessman Brett Jolly, who once claimed to have discovered the biggest diamond in the world. Brown, according to a recent magazine report, lives with his new girlfriend, Annelizé van den Bergh, and her nine-year-old daughter in a house on Atlantic Beach Golf Estate in Melkbosstrand. Records at the Deeds Office show the house belongs to Jolly's company, Brett Jolly Consulting. - IOL website

Middelburg

Rhino poachers' hides on the line - 7 April
Alleged rhino poachers arrested in a major bust on Christmas day last year in Hartebeespoort Dam appeared in court on Friday. Conservation officials believe the arrests have broken the back of illegal rhino poaching in South Africa. Taxidermist and curio shop owner Ashraf Cassim, with 15 other people, appeared in the Middelburg Regional Court at the end of last year, on charges relating to killing rhinos and smuggling rhino horns. Cassim is the owner of the Just Africa curio shop in Hartebeespoort Dam. He was released on bail of R75 000, while other suspects - who include Chinese, Mozambicans and South Africans - paid bail of R5 000 to R20 000. - Mail & Guardian website

Modimolle

Hoteliers to blame for mom's death - 4 April
Lauren Jacobson-Mummy left her two young children with their grandparents in the US so she could travel to South Africa on safari. The 32-year old was crushed to death by an elephant at a private game reserve in Limpopo. She was taken on a walking safari by unregistered field guide, Milton Mnguni, at the Nungebane Lodge in 2005 when she was killed by the elephant cow. Last week, just over four years after the incident, Magistrate Pat Cloete from the Modimolle Regional Court found hospitality management company Three Cities, who manage the lodge, and Mnguni, guilty of culpable homicide. He also found that Three Cities had failed to ensure that Mnguni was adequately trained, qualified and registered to take tourists on walking safaris. Jacobson-Mummy's family hope the court judgment will be powerful ammunition in their bid to formally lobby the South African government to change legislation and improve the safety of guided walks in parks and game reserves around the country. Jacobson-Mummy's parents have employed former judge Willem Heath's company, Heath Executive Consultants, to establish whether any civil or criminal liability exists. - The Times website

Pietermaritzburg

Taxi driver gets 12 years - 9 April
A Pietermaritzburg minibus taxi driver was on Thursday jailed for 12 years for running down and killing a traffic officer. Magistrate Rose Mogwera sentenced Lucky Mbonambi to eight years for culpable homicide and 13 years for nine traffic violations. Some of the sentences would run concurrently, making his jail term in effect 12 years. The victim, Desmond Hanson (48) was run down and dragged 31 metres in the centre city in February 2008. - iafrica website

Welkom

Teacher jailed for hitting children - 8 April
A Free State farm schoolteacher who hit seven children with a vehicle's fanbelt has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Police spokesperson Puleng Motsoeneng on Tuesday said Ruth Moshe, 49, had her sentence suspended for four years in the Welkom Regional Court. Moshe was sentenced after she pleaded guilty on seven counts of assault. - IOL website

Pietermaritzburg

Ex-lover confesses - 5 April
Strangled to death and then set alight by his ex-lover. This is how the bizarre murder of a 26-year-old welder was described in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court last week. Accused of the murder are a roads company employee, Amith Sewkarran, 28, and his 26-year-old wife, Kalisha Rajcoomar, who are alleged to have set Sandesh Pooran's body alight after the killing. In a dramatic about-turn, Rajcoomar, Pooran's ex-lover and mother of his one-year-old child, abandoned her application for bail, saying she intended pleading guilty to the murder. - IOL website

PMB killer-accused denied bail - 7 April
A Pietermaritzburg woman, accused of murdering her daughter-in-law, was denied bail on Tuesday. Magistrate Zoh Dlamini said that Romila Singh, 55, was predisposed to violence and potential state witnesses, including her own children who had in the past allegedly been sjambokked by her, lived in fear of her. Fiona Kader, Singh's daughter-in-law, was found dead in a cleaner's toilet on February 24. The case will resume on May 27 pending further investigation. - News24 website

Pretoria

Detained students win damages - 8 April
Three former Pretoria University students who were arrested at OR Tambo International Airport in November 2006 for handing out garlic and beetroot to arriving tourists, along with a tongue-in-cheek pamphlet referring to the then health minister's "cure for Aids", have won their case against the police for unlawful detainment. Jan van Zyl, Dewaal van Heerden and Francois Coetzee were each awarded R50 000 in damages at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Friday. They were arrested in front of hundreds of people and detained at the airport police station for five hours. According to Van Zyl, they were not charged, but were told they were a threat to state security, and threatened with charges of high treason. - IOL website
Keyphrases :
Freedom of speech
Magistrate Wayne Gibbs

Umlazi

Murder accused turn down bail - 7 April
Three members of a gang who are accused of murdering a popular gospel singer and raping and robbing other Umlazi residents in March have abandoned their application for bail. Sibusiso Mbuthuma, Mzwandile Miya and Sihle Mzizi, 22, are charged with the murder of gospel group Ithemba's bass singer, Philani "Amen" Mkhanyawo, and the rape of his niece. The men also face a string of other charges, including kidnapping two people, raping two women, breaking into and robbing three houses, two armed robberies and attempted murder in Umlazi's J section, N section and K section. The 12 charges relate to incidents that took place on February 25 and 26. The case was adjourned to May 15 and the men were remanded. It was expected that the men would also appear in the Chatsworth Magistrate's Court for crimes committed in Welbedacht on the same days. - IOL website

Wynberg

Court dismiss claim against shelter - 8 April
The Small Claims Court in Wynberg dismissed a R6 418 claim against the Haven Night Shelter in Retreat on Tuesday night, lodged by a resident, Alfred Saal, who lost expensive clothing after he was forcibly removed from the shelter. Mr Saal lamented that he was forced to live on the streets after being thrown out of the shelter, amid accusations that he was drunk, and had returned to the shelter two days later to fetch his clothing. The Haven's chief executive, Hassan Khan, said notices prominently displayed warned residents of the rules. One rule prohibited drunkenness, and another gave the Haven the right to give away to the needy any clothing left behind and not fetched within seven days. Khan said Saal had in fact refused to sign a document acknowledging the rules. - IOL website

SA banks outgun authorities - 3 April
The Competition Commission has admitted that it was "less powerful" against South Africa's largest banks. "The inquiry into bank charges made recommendations and (we) hope the banks will change their behaviour," the commission's divisional manager for policy and research, Simon Roberts, told Fin24.com. He was referring to the results of the technical inquiry into bank charges, headed by high court judge Thabani Jali. The 22-month investigation culminated in 101 public hearings with banks in June 2008. - Fin24 website

Ombud fines Fidentia broker - 20 March
Willie Jordaan, a former Sanlam broker, who "embarked on a frolic of his own" by peddling Fidentia products, has been fined by the Fais Ombud. This is not the first time that one of Jordaan's clients has complained to the Fais Ombud. However, in the previous complaint, Sanlam was ordered to reimburse the client. This was because the client was found by the ombud to have "been lulled into a false sense of security" by the fact that Jordaan was an employee of Sanlam, a major and respected player in the financial services landscape. However, in the most recent Jordaan case, Sanlam has been let off the hook. - Moneyweb website

Broker ordered to compensate investors for selling them Fidentia product : Charles Pillai – Ombud for Financial Services Providers - 20 March
Interview with Alec Hogg on Moneyweb website

http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=974092Zuma's Afrikaner remark before HRC - 3 April
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) has laid a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against ANC president Jacob Zuma's statement regarding white South Africans. CCR spokesman Dave Steward said on Friday Zuma's comments "constitute unfair discrimination against non-Afrikaans-speaking, white South Africans on the basis of their race, ethnic origin, colour, culture and language". In Sandton on Thursday Zuma said : "Of all the white groups that are in South Africa, it is only the Afrikaners that are truly South Africans in the true sense of the word." - The Times website

Statements and Speeches

7 April 2009
Eradication of informal settlements on track says North West MEC for Developmental Local Government and Housing, Howard Yawa

1 April 2009
Address by the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Ms Baleka Mbete, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal

Companies Bill

Companies Bill too draconian for auditors - 8 April
Companies will only have to comply to the provisions of the Comapnies Bill when it becomes effective. It is expected that the Bill will become effective during July 2010. Annual financial statements still remain a mandatory requirement for all classes of companies.  These financial statements and for that matter, any other financial statements issued by the company, should be prepared in compliance with international reporting standards. The Bill allows any person to prepare financial statements for any type of company. However, persons preparing the financial statements will face a number of criminal sanctions for acts of non compliance to the requirements of the Bill. - Moneyweb website

Road Accident Fund Amendment Act

New RAF rules have many victims - 29 March
Ameena Mehtar and Divan Gerber were both left paralysed after car accidents. But because her claim was lodged before recent changes to the Road Accident Fund, Mehtar, a 28-year-old former teacher, has lodged a R4.7-million claim for loss of income. Gerber's claim came after the changes and he cannot bank on getting more than the maximum of R167 000 a year. Divan Gerber's lawyer estimates his loss of income alone at about R10-million, but the 22-year-old will have to fight much harder to get a cent more than the R8 400 a month he earned at the time of the crash in December. That is because it happened after the changes to the Road Accident Fund Act were implemented on August 1 last year. - The Times website

Constitutional challenge of the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act  - 7 April
The widely anticipated constitutional challenge to the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act was launched recently in the Pretoria High Court. The Law Society of South Africa, The South African Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, The Quad Para Association of South Africa and the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities have applied for various sections of the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act to be declared invalid because they are inconsistent with the Constitution. The Applicants also seek to set aside a number of the new regulations because they are either inconsistent with the Constitution or not authorised by the Act. - Article by Craig Woolley of Deneys Reietz on the itinews website

South Africa

SA law firm answers call of Mauritius - 8 April
Law firm Routledge Modise, in association with Eversheds, has opened for business in the Mauritian capital Port Louis, a company statement said on Wednesday. The office is headed by attorney Miro Dvorak. - Business Report website

New Zealand

NZ Law Society : Practising fees set - [7 April]
The NZLS Council and Board have now formally set, subject to ministerial approval, the practising fees and levies that practitioners will need to pay for the practising year 1 July 2009-30 June 2010. Invoices will be sent to practitioners at the beginning of May, with payment due by 15 June to enable the NZLS Registry to complete processing and issue more than 10 700 practising certificates by the end of June. Under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006, the Minister of Justice is required to approve the practising fee and the Fidelity Fund contribution, and his approval has been sought. - Law Fuel website

Black Economic Empowerment

Charter's 'collapse' blamed on financial sector partners - 6 April
If the financial services sector's empowerment charter has collapsed, then the financial industry and its negotiating partners should take responsibility for that, Department of Trade and Industry spokesperson Vukani Mde said on Friday. "They are declaring a collapse themselves. We can still have a charter but only if people come prepared to compromise," said Mde, who was responding to statements last week by financial industry players that the charter no longer existed as it had not been gazetted by the government at the end of last month. The department said it had given the industry sufficient opportunities to forward a reasonable draft to minister Mandisi Mphahlwa. - allAfrica website

Company Law

Cipro goes electronic - 24 March
The Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) will soon become a fully electronic environment. The office says it will implement an enterprise content management (ECM) foundation by using service-oriented architecture (SOA) – which will allow the office to use a single e-form to capture data from all its clients. - ITWeb website

Controversy hits R153m Cipro tender - 7 April
The Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) has controversially awarded a tender to the value of R153 million – more than twice the original tender price. The tender, which according to Cipro CEO Keith Sendwe, is the "largest and most significant tender ever to be awarded" by the office, was won by relatively unknown company, Valor IT (VIT). - ITWeb website

King III

King 3 published for comment - 2 April
John Giles on Michalsons website

Correctional Services

Kgalema to ask for Shaik review - 5 April
President Kgalema Motlanthe is to ask Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour to re-evaluate the medical parole granted to convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik. "The President has responded to my letter by stating that he will ask the Minister of Correctional Services to reconsider forwarding the matter to the Parole Review Board", said Democratic Alliance Correctional Services spokesman James Selfe in a statement yesterday. - The Citizen website

Motlanthe will not interfere with Shaik parole - 6 April
President Kgalema Motlanthe has not asked Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour to review Shabir Shaik's medical parole, his spokesman said on Monday. Motlanthe's spokesman Thabo Masebe said the president only referred the matter to the attention of Minister Balfour. - The Citizen website

Criminal Justice System

Criminals' girlfriends to be used in trials - 6 April
The question of whether the girlfriends of criminals should face charges for keeping silent about their partners' illegal activities was raised last week when a woman said she knew about her partner's deeds but kept quiet about them, and another three were questioned about their links to a notorious fugitive. This week, three female acquaintances of notorious criminal Mpiliso "Sgonondo" Ndlovu were questioned by the police. - The Times website

Environment

Water plan raises eyebrows - and noses - 6 April
Umgeni Water is considering a radical plan to avoid water shortages in Durban and Pietermaritzburg by recycling sewage and other waste water into drinking-quality tap water. Although no decision has been taken, Umgeni Water has appointed consultants to test public perceptions around the contentious plan. The water firm is looking at two options. The first is to purify domestic effluent at the Darvill waste-water treatment works near Sobantu, Pietermaritzburg, while the second involves collecting water from the heavily polluted Umgeni River and purifying it at Umlaas Road, near Camperdown. - IOL website

Row erupts over 'wetland damage' - 6 April
An environmental storm has erupted over the R8,5-billion project to upgrade Port Elizabeth's Livingstone Hospital in line with 2010 World Cup requirements. The Eastern Cape public works department, the agency driving the project, has cleared a swathe of wetland – a habitat protected by law – on the Papenkuils River. The developer has also dug at least one drain into the vlei and has packed landfill into it, both activities prohibited by law unless a permit has been obtained. The job is contracted out to the Malaysian company Ho Hup Construction, which is represented locally by ANC-aligned businessman Theunis Crous. - Weekend Post website

Family Law

It's all about the money, honey : lots of it - 4 April
Women who make lavish maintenance claims from their soon-to-be ex-husbands could be trying to maintain the identity they had through their husbands' status and wealth, a psychologist says. He said they could also be making hefty material claims to reduce feelings of helplessness and powerlessness if they have not created a separate identity from their husbands during the marriage. - IOL website
Includes examples of recent high profile divorce claims

Foreign Policy

The Dalai Lama : an open letter to President Motlanthe - 5 April
Letetr to President Motlanthe : government must provide glboal leadership on human rights. Various individuals and organisations call for an apology to the Tibetan spiritual leader. - Politicweb website
Includes list of signatories

Human Rights

South Africa's 3,4-million Aids-orphans to get 'adult' rights - 4 April
To help the growing army of orphans run their own households more efficiently, South Africa is currently also rewriting many of its laws - giving orphans the responsibilities and judicial rights usually only granted to adults, such as the right for such children to access public housing and social-care grants. In the popular imagination, Katherine Hall, researcher at the Children's Institute of the University of Cape Town, says, "the face of the AIDS epidemic in southern Africa is often an orphan who has lost both parents to the virus and is now fending for him or herself in a household made up solely of other children". - Digital Journal website

Judicial Service Commission

JSC asked to probe Justice O'Regan - 8 April
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has been asked to investigate Constitutional Court Justice Kate O'Regan after her public commentary on the government's refusal to allow the Dalai Lama into South Africa. Trade union Amicus SA has lodged a complaint with the commission, saying that Justice O'Regan's comments were "scandalous and vexatious", and brought the judiciary into disrepute. Justice O'Regan has also raised the ire of the Black Lawyers' Association which slammed her for commenting on government matters after she publicly backed Health Minister Barbara Hogan. - Cape Times website

Judge Hlophe

New twist in Hlophe saga - 5 April
In an astonishing new twist in the Cape Judge President John Hlophe saga, the judge has turned on eminent Cape lawyer Dumisa Ntsebeza, the former Truth and Reconciliation commissioner who is recognised and respected as the voice of black lawyers and who has led complaints on behalf of Judge Hlophe to the JSC and Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). - IOL website

Hlophe's 'dogfight' lawyer - 5 April
The man at the centre of Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe's legal strategy in this week's Judicial Service Commission (JSC) hearing was selected because he knows how to "fight in a dog fight". Hlophe's confidant and University of Cape Town administrator Paul Ngobeni was responding to the Mail & Guardian's queries about Hlophe's new lawyer, Barnard Xulu, a legal adviser and intimate of ANC president Jacob Zuma. - Mail & Guardian website

Hlophe hearing delayed again - 6 April
Judge John Hlophe has changed lawyers and doctors - and got another postponement from a visibly annoyed Judicial Service Commission. "Regrettably, and as a result of what transpired before the SCA, I lost confidence in my attorneys and in my senior counsel," Judge Hlophe wrote in an affidavit to the JSC on Saturday, asking for a postponement of its disciplinary hearing against him. The fired senior counsel is Dumisa Ntsebeza. The attorney is Lister Nuku, of Nongogo Nuku Attorneys. When the commission reconvened last Wednesday, neither Ntsebeza nor Nuku was there. Instead, advocates Masuku and Vuyani Ngalwana were there, along with newly appointed instructing attorney Barnabas Xulu. - IOL website

Hlophe fires another lawyer - 7 April
On Saturday, advocate Brian Pincus SC made his first appearance on the Cape judge president's behalf at the Judicial Service Commission hearing in Johannesburg. By 1pm on Sunday he was no longer on the judge's team. Instructing attorney Barnabus Xulu, himself a relative newcomer to the case when it was moved from the previous attorney, would not say whether Pincus was fired or left of his own accord. - IOL website

Hlophe lawyers ask for postponement - 7 April
The Judicial Services Commission hearing into Cape Judge President John Hlophe started more than an hour late on Tuesday with his lawyers requesting another postponement. Hlophe's lawyer, Vuyani Ngalwana, apologised "profusely" for being late, saying he could not get an earlier flight to Johannesburg. "We tried under difficult circumstances to consult with the Judge President yesterday afternoon. He claimed he was in no position to consult," said Ngalwana. The hearings were still continuing by 10.45 am with more questioning from the JSC commissioners. - IOL website

Hlophe hearing adjourned to discuss postponement - 7 April
JSC committee chairperson Judge Lex Mpati adjourned the hearing at about 11.30am to discuss the application for a postponement which was opposed by lawyers representing the judges of the Constitutional Court. - Mail & Guardian website

Hlophe's confidential discussions were taped - 7 April
The Judicial Service Commission hearing into a misconduct complaint against Cape Judge President John Hlophe will continue despite his lawyers withdrawing, it ruled on Tuesday. But while the JSC commissioners were confidentially discussing the decision it was discovered that the conversation was being taped illegally, committee chair Judge Lex Mpati said. "Whilst we were having a private session of the commission, our discussions, it seems, have been taped. The tape recorder, it appears, was linked to a laptop computer . We don't know how far our discussions, which were supposed to have been private, had gone. I think we need to mention too that those discussions were privileged and confidential," said Mpati. - IOL website

Hlophe lawyers excuse themselves from hearing - 7 April
Cape Judge President John Hlophe's lawyers withdrew from a hearing before the Judicial Services Commission on Tuesday, leaving the JSC to decide if it should proceed with a judicial misconduct hearing in their absence. "We are unable to excuse you from the hearing," said committee chair Judge Lex Mpati. Vuyani Ngalwana replied : "So chair, we shall withdraw from the matter . . .". Advocate George Bizos then asked if the commission should not consider the number of occasions on which Hlophe's lawyers have delayed the matter, hinting that this was a strategy by Hlophe to prevent the hearing from taking place. Advocate Gilbert Marcus, who is representing the judges of the Constitutional Court, said there had been too many attempts at "stonewalling" the hearing and argued that it should continue. - IOL website

JSC calls Pius Langa in Hlophe hearing - 7 April
By 3.50pm, Chief Justice Pius Langa was finally called as the first witness. "Mr chairman, firstly I did not have a desire to have Judge President Hlophe impeached", Langa told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). "This was a painful matter to me. I am aware that in the history of the judiciary in South Africa there's probably not an impeachment . . . I have no ulterior motives against the Judge President", he said at the start of his testimony. - The Times website

Excerpt :
"The morning started with a reference to a confidential affidavit of which advocate Gilbert Marcus, who is representing the judges of the Constitutional Court, requested a copy. He said Vuyani Ngalwana, Hlophe's lawyer, had made reference to this affidavit, apparently about a settlement proposal in the matter. But Ngalwana said he did not intend to present the affidavit at the hearing. The JSC immediately ended the conversation, with committee chair Judge Lex Mpati saying : "We wouldn't like to hear any details of any settlement proposals, the commission doesn't want to be compromised"."

Langa had to report Hlophe - 8 April
Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court and head of the judiciary Pius Langa said he had no option but to report Cape Judge President John Hlophe to the Judicial Service Commission. He said he would have done this regardless of whether he had the co-operation of justices Bess Nkabinde and Chris Jafta. Langa told the JSC yesterday that when he was made aware by the two Constitutional Court judges last May that Hlophe had tried to influence them with regard to a matter relating to ANC president Jacob Zuma's challenge to raids on his properties, he saw this as an attack on the judiciary. - The Times website

'Hlophe statement was in public interest' - 7 April
The judges of the Constitutional Court publicised a misconduct allegation against Cape Judge President John Hlophe in the interests of justice and transparency, Chief Justice Pius Langa said on Tuesday. "It was considered to be a matter of extreme public interest," Langa told a Judicial Service Commission (JSC) hearing in Johannesburg. "It was felt that it was in the public interest to deal with the matter quickly and advise all the parties concerned quickly and the method of publishing a media statement came about in that way . . . It was felt that if the public had got wind of this matter it might go in a manner which is not correct and in a manner which might cause problems in relation to the judgment which the Constitutional Court was busy working on at the time". - IOL website

Jafta surprised by Hlophe's actions - 8 April
Judge Chris Jafta spent just five months at the Constitutional Court, but in that time Cape Judge President John Hlophe popped in to visit his former colleague and ask about the Jacob Zuma cases. "I was taken by surprise," Judge Jafta told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) hearing in Sandton this morning (Wednesday) of his meeting with Judge Hlophe, when he raised the Zuma cases. "Judges don't discuss matters before judgment is handed down with members of the court who were not on the panel," he said. Judge Jafta of the Supreme Court of Appeal was an acting judge at the Concourt from January to May last year. - IOL website

Did Hlophe see ConCourt memos? - 8 April
Cape Judge President John Hlophe seemed to have access to confidential notes circulated between judges of the Constitutional Court, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) heard today. Hlophe had also boasted to Justice Bess Nkabinde about obtaining a list of people implicated in the multi-billion dollar government arms deal from the National Intelligence Agency, she said. "He [Hlophe] went on to explain that . . . there is no case against Mr [Jacob] Zuma", Nkabinde testified before the JSC in Johannesburg. "He [Hlophe] said there was a list containing names of people who were also implicated in the arms deal, he had obtained the list from the National Intelligence Agency and he said something to the effect that some of the people who appeared on the list were going to lose their jobs when Mr [Jacob] Zuma becomes president", said Nkabinde. - The Times website

Hlophe case hears of hacking, secret NIA reports - 8 April
A judicial tribunal heard claims of hacking, secret intelligence reports and alleged attempts by a senior judge to influence the country's highest court in a case involving presidential frontrunner Jacob Zuma on Wednesday. "Judge Hlophe crossed the line of legitimacy. He was not supposed to do what he was doing," Constitutional Court Judge Bess Nkabinde told the JSC. "John Hlophe is not my friend - he is not telling the truth," she added. Hlophe, in a statement before the commission, denied any wrongdoing, saying he merely had robust, academic conversations with Nkabinde and her colleague, acting Judge Chris Jafta. - The Times website

SCA ruling on Hlophe a travesty of justice : JFH - 8 April
Justice for Hlophe Alliance says judgment is seriously flawed, and fundamentally wrong. Judge President Hlophe is deeply disappointed by the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal issued last week, March 31, 2009. He has carefully studied the judgment and is currently taking urgent steps to appeal the Judgment. We note with grave concern that the SCA has, in its zeal to assist the Constitutional Court judges, essentially thrown the notion of judicial independence and JSC's investigations of judicial misconduct into complete and utter chaos. The suspicious timing of the issuance of the decision and the JSC's scheduling of its hearings on the merits of the complaints and counter-complaints gives an appearance of a manipulation of the judicial process and is antithetical to the notion that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. We unequivocally state that the JSC has embarked on a course of action which casts a dark shadow on the integrity of the SCA's adjudicative process as follows. - Politicsweb website

Judiciary

Judicial Education Institute talks training at first meeting - 9 April
The council of the South African Judicial Education Institute met for the first time yesterday to discuss ways of providing training for judicial officers. The institute was established after the South African Judicial Education Institute Act of 2008 became law last year. - Business Day website

Zuma takes aim at top judges - 9 April
African National Congress President Jacob Zuma - likely to become the country's next president - has blasted the conduct of the judiciary and questioned the supremacy of the Constitutional Court as the highest court in the land, saying it "is not God". In an interview with The Star in Durban on Wednesday, Zuma said he wanted a review of the status of the Constitutional Court because its judges were capable of committing mistakes. He said the Judicial Service Commission should review the status of the Constitutional Court. - IOL website
Keyphrases :
Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke
Independence of the Judiciary

Zuma questions Constitution - 9 April
Two weeks before national elections in which the ruling African National Congress is being challenged for the first time by an opposition party formed from within its ranks, the party's leader, Jacob Zuma, has questioned the basis of South Africa's constitutional order. - allAfrica website

Zuma bullying judiciary : Cope - 9 April
ANC president Jacob Zuma’s "successful subverting of justice" this week and the NPA's "spineless decision" have now encouraged him to bully the judiciary, Cope said today. Congress of the People spokesman Phillip Dexter said Zuma's "chilling" views on the Constitutional Court judges would pave the way to a dictatorship. - The Times website

How unsightly this airing of judicial linen in public - 5 April
Had it not been for its disastrous consequences, the crisis in the judiciary would have been a commendable script for a television cartoon. Sadly, it is a real story about the supposedly esteemed guardians of the rule of law. - The Times website
Keyphrases :
Chief Justice Pius Langa
Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke
Judge Bes Nkabinde
Judge Chris Jafta
Judge Hennie Lackock
Judge John Hlophe
Judge Kate O’Regan
Judge Lazarus Tlaletsi
Judge President Frans Diale Kgomo
Judge Steven Majiedt
Judge Yvonne Mokgoro

Labour Issues

Foschini "mistakenly" classifies workers - 8 April
The Foschini group including Fashion Express, Exact, Sterns, Total Sports, Foschini@Home, American Swiss, Sport Scene and Markhams in the Worcester/Breede River Municipal have for some time now underpaid many workers using area (B) instead of area (A) as stipulated by the Sectoral Determination 9 that regulate minimum wages for the wholesale and retail sector. As a result of this discovery SACCAWU will now investigate wages paid for workers over the last three years. - Moneyweb website

Land Affairs and Property

Property woes : greedy sellers and stingy banks - 23 March
It's not just banks' strict lending criteria putting brakes on property market; sellers' unrealistic asking prices are adding to estate agency woes : FNB. - Moneyweb website

"You're a what?" : property & your profession - 7 April
Major banks attitude toward home loan applications is toughening to the point where they now, as a matter of policy, include the evaluation of the type of profession in their assessment of the risk profile of the applicant. Their vamped up vetting, according to Grant Gavin, also includes the risk weighting of the mix of professions based on the banks history of credit defaulters. - Moneyweb website

Development

Shopping centres : heading for trouble? - 20 March
Many new malls being built, expanded, but senior economist warns they're headed in the same direction as residential : down. - Moneyweb website

Old Mutual to sell local centres - 6 April
The Old Mutual Property Investments company, which effectively owns Hayfields and Cascades shopping centres, is in the process of selling both major Pietermaritzburg retail centres. Cascades Shopping Centre has been owned by the company since March 1990. Old Mutual Investment Group Property Investments has effectively owned Hayfields Centre since July 2005. - Witness website

South Africa to get a whole new town - 6 April
A massive property development that will create a whole new town 22km to the north-west of Pretoria will shortly get under way on 450ha of land restored in 1998 to the Rama community that had been forcibly removed during the apartheid years. The integrated development, dubbed Rama City, will take about 15 years to complete and will cost around R1,3bn in today's terms. It is being undertaken by professional developer Rama Horizon Developments in partnership with the Rama Community Property Association (RCPA). The formation of this partnership is a groundbreaking move that could provide a development and resettlement blueprint for other communities that were victims of forced removals under the apartheid government and have now successfully reclaimed their land. - Realestateweb website

Land Claims and Expropriation

Makgoba tribe gets land back - [6 April]
Exuberance and jubilation filled the air as more than 2 000 people witnessed the handing-over ceremony of the R104 million worth of 5 113 hectares of land back to Ga-Makgoba community by the Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister, Ms Lulu Xingwana near Makgoebaskloof hotel on Saturday.  No less that 603 households involving approximately 1 087 individuals will benefit from the settlement of this land claim, facilitated by the Limpopo land claims commission. The Makgoba community was gradually removed from their ancestral land between 1924 and 1974 by the former government. Community members settled in various areas such as Hammanskraal, Malepisi around Lebowakgomo, Ga-Modjadji, Ga-Mathabatha, Ga-Molepo, and Mankweng. - Limpopo Informant website

Minister takes land back from new black owner - 9 April
Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana and an entourage of about 30 land affairs and provincial and municipal officials yesterday invaded a land-reform beneficiary's farm and summarily evicted the occupiers in what legal experts describe as a violation of the constitution and of land tenure legislation, writes Neels Blom. The minister seized the 21ha farm in the Yzerfontein area in eastern Gauteng as part of her "use it or lose it" approach to redeem some of the government's many failed land-reform projects. - Business Day website

Unproductive farm reallocated to genuine beneficiary - 8 April
The Yzervarkfontein Farm in Bapsfontein in Johannesburg's East Rand has been reallocated to a new owner after it was discovered the beneficiary was not using the land productively. The 20 hectare farm had been allocated to an emerging female farmer as part of the Department of Land Affairs' land redistribution programme in 2007. The farm was bought from the original owner for R2 million. - BuaNews Online website

Property Law

Landlords, absconding tenants, lawyers : a chilling tale - 18 March
Property investment in South Africa can be a risky business. The law favours tenants, not the landlords. Unfortunately this helps the lawyer more than the landlord, says senior journalist Chris Louw, wryly. - Moneyweb website

Neighbours and property values : your rights, and a warning - 2 April
Can you stop the municipality from approving your neighbour's building plans if you are able to show that the proposed construction will reduce the value of your house? The answer is "Yes", but with a very important limitation. Be warned that a recent case before the Supreme Court of Appeal highlights the need, before buying a property, to value it on the basis that your neighbours might in future develop their properties to the full potential allowed in the area. - Rodney Hayter website

See :
Supreme Court of Appeal
3 March 2009
543/2007 [2009] ZASCA 4
True Motives 84 (Pty) Ltd v Madhi and Others

Minerals and Energy

Judicial managers take control of Pamodzi Gold's Free State, East Rand mines - 3 April
The Master of the High Court of South Africa on Friday appointed two teams of provisional judicial managers to take over the management of Pamodzi Gold's financially stricken Free State and East Rand operations. The provisional judicial management followed last month’s provisional liquidation of Pamodzi Gold's Orkney gold mine in North West province. Playing a provisional liquidation or provisional judicial management role in all three of the operations is the trio of Enver Motala of SBT Trust, Allan Pellow of Westrust and Deon Botha of Corporate Liquidators. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Now Pamodzi Gold's fundless judicial management on knife edge - 7 April
The judicial management of Pamodzi Gold's Free State and East Rand operations may be short-lived. Joint provisional liquidator and judicial manager Enver Motala told Mining Weekly Online on Tuesday that, if there were no funds in the company's account on Wednesday, he would be applying to the courts for the Free State and East Rand operations also to be placed in provisional liquidation, as was already the case with Pamodzi Gold's Orkney gold mine. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Pamodzi workers to demonstrate over nonpayment, job losses - 7 April
More than 3 000 employees of South African gold producer Pamodzi Gold's President Steyn mine were expected to hold a mass demonstration in Welkom on Wednesday. The march follows in reaction to the nonpayment of Pamodzi employees' salaries, as well as the large-scale job losses that could possibly result from the crisis, trade union Solidarity said on Tuesday. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Pamodzi Gold given six more days to come up with cash or evidence of cash - 8 April
The judicial managers have given Pamodzi Gold six days to come up with cash or have the entire group plunged into liquidation, SBT Trust’s Enver Motala told Mining Weekly Online on Wednesday. Motala said that the deadline of Wednesday April 8 for the continuance of the judicial management of Pamodzi Gold's Free State and East Rand gold mines had been extended to April 14 to allow Pamodozi Gold management time to come up with the funds – or to provide concrete evidence that funds were available. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Pamodzi Gold can still be rescued, liquidators say - 9 April
Pamodzi Gold could survive if it obtained a R200m loan immediately and another R300m within the next couple of months, provisional liquidator Enver Motala of SBT Trust said yesterday. - Business Day website

South Africa tribe has rich aspirations - 6 April
Africa has spawned countless examples of the "resource curse" in which rulers and governments loot the riches and none of the wealth trickles down to the poor. Can the Bafokeng, with its plans to be South Africa's "Excellence Hub," break the mold? The Bafokeng's land covers a portion of the world's biggest platinum deposits. The Royal Bafokeng Nation managed to hold on to its land and win royalties from the platinum mined there. The tribe is pouring revenue into services, schools and a first-world future. - Los Angeles Times website

SA mining law changes may result in further mining right application delays - 6 April
The proposed changes to South Africa's Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), especially around community interest and environmental regulation, were likely to add to delays currently experienced in acquiring mining and exploration rights. Law firm Webber Wentzel partner Manus Booysen said that the Amendment Bill would give the country's Minerals and Energy Minister the power to impose conditions around community involvement and possibly withhold a mining or exploration right if these conditions were not met. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

MPRDA amendments do little to clear up dump confusion : Matjila - 6 April
The proposed amendments to the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) suggested by the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) in terms of rights to mineral dumps would not cover the gap exposed in terms of the Jagersfontein case, Anglo Platinum senior manager of legal resources Mpho Matjila said on Monday. - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly website

Municipal Management and Procedure

Cape Town

Capetonians will 'foot' budget shortfall - 21 March
Ratepayers hoping for some relief in tariffs following the drop in property values by some 20 to 25 percent shouldn't hold their breath, as the City of Cape Town says "someone has to foot" the budget shortfall. The city is to have a meeting at the end of the month to determine the rate tariffs increase. Last month news reports said the increase could be as much as 11.5 percent after a R100-million shortfall was created by changes to the national government's grants allocation during the budget speech. - IOL website

Msunduzi

PMB tariff increases 'could have been worse' - 6 April
Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business (PCB) CEO Andrew Layman said the Msunduzi Municipality draft budget has been influenced by the desire to keep voters as the election approaches. In a statement released yesterday, Layman said in terms of moderate tariff increases, householders may be pleasantly surprised. - Witness website

National Prosecuting Authority

Zuma Case : Dropped Charges

Tax payers footing fees - 6 April
The R10,7-million forked out for ANC President Jacob Zuma's legal defence will be paid by the State. The cost which the State bore to prosecute Zuma was R100-million. - IOL website

Reaction : Local

Zille speaks out after Zuma decision - 6 April
IOL website
Keyphrase :
Democratic Alliance

Zille not done with Zuma - 6 April
DA leader Helen Zille will file an application in the High Court in Pretoria for a judicial review of the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority to withdraw charges against ANC president Jacob Zuma. Democratic Alliance spokesperson Frits de Klerk said Zille would file the application at 09:00 on Tuesday. - News24 website

DA application will be heard after election - 8 April
The urgent application by Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille for a review and setting aside of the National Prosecuting Authority's decision not to prosecute Jacob Zuma will be heard only after the election. Zille herself on Tuesday joined her attorney Anisha Jogi in filling papers at the Pretoria High Court - about an hour before charges were formally withdrawn against Zuma. The matter will be heard on June 9, as the NPA still had to note its intention to oppose and the parties thereafter had to exchange papers. - IOL website

Private prosecutions are rare - and expensive - 7 April
Private prosecutions are rare in South African legal history and rarely succeed - perhaps one reason why the Democratic Alliance has decided to first seek a full judicial review of the decision to drop charges against Jacob Zuma. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, any private person may launch a prosecution if the National Prosecuting Authority declines to prosecute or halts a prosecution and issues a certificate of nolle prosequi (we shall no longer prosecute). The prosecution would then be initiated by summons. - IOL website

See : North Gauteng High Court. Zuma Case : Democratic Alliance

Cope's statement on Zuma decision - 6 April
The Times website

Lekota wants Zuma charges reinstated - 8 April
Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota has blamed the ANC's policy of deploying cadres and "concubines" to top public service posts for the "mess" in which the National Prosecuting Authority has found itself in the aftermath of the withdrawal of charges against Jacob Zuma. Lekota called for charges against Zuma to be reinstated. - IOL website

Law-breakers at NPA must face justice : COPE - 9 April
Former National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) head Bulelani Ngcuka and others who may have violated the law at the NPA, must face justice, COPE presidential candidate Mvume Dandala said on Thursday. - IOL website

Ten years thrown away, says De Lille - 6 April
IOL website
Keyphrase :
Independent Democrats

De Lille acts on McCarthy, Ngcuka - 7 April
Independent Democrats leader Patricia De Lille on Tuesday said she has laid charges against former Scorpion head Leonard McCarthy and NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka. - IOL website

De Lille goes after Mpshe - 8 April
Patricia de Lille will include acting director of the National Prosecuting Authority Mokotedi Mpshe in charges brought against Leonard McCarthy and Bulelani Ngcuka. - IOL website

Cosatu : a victory for justice - 6 April
News24 website

Through the ANC's eyes . . . - 7 April
Dispatch Online website

Zuma decision a blow to rule of law : De Klerk - 6 April
IOL website

McCauley congratulates Zuma - 6 April
IOL website
Keyphrase :
Rhema Bible Church

Ruling 'spineless' - 6 April
Several senior lawyers told The Citizen they considered the NPA's decision "spineless" and pointed out they believed Mpshe's decision could be overturned on appeal to the High Court. - The Citizen website
Keyphrases :
F W de Klerk Foundation
Paul Hoffman SC. Spokesman. Institute for Accountability in SA

Legal experts differ on Zuma decision - 7 April
IOL website
Keyphrases :
Adam Habib, Professor. Political commentator. University of Johannesburg
Gary Pienaar. Senior researcher. Idasa's Political Information and Monitoring Service
Nikki de Havilland, Advocate. Centre for Constitutional Rights

Off the hook : but NPA puts equality before law in dock - 7 April
Jacob Zuma and his supporters have the outcome they wanted and, in a formal sort of way, our justice system may now be freer from the threat of direct political interference. But the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA's) decision not to prosecute Zuma leaves our political system in need of urgent repair. - Article by Steven Friedman, director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy, an initiative of Rhodes University and the University of Johannesburg, on Business Day website

A reckless gamble : all for nothing - 7 April
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) yesterday acted like a reckless gambler who has lost almost all his money and then wages his house, his car and the clothes on his back on a hopeless bet in a desperate attempt to regain some of his losses. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally Speaking blog

This is a matter of the Rule of Law, not Zuma - 8 April
It is striking that National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), advocate Mokothedi Mpshe, (or whomever actually told him to make this decision and wrote the statement he delivered yesterday) never once mentioned section 179(5) of the Constitution when he tried to justify the dropping of charges against Jacob Zuma. As I have pointed out, Mpshe quoted extensively from House of Lords precedent to conclude that where conduct of the NPA would be gravely wrong or show a gross neglect of the elementary principles of fairness it would be unconscionable to proceed with the trial. Problem is, the UK does not have a written Constitution and no section 179(5), so this precedent is rubbish – unless I have not checked and we have been re-colonised by Britain. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally Speaking website

Reaction to 'The Tapes'

McCarthy in hot water : the former Scorpions head could face a criminal charge - 7 April
While former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka is unlikely to face any criminal charges, his alleged accomplice Leonard McCarthy is likely to face the music. Both Ngcuka and the former Scorpions head McCarthy are accused of having interfered with the prosecution of ANC president Jacob Zuma. - Sowetan website

McCarthy distances himself from Zuma saga - 8 April
Former Scorpions chief Leonard McCarthy has distanced himself from the Jacob Zuma saga - arguing it was not he but Scorpions director Thanda Mngwengwe and NPA boss Mokotedi Mpshe who decided to prosecute the ANC president in 2007. - IOL website

New drama at anti-corruption unit - 7 April
News of Leonard McCarthy's role in the decision to drop charges against ANC president Jacob Zuma could not have come at a worse time for the World Bank and its anti-corruption unit. The unit, formally known as the Department of Institutional Integrity, has in recent years been dogged by controversy. - Business Report website

We stand by McCarthy, says World Bank - 8 April
Fighting corruption is not a popularity contest and the holders of these positions often make enemies. This is the reaction of the World Bank to the news that its head of the integrity unit, Leonard McCarthy, had played a critical part in the political collusion that led to the collapse of the prosecution of ANC president Jacob Zuma. The bank added : "Before McCarthy was appointed, the bank conducted extensive due diligence. It found him to be a man of high integrity and high professional standards with . . . a record of aggressively fighting corruption and other criminal wrongdoing in South Africa". - Business Report website

McCarthy prepared to face the music - 8 April
Former Scorpions head Leonard McCarthy supports the NPA's call for a judicial commission of inquiry and will co-operate fully if he is furnished with the complete recordings used to publicly hang and quarter him this week. These have thus far been denied him by acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe, but McCarthy has renewed efforts to get access to the tapes. - IOL website

Ngcuka to be charged - 7 April
The National Prosecuting Authority is planning to bring criminal charges against its former boss, Bulelani Ngcuka, and against the former head of the Scorpions, Leonard McCarthy. The two are among the prominent people said by the NPA to have used the criminal case against ANC president Jacob Zuma to further political goals. - The Times website

Ngcuka : there was no conspiracy - 7 April
Ngcuka found it "disturbing and inexplicable" that the transcripts made available to the media at the briefing were not put to him in his two meetings with the NPA. However, he was concerned that, by the NPA's own admission, no official transcripts of the recordings were available ; some of the discussions at issue had been paraphrased ; and the NPA alone had decided which parts were relevant. - News24 website

Bulelani Ngcuka responds to NPA allegations : full text - 8 April
The Times website

7 April 2009
Mr Ngcuka's position on the board of Transnet
SA Government Information website

See also : http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&qsid=K80WrFM81Zi7RM

Tapes show 'emperor' pulled the strings - 7 April
The recordings and text messages that freed Jacob Zuma have implicated ex-Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy in the attempted sabotage of Jackie Selebi's corruption prosecution - at the behest of his "emperor". And, while the State has insisted the SMSs do not constitute evidence of political interference by Thabo Mbeki in its prosecution of Zuma, they have again raised questions about Mbeki's role in the case against Selebi. - IOL website

See also : Selebi demands his day in court - 8 April
The Times website

Charge Mbeki, Ngcuka : Zuma allies - 8 April
Jacob Zuma's closest allies are baying for the blood of former president Thabo Mbeki and others accused of "conspiring" against the ruling party's leader. This is despite Zuma's assurances that he will forgive those who used the criminal justice system to try to prevent him from becoming the country’s president. -  The Times website

Mbeki denies he meddled in Zuma corruption case - 9 April
Former president Thabo Mbeki yesterday denied that he had meddled in African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma's corruption case and again called for vigilance against the practice of spreading deliberate falsehoods. - Business Day website

Probe into Zuma tapes - 7 April
The Inspector General of Intelligence is probing how Jacob Zuma's lawyers laid their hands on the tape recordings which allegedly implicated former NPA head Bulelani Ngquka and former Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy, SABC radio news reported on Tuesday. The tapes, which implicated the two men in a conspiracy against the ANC leader, were crucial in the National Prosecuting Authority's decision to drop charges against Zuma. Zuma's lawyer Michael Hulley has refused to say how he got the tapes. - News24 website

'NIA deputy head leaked tapes' - 9 April
The National Intelligence Agency’s (NIA) deputy head, Arthur Fraser, leaked secret recordings to ANC leader Jacob Zuma’s lawyers - evidence that ultimately halted his prosecution, according to a report. - The Times website

DA lays charges against Hulley - 9 April
The Democratic Alliance's Dianne Kohler-Barnard on Thursday laid criminal charges against ANC president Jacob Zuma's lawyer Michael Hulley and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) deputy head Arthur Fraser. The charges relate to the possession and distribution of allegedly illegal tape recordings. - IOL website

Zuma tapes 'show laws on interception are weak' - 9 April
African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma can now breathe easy, but the use of intelligence tapes in clearing him has raised questions of concern - it has exposed weaknesses in SA's legislation on the interception of communication, says former intelligence review commission chairman Joe Matthews. He said there was need for serious safeguards not just in the use of communications interception, but also in the possession of such information. "The absence of proper regulations means when an incident like this occurs, the question is who gave authority and to investigate what?". - Business Day website

Alleged Mbeki tapes will not be investigated - 30 March
The Office of the Inspector General of Intelligence (OIGI) has dismissed calls for a probe into the so-called Mbekigate tapes because it has no proof that these do indeed exist. "Allegations of the interception and monitoring of the communications of senior officials apparently discussing the Zuma case have not been confirmed and no evidence of these allegations have been made available to the office of the Inspector General," OIGI chief director Imtiaz Fazel said on Monday. - IOL website

Ginwala concern over spy tape release - 9 April
The intercepted phone conversations that torpedoed the case against ANC president Jacob Zuma should never have been made public, according to former National Assembly speaker Frene Ginwala. The SABC reported today that Ginwala said this was her understanding of the law. She was speaking on the sidelines of a memorial service in Pretoria for late communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Cassaburri. - The Times website

Mabandla : 10 days, one very red face - 7 April
It's been an embarrassing few weeks as Public Enterprises Minister Brigitte Mabandla prepares to bow out of office and active politics after the April 22 election. On Monday, Mabandla was back in the news, when the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed that her cellphone was used by former president Thabo Mbeki to speak to then-Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy on December 19 last year. - IOL website

How R4m 'given to ANC president' led NPA to withdraw the case - 7 April
Dispatch Online website

Effect on National Prosecuting Authority

Prosecutors left in limbo - 7 April
Will they stay or will they go? After devoting eight years of their lives to the corruption investigation and prosecution of Jacob Zuma, state advocates Billy Downer and Anton Steynberg are understood to be "deeply disturbed" about the dropping of the case against the ANC president. It remains unclear, however, whether either of the men - who as yet have declined to speak publicly about the "Zuma deal" - will translate their unhappiness over the quashing of the Zuma case into resignations. - IOL website

Question mark hangs over NPA autonomy - 8 April
"A feeling of utter powerlessness" is how one senior prosecutor at the National Prosecuting Authority has described the impact of the decision to drop charges in the institution's biggest case of its 10-year history. The decision leaves a question mark over the independence of the NPA, with revelations of political meddling. - IOL website

Phosa calls for NPA review - 8 April
The NPA should immediately review all its former and current cases in which there was a potential for meddling, similar to that which occurred in the case of ANC president Jacob Zuma, says the ruling party’s treasurer-general Mathews Phosa. - The Times website

See also : Constitutional Court. Zuma Case, North Gauteng High Court. Zuma Case : Democratic Alliance, KwaZulu-Natal High Court : Durban. Zuma Case above and Politics below

Overseas Reports

S Africa drops Zuma bribery charges - 6 April
Al Jazeera website

SAfrica's ANC declares 'victory' in Zuma case - 6 April
Dropping of Zuma charges 'perilous ': S Africa opposition - 6 April
Zuma free, but SAfrica still haunted by graft : analysts - 6 April
IC Publications [Africasia] website

Rand rises to six-month high after Zuma graft charges scrapped - 6 April
Rand trades near 6-month high before decision on Zuma charges - 6 April
Bloomberg website

Jacob who? - 6 April
Imtiaz Ahmed, chief investment officer at First South Financial Services, doubts Monday's market moves have much to do with SA's next president. Commentators need to look beyond the Jacob Zuma case to explain movements in the rand and the stock market. - Moneyweb website

Joy and fury at Zuma charges move - 6 April
BBC News website

South Africa drops charges against leading presidential contender - 6 April
The case has deeply divided the country and struck at one of its core political questions : how to uphold the rule of law, a particular point of pride in this nascent democracy, when the nation is dominated by a single party and the party's most influential figures vie for power. "It's very sad to see Africa's major country now going down the same route by which corruption is easily excused by political authorities in other African countries", said Laurence Cockcroft, a board member of the British chapter of Transparency International, an anticorruption group. - New York Times website

Bribery, polygamy, AIDS . . . it takes a lot to block a South African from becoming president - 6 April
National Post [Canada] website

Jacob Zuma and the French connection -7 April
The decision sent a powerful message to the people of South Africa : those at the top can get away with just about anything. The rule of law is now the rule of the political fix. - ABC News [Australia] website

Pension Funds

More Shell South Africa pension fund trickery - 7 April
As a result of "an embarrassing" blunder by Mr Jonathan Mort, legal advisor of the Shell South Africa Pension Fund, we have been given a revealing behind he scenes glimpse into the reality of a supposedly independently run Shell Pension Fund. - Blogger News Network

Politics

After Mandela : the battle for the soul of South Africa / Alec Russell
Sold in the US as Bring me my machine gun : the battle for the soul of South Africa, from Mandela to Zuma
Review by Gillian Slovo - 6 April
Financial Times website

The Jacob Zuma Cargo Cult and the "implosion" of alliance politics - 6 April
anarkismo website

On Jacob Zuma and Paul Kruger - 5 April
In his recent book, Diamonds, Gold and War, Martin Meredith writes about "Oom Paul" Kruger in terms that remind one, in a way, of Jacob Zuma. Like Kruger, he too rose from the bottom to the top. Yet he became ANC president and is now effectively the country's president-elect. The moral appears to be that people should not be judged on their appearances. - Politicsweb website

See also : Constitutional Court. Zuma Case, North Gauteng High Court. Zuma Case : Democratic Alliance, KwaZulu-Natal High Court : Durban. Zuma Case and National Prosecuting Authority. Jacob Zuma - Dropped Charges above

Sport and Recreation

Watson denies racial slur against Bok coach - 7 April
Eastern Cape rugby union president Cheeky Watson has denied that he made allegedly racial slurs against Springbok coach Peter de Villiers. Press reports have alleged that at a recent meeting of the EP Legends, Watson described De Villiers as "a baboon who does not know what he is doing". De Villiers, apparently regarding the comment as a racial insult, fired off a lawyer's letter to SA Rugby. - IOL website

Saru rules on De Villiers racism claims - 7 April
SA Rugby's investigation into allegations that Springbok coach Peter de Villiers was racially abused in his absence at a meeting of South Eastern Cape rugby officials had failed to produce convincing evidence that the incident had taken place, said Andy Marinos, acting managing director of SA Rugby on Tuesday. - IOL website

Taxation Law

CGT changes you should know about - 19 March
What the new rules say about capital distributions and disposing of interests in a collective property investment scheme etc. Some may suprise while others annoy. A number of amendments have been made to the capital gains tax (CGT) provisions in the Eighth Schedule to the Income Tax Act. The more significant amendments are discussed below. - Article by Moray Wilson of Deloitte on the Moneyweb website

Sars eliminates tax penalty on bonuses - 23 March
Received a retention bonus? Leaving your company, worried about the tax? Don't be, a new amendment to the Income Tax Act No 58 of 1962 has removed the tax burden. The amendment dealing with repayable employee benefits aims at removing the inequity that arises if an employee has to repay an amount received from his employer. - Article by Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs on the Moneyweb website

Sars takes hardline on IP tax arbitrage - 6 April
New legislation has been released by Sars which is designed to stop companies taking their income out of the South African tax net. South African companies previously paying royalties (the licensee) to foreign companies or non tax paying organisations used to be able to claim the payments as a tax deduction. In many cases the royalty payments were effectively returned to South Africa in the form of dividends benefiting from double tax treaties between the two countries. - Moneyweb website

Trade and Industry

China's quota betrayal - 4 April
In the same week that South Africa claimed it had refused the Dalai Lama a visa in the interests of trade relations with China, the Chinese cocked a snook at the South African government by rejecting its request for new quotas limiting Chinese textile imports. China told South Africa's Trade and Industry Department it would not renew the agreement limiting cheap Chinese imports. The deal, signed in 2006, lapsed in December last year. Cheap Chinese imports cost the local industry more than 60 000 jobs before the quota agreement was implemented in 2006. South African trade unions say South African clothing and textile firms have shed about 2 200 workers since the beginning of 2009. - The Times website

SA mulling over a protectionist response to global crisis - 7 April
As part of its response to the current economic crisis, the South African government would seriously consider reversing some of the tariff cuts that it had pursued diligently. South Africa's Deputy Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies gave notice on Tuesday that such a repositioning could be necessary to mitigate against some of the imbalances that were likely to arise as a result of the many bail-outs being deployed in other countries to salvage distressed firms and industries. South Africa would also direct some additional resources to support industrial sectors, probably through its development finance institutions, but Davies said that it could not compete with the quantum of money being dispersed elsewhere. Therefore, he counselled against a situation where South Africa made commitments not to raise tariffs "even where we have WTO legal space" to do so. South African Institute of International Affairs Development Through Trade project head Peter Draper told Engineering News that he thought the suggestion was an "overwhelmingly bad idea". He said he was aware that the National Economic Development and Labour Council was considering a proposal to raise all South Africa's tariffs back to "bound levels". - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Corporate bailouts send wrong signal : Manuel - 8 April
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said singling out companies for state support sent the wrong signal and undermined the government's ability to support the broader economy. Manuel wrote in an opinion piece in Wednesday's Business Day newspaper that helping individual companies would "destroy the incentive to create sound businesses". - Business Report website

Transport and Roads

SAA could claim against Ngqula - 24 March
South African Airways could make a claim against its sacked CEO Khaya Ngqula should an investigation find he acted improperly during his tenure at the airline, the National Assembly's portfolio committee on public enterprises heard on Tuesday. "It needs to be made clear that if the investigation should uncover evidence of wrongdoing, Mr Ngqula's separation from SAA will not protect him from the consequences that the board instigated," SAA board chairman Jakes Gerwel said. - IOL website

Toll Roads

N2 toll road dispute escalates - 9 April
The eThekwini Municipality is to be asked to declare a dispute with the national government about the controversial proposals to toll the N2 south of Durban. - The Mercury website

Miscellaneous

Civil debt statistics paint bleak picture - 19 March
If the January hike in the value of judgments against individuals of 25% represents a true expectation for the year as a whole, then non-payment judgments against individuals could top R6.55 billion this year. - Moneyweb website

Killer of Stompie Seipei dies in prison - 7 April
Youth activist Stompie Seipei's killer has died in jail, according to media reports on Tuesday. Jerry Richardson, who was serving a life sentence at Johannesburg's Leeuwkop prison for Seipei's murder, died of natural causes last week. He was in his 50s. - IOL website

Ending tyranny in Africa - 6 April
This is a golden chance for African countries to break free from the yoke of ruinous dictatorships so that the continent can for the first time benefit from its immense natural and mineral resources. Editorial. - Black Star News website

Benin

Albino African seeks Spain asylum - 9 April
The Spanish government is considering an asylum request from an albino African who claims he might be killed in a witchcraft ritual if sent home. The 18-year-old from Benin, known only as Moszy, arrived in Tenerife last week with 60 other African immigrants. Some African nations have reported a growing trade in albino body parts, which some witchdoctors believe can bring wealth and good fortune. - BBC News website

Zimbabwe

SA business seeks Zimbabwe guarantees on investment - 6 April
South African business leaders on Monday called for guarantees to protect new investment in Zimbabwe, after noting efforts by Harare's new unity government to attract business to help its battered economy. A weekend government reconstruction summit produced a 100-day action plan that seeks to end Zimbabwe's isolation and aims at re-engagement with Western governments seen crucial in funding an economic recovery plan. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

India

HC hears PIL against shifting of IPL matches - 7 April
A public interest litigation seeking a restraint order against the IPL matches being shifted to South Africa came up before the Rajasthan High Court on Monday. The petitioners - Rameshwar Nirvan and Krishna Murari Lal Asthana - through their advocate Abhinav Sharma, also sought a direction to the Centre to provide adequate security for the matches to be held in the country itself. The petition was heard by a division bench comprising Justice R C Gandhi and Justice Mahesh Bhagwati. - Times of India website

Shifting of IPL to South Africa challenged in SC - 9 April
The decision to shift Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition by BCCI from India to South Africa was today challenged in the Supreme Court which declined to hear the issue before the start of the event from April 17.The court posted the sharing of the PIL [sic] for April 20 but indicated that nothing much can be done as IPL and BCCI were not the government agencies and the event has been shifted to another country in view of the general elections. - SAMayLive website

26/11 trial to begin on April 15 - 7 April
The prosecution will begin the argument for the November 26, 2008, Mumbai terror attacks case on April 15, the Special Sessions Court said on Monday. The hearing will take place at Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail. On April 15, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam will present the charges against the three accused in the case, Mohammad Ajmal Amir ‘Kasab,’ Fahim Ansari and Mohammad Sabahuddin. He will also submit the evidence collected by the police. - The Hindu website

Pakistan

Pakistan's Chief Justice assails Attorney General over Taliban flogging - 6 April
The newly restored chief justice of Pakistan displayed his reputation as a human rights advocate and a prod to the government on Monday, when he hauled the attorney general and other officials before the Supreme Court and rebuked them over the flogging of a 17-year-old woman in the Taliban-controlled area of Swat. The chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, assailed the officials for laziness and self-importance, and challenged them for not taking up the case until it became a national scandal in recent days, when a video showing the woman pinned to the ground and repeatedly whipped by a Taliban commander was broadcast on Pakistani television. Chand was singled out for the punishment after she declined a Taliban fighter's proposal for marriage, the head of the Peshawar Bar Association, Abdul Latif Afridi, said after the hearing. - New York Times website

Commission updates the list of airlines banned from European airspace - 9 April
The European Commission today adopted the update of the so-called blacklist of airlines that are banned from flying into the European Union due to safety concerns. The Commission has imposed a ban on six airlines from Kazakhstan, one airline certified in Thailand, one additional Ukrainian air carrier and on operations of all carriers certified in Benin. - eGov Monitor website

Excerpt :
"Hence from today the Community list imposes a ban on :
▪ All carriers from Angola, Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Gabon save for Gabon Airlines and Afrijet, which have exemptions for a small number of aircraft
▪ Sixteen individual carriers :
  ▪ * Afghanistan – Ariana Afghan Airlines
  ▪ Cambodia - Siem Reap Airways International
  ▪ Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Air Koryo
  ▪ Kazakhstan - Air Company Kokshetau, ATMA Airlines, Berkut Air, East
    Wing, Sayat Air, Starline KZ
  ▪ Rwanda - Silverback Cargo Freighters
  ▪ Sudan - Air West
  ▪ Thailand - One Two Go Airlines
  ▪ Ukraine - Motor Sich Airlines, Ukraine Cargo Airways, Ukraine
    Mediterranean Airlines and Volare Aviation"

Judge attacks human rights court - 4 April
A senior British judge has accused the European Court of Human Rights of going beyond its jurisdiction and trying to create a "federal law of Europe". Lord Hoffmann, the second most senior Law Lord, said the Strasbourg court had imposed "uniform rules" on states. The judge said rulings that had gone against domestic decisions were "teaching grandmothers to suck eggs". He said he supported the European Convention on Human Rights but not the institution that applies the law. - BBC News website

Labour Law

Government keeps work restrictions for Eastern Europeans - 9 April
Strict working restrictions for Eastern Europeans will not be scrapped, the Government announced today. The Worker Registration Scheme enables the Government to monitor the work A8 nationals do, and where in the country they do it - and so better plan for local services and ensure migration is working for the British labour market and the country as a whole. Maintaining the restrictions also means A8 nationals will not have full access to benefits until they have been working and paying tax for at least 12 consecutive months. - eGov Monitor website

Afghanistan

7 April 2009. Six-year-old Arzoo rests at a US-run hospital in Bagram, north of Kabul, after she was wounded in a mortar attack in Afghanistan last week, her family said. - BBC News website

Shi'ite Personal Status Law

Law for Afghan Shi'ites stirs anger and concern - 2 April
A new law for Shi'ite Muslims in Afghanistan has provoked anger among some lawmakers while the United Nations has said it is seriously concerned about the law's potential impact on women's rights in the former Taliban state. The new law passed by parliament and signed by President Hamid Karzai, but not yet promulgated in the official gazette, is meant to legalise minority Shi'ite family law, which is different than that for the majority Sunni population. - Reuters website

Articles of faith - 2 April
Tom Coghlan, reporting for The Times in Kabul, has been leaked the full text of  new laws in Afghanistan, under which a woman from the minority Shia community will not be able to leave the house without her husband's permission and cannot refuse him his marital rights. - Times Online website

UN rights chief urges Afghanistan to revoke new family law - 3 April
The UN's human rights chief has urged the Afghan government to revoke new legislation that targets women in a way "reminiscent of the decrees made by the Taliban regime". "This is another clear indication that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is getting worse, not better," said Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement issued Thursday. "This law is a huge step in the wrong direction," she added. - easy bourse website

Afghan marital rape law a political ploy - 4 April
Afghanistan legalised marital rape after President Hamid Karzai signed a bill in March. The law is apparently to appease the country's Shia minority, months ahead of the presidential election. Afghan Parliament has already passed a bill intended to give the minority Shia community their own identity. But the latest draft appears to strip women of rights as simple as leaving the house without permission from a male relative. - IBN Live website

Afghan sex law continues to dominate NATO summit - 4 April
Growing allied concern over perceived sexist legislation being introduced in Afghanistan continued to dominate the political atmosphere at the NATO summit Saturday as the transatlantic alliance grappled with US plans to boost military and civilian aid to the ravaged country. - Montreal Gazette website

Afghans defend Shiite women law - 4 April
Afghan President Hamid Karzai defended Saturday, April 4, a new family law for the country's Shiite minority, rejecting Western criticism that the legislation imposes Taliban-style restrictions on women. "We understand the concerns of our allies in the international community," Karzai told reporters, Reuters reported. "Those concerns may be out of an inappropriate or not so good translation of the law or a misinterpretation of this". - Islam Online website

Afghan President orders review of Shiite law - 4 April
Opponents say law "worse than during the Taliban". - Al Arabiya News Channel website

Haidari : correcting perceptions - 5 April
[Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, March 28, 2009]. By M Ashraf Haidari, political counselor of the Embassy of Afghanistan. - Washington Times website

Western media reflected Afghani law on women wrongly : Ministry of Women's Affairs spokesman - 5 April
Afghani Ministry of Women's Affairs spokesman Vadan Farahi told Trend News the western media interpreted the law wrongly for the international community. "It should be mentioned that the Justice Ministry is reconsidering the law and changes will be made to it if the law contradicts the Sharia," Farahi told over telephone from Kabul on April 5.- News Agency Trend News website

Early drafts of the Afghan 'rape' law were even more oppressive - 5 April
A controversial new law restricting the rights of women in Afghanistan could have been even more draconian but for the efforts of local activists and a Canadian human rights organization. The new family code for the country's Shia minority, which was rammed through parliament last week, has sparked international outrage for its endorsement of marital rape. "It's really absolutely out of control, the way politics brought all this into play", Alexandra Gilbert, a project coordinator for the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Developments, says from the Afghan capital. - Macleans website

Iraq

Iraq shoe thrower's jail term cut - 7 April
The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at former US President George W Bush has had his sentence cut from three years to one year on appeal. Muntadar al-Zaidi's lawyer argued that the charge should be changed from assault to insulting a foreign leader. The judge agreed and reduced the term in line with the less serious offence. An official for the court said the presiding judge had also taken into account the fact that Zaidi had no prior criminal history. - BBC News website

Courts

Family courts open to media but not bloggers - 7 April
Thousands of family hearings that take place behind closed doors will be opened to media this month, Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, said yesterday. Under the reform, accredited media will be able to attend all levels of family courts from April 27, removing the inconsistency of access between magistrates' courts, which are generally open, and the county and high courts, which are closed. Courts will still be able to restrict attendance if a child’s welfare requires it or if it is necessary to do so for the safety and protection of parties or witnesses. Parties to cases will be able to make representations to a court if they feel that there are good reasons for excluding journalists. - Times Online website

Labour Issues

More parents to get flexible work - 6 April
Millions of parents with older children are now able to ask employers for flexible work arrangements, rather than just those with children under six. The extension of the current set of arrangements will include 4.5m parents of children aged 16 and under. The government said it wanted to help families balance work and home lives. - BBC News website

Migrant rule change was unfair on skilled workers - 7 April
Thousands of highly skilled migrants may receive compensation after the High Court ruled that changes to the rules under which they originally entered Britain were unfair. It is the second time in a year that the retrospective changes to the programme for the "brightest and best" migrants, including doctors and academics, have been declared unfair and unlawful by the court. The change meant that highly skilled migrants who had come to Britain with the prospect of becoming eligible to settle permanently after four years had to wait another year. - Times Online website

Land Affairs

Land Registry celebrates historic signing - 7 April
Land Registry celebrated a milestone in its history when it registered the first mortgage to be signed electronically. The mortgage, or "e-charge", in favour of Coventry Building Society, was signed electronically by the borrower and registered at 11:20 on 24 March 2009. This landmark occasion marks an important step in Land Registry's programme of introducing new electronic services and helps to make property transactions easier for all. - eGov Monitor website

Alaska

Senator Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens conviction overturned - 7 April
A judge has overturned Alaska Senator Ted Stevens's conviction for corruption because of mistakes made by prosecutors during his trial. The ruling follows a request by officials at the US justice department for the conviction to be reversed. - BBC News website

Stevens prosecutors face inquiry - 7 April
A US federal judge on Tuesday angrily threw out a jury's corruption verdict against former Republican Senator Ted Stevens and ordered a criminal contempt probe into what he called "shocking" misconduct by the US Justice Department. US District Judge Emmmet Sullivan said the Stevens prosecutors withheld exculpatory evidence, violating their duty to all cases whether they apply to "a public official, a private citizen or a Guantanamo-based detainee". - New York Times website

See : InfoUpdate no.3 of 2009 and InfoUpdate no.7 of 2009

American International Group (AIG)

Treasury objects to AIG bonus payments - 15 March
AIG, which has received three government bailouts totaling $180bn, will sharply cut remaining salaries for 2009 for top executives of its Financial Products unit. Embattled insurer American International Group agreed to revamp its bonus structure on Saturday after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner objected to its plans to pay out substantial sums for 2008, Obama administration officials and the company's chairman said. - Moneyweb website

Who got AIG's money? - 16 March
European banks were the major beneficiaries of $93bn from AIG - more than half of the US taxpayer money spent to rescue the massive insurer. Goldman Sachs Group Inc and a parade of European banks were the major beneficiaries of $93 billion in payments from AIG - more than half of the US taxpayer money spent to rescue the massive insurer. - Moneyweb website

AIG CEO says bonus payments were necessary - 18 March
American International Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy gave no indication the insurer would pull back bonuses to employees that have outraged Congress and the Obama administration. "We have to continue managing our business as a business - taking into account the cold realities of competition for customers, for revenues and for employees," Liddy said in congressional testimony obtained by Reuters. - Moneyweb website

AIG CEO asks employees to repay some bonus money - 19 March
The head of AIG said on Wednesday he was trying desperately to prevent the company from collapsing when he allowed the payment of $165 million in bonuses that have stoked outrage stretching from the White House to Main Street. Edward Liddy, who took over as chairman and chief executive of American International Group Inc in September when the government stepped in with the first of a series of rescues, said he had asked employees receiving more than $100,000 in bonuses to repay at least half. - Moneyweb website

Courts

US court allows apartheid claims - 9 April
A United States judge has ruled that lawsuits can go ahead against several companies accused of helping South Africa's apartheid-era government. IBM, Ford and General Motors are among those corporations now expected to face demands for damages from thousands of apartheid's victims. They argue that the firms supplied equipment used by the South African security forces to suppress dissent. - BBC News website
Keyphrase :
United States. 'Apartheid Case'

NY judge rules in favor of 1970s apartheid victims - 9 April
Apartheid victims who accused automakers and IBM of helping the government of South Africa engage in violent repression to enforce racial segregation in the 1970s and '80s can go to trial with their claims, a judge ruled Wednesday. US District Judge Shira A Scheindlin rejected assertions by several countries that the lawsuits should not proceed because that might harm relations between the United States and South Africa. - AP on Google website

Some claims can proceed in apartheid suits : Judge - 8 April
In a decision Wednesday, US District Judge Shira A Scheindlin in Manhattan allowed some claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act of aiding and abetting the apartheid government to continue against auto makers General Motors Corp (GM), Ford Motor Co (F) and Daimler AG (DAI) ; computer manufacturer International Business Machines Corp (IBM) ; and Rheinmetall Group AG (RHM.XE), the parent of armaments maker Oerlikon Contraes AG. "What survives are much narrower cases that this court hopes will move toward resolution after more than five years spent litigating motions to dismiss," the judge said. - CNN Money website

Human Rights

'Death camp Nazi' can be deported - 6 April
A US judge has revoked the stay of deportation for John Demjanjuk, who is accused of being an accessory to the murder of 29,000 Jews in a Nazi camp. The judge's decision clears the way for Mr Demjanjuk, 89, to be sent to Germany to face trial for his alleged crimes. Mr Demjanjuk, who moved to the US after World War II, is accused of being a death camp guard in occupied Poland. The Ukrainian had pleaded against deportation on grounds of ill health. He has denied any part in the killings. - BBC News website

Company Law

SMM saga : legal battle heads for the climax - 5 April
Judge President Rita Makarau on Thursday met lawyers representing Mutumwa Mawere and SMM administrator Afaras Gwaradzimba to agree on setting a date for the continuation of the matter in which the South African businessman is accused of having masterminded the demise of his empire. At the centre of the saga is the allegation that SMM through its division, African Associated Mines, exported goods worth about US$18,464,595.27, C$628,071.84 and ZAR4,515,367.48 to SAS and as at 31 March 2004 these amounts were due and outstanding to SMM. SMM was seized from Mawere by the government under the Reconstruction Act on the basis that his companies were insolvent and indebted to the State by owing parastatals money. The Act paved the way for the appointment of Gwaradzimba as the administrator of Mawere's empire. The government then took the case to a UK court to be registered as owners of SMM. But the UK courts ruled that Mawere owns SMM parent company, SMM Holdings. The government now wants to use the Reconstruction Act to dismember SMM from SMMH. SAS being a South African company is governed under the laws of that country and the Reconstruction laws cannot be applied across the Limpopo. As such to claim money from SAS, the government had to first take control of SMM and then proceed to file claims against the South African company. It has also been established that the reconstruction of SMM cannot be completed without an order of court. A confirmation order by the courts will ensure that any claims against SMM will not be honoured and this would render the liquidation process of SAS in South Africa a nullity, legal experts told Standardbusiness. - The Standard website

Environment

Report on climate change - March 2009
We are reproducing below the reworked version of the report on Climate change and Climate campaigns, drafted by Daniel Tanuro and given at the meeting of the International Committee (IC) of the Fourth International in February 2009. This report has been adopted as the base to write the resolution of the coming FI world congress on these issues. - International Viewpoint website

Taxation Law

OECD removes tax havens from list - 7 April
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has removed all four countries from its blacklist of tax havens. The blacklist published last week included Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines and Uruguay. OECD chief Angel Gurria said in Paris that all four countries had now agreed to adopt its regulations. - BBC News website

Trade and Industry

Doha deal in sight after modalities : WTO's Lamy - 7 April
The Doha round of global trade talks could be concluded within eight months after negotiators agree modalities on industrial tariffs and agriculture subsidies, the head of the World Trade Organisation said. World Trade Organisation (WTO) director-general Pascal Lamy put the talks, launched in 2001 with an emphasis on development and opening markets in agriculture, manufacturing and services, on ice last December, citing a lack of political will among major powers to bridge their differences. - Creamer Media's Engineering News website

Former war crimes prosecutor to lead UN Gaza probe - 3 April
A widely respected South African judge and former International War Crimes Prosecutor will lead a UN investigation into alleged war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip. Richard Goldstone and three other human rights experts will examine all aspects of the violence that occurred during Israel's military incursion into Gaza at the end of last year. In mid-January, the 47-member UN Human Rights Council voted overwhelmingly for a fact-finding mission to investigate grave human rights violations by Israeli forces against the Palestinians. - VOA News website

Goldstone : Israel's Eichmann trial brought about the concept of universal jurisprudence – 6 April
Judge Richard Goldstone, a Jewish South African judge who was the Hague International Court's war crimes prosecutor for Rwanda and Yugoslavia and who will be heading the UN Human Rights Council's latest mission to investigate alleged Israeli war crimes during Operation Cast Lead, has said he always found it hard to fathom that Jews could perpetrate racial discrimination. Goldstone told the Leadel.net video portal that "from a very early age, I found it difficult to understand how Jews could participate in racial or other forms of discrimination, having been on the receiving end for so many centuries". – The Jerusalem Post website

Facebook trap criminals in its web - 5 April
Social networking site Facebook is coming in handy as a cunning legal tool, say lawyers. Late in February a New Zealand judge's decision to approve the use of Facebook to serve court papers on a man who skipped the country after allegedly taking NZ$241 000 from his former employees' accounts, made headlines. News reports quoted New Zealand lawyers as saying this had "opened the legal floodgates". Ronald Bobroff, a member of the Law Society of South Africa, said the New Zealand judgement had made things "very interesting". "This could happen in South Africa because the law makes provisions for newspapers and even a notice board in the foyer of the court to be used to serve a notice when it's difficult to track down Joe Soap". Facebook is also being used to fight crime in this country. - IOL website

Google addresses newspaper woes - 8 April
The majority of newspapers should be online, says Google boss Eric Schmidt, amid criticism it should share some of the millions it makes from newslinks. Media owner Rupert Murdoch has questioned if aggregators like Google should pay to use content. The Associated Press is to sue to protect its content as a time when the industry is losing readers to the web. In a question and answer session at the end of his keynote address, suggestions that Google and the internet was eroding the intellectual property rights of newspapers was downplayed by Mr Schmidt. Industry analyst Ken Doctor of Outsell told the BBC this was the wrong way to look at the argument of how Google profits from newspaper content. "What we should be focusing on is 'fair share'." said Mr Doctor. In a blog post, the search engine giant claimed it does provide a financial kickback for newspapers through online advertising. - BBC News website

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