DA
warns bills will centralise power in ANC - 11 August
A host of legislative and policy proposals under discussion indicated a
drive by the African National Congress to centralise power and undermine
fundamental principles of the constitution, Democratic Alliance
parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said yesterday. A total of 18
legislative and policy proposals by the ANC "seeks to centralise
power and place even greater powers of surveillance and control under the
authority of the national government", Mr Trollip said at a media
conference to release a DA discussion document, The Centralisation of
Power Under the ANC. - Business
Day website
Basic
Conditions of Employment Act ; Employment
Services Bill ;
Labour Relations Act
Confidential
draft legislation will destroy jobs - 9 August
Four key draft amendment bills to our existing labour legislation are
currently before cabinet. Individually and jointly they propose a series
of changes that are, in a number of cases, profoundly problematic and,
if left in their current form, will have the effect of destroying rather
than creating jobs, on the one hand, and further centralising power in
the hands of the executive, on the other. - Moneyweb
website
Keyphrases :
Bargaining Councils
Labour brokering
Labour Courts
Labour inspectors
Statutory Councils
Temporary employment
Shoddy
labour-broking legislation sent back - 8 August
Important new labour legislation affecting labour-broking and other
issues was so shoddily written the Cabinet refused to accept it and
the proposed new laws have to be redrafted. Omission of clauses
relating to labour brokers, new powers for the Labour Court including
exclusive jurisdiction over constitutional matters arising from labour
disputes, and new powers for labour inspectors to enter premises
without a warrant, are some of the wild proposals Cabinet sent back to
the Department of Labour to be redrafted. - City
Press website
New
labour laws rejected by cabinet - 9 August
The Department of Labour would neither confirm nor deny that four
controversial draft bills - which the DA has warned could cost jobs -
had been sent back by the cabinet for re-drafting. Acting
director-general of labour Sam Morotoba was responding yesterday to a
report that draft legislation - affecting labour brokers and new
powers for labour inspectors and the Labour Court - was so deficient
that it was being put through a regulatory impact assessment. - Business
Report website
Minister
denies legislation was shoddily written - 10 August
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana on Monday denied reports
that labour legislation affecting labour broking and other issues was
"shoddily" written to an extent that Cabinet refused to accept
it. Mdladlana applauded the black lawyers who drafted the bills and said
that black lawyers were always associated with incompetence and lack of
professionalism. - Polity
website
Employment
services bill will damage job market : DA - 17 August
Draft legislation now before Cabinet will make the labour department a
massive labour broker and severely restrict the free market in
employment, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday. The draft
Employment Services Bill was an ominous indication of an ANC shift
towards implementing aspects of a planned economy, DA spokesman Ian
Ollis said. It would hamper job creation and represented another
attbempt to centralise control ahead of promoting entrepreneurship and
investment. - Business Report
website
3
problems with draft labour bill : Ian Ollis - 17 August
The Democratic Alliance views the draft Employment Services Bill and its
explanatory memorandum, recently leaked in the media and currently being
tabled before cabinet, as an ominous indication of an ANC shift towards
the implementation of aspects of a planned economy. The DA believes it
will hamper job creation and represents another attempt to centralise
control ahead of promoting entrepreneurship and investment. The
provisions detailed in the Bill would see the creation of more
administrative layers and bureaucracy for South African firms trying to
remain flexible and internationally competitive. It's ossification of
what should be a fluid labour market will be totally out of step with
the highly flexible and ever-changing labour needs of private industry.
- Politicsweb website
Consumer
Protection Act
Consumer
Protection Act due in October - 20 August
South Africans have lived in something close to the consumer dark ages
for many years. From suffering under the weight of dubious and
purposefully unclear hire purchase arrangements to paying the price for
a service provider's inability to cancel a contract (as requested!), we
have a history of struggling to take action when we really should. One
of the reasons for this is the fact that the law hasn't exactly been on
our side. For years, entrenched monopolies and a lack of strong consumer
protection laws have tipped the scales against consumers. But all that
changes on 24 October, when the new Consumer Protection Act (CPA) comes
into effect. - NewsTime
website
Co-operative
Governance and Traditional Affairs Bill
Zuma
ban on cadres - 8 August
President Jacob Zuma wants to bar politicians from holding senior
municipal management jobs – a clear sign that the policy of cadre
deployment has harmed local government. But he will face resistance
at next month's ANC national general council because local leaders
depend on municipal jobs for their income, to secure patronage and
control tenders. - City Press
website
DA
commends curtailment of cadre deployment - 9 August
News that the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs bill aims
to prevent people who hold senior positions in a political party from
occupying jobs in municipal management is to be welcomed. The bill is a
clear indication and admission on the part of the ANC government that
cadre deployment is damaging state institutions in the pursuit of power
and patronage. - Politicsweb
website
Criminal
Law (Sexual Offences) Amendment Act
17 August 2010
Sexual
Offences legislation and National Policy framework implementation :
Departmental briefing
Parliamentary Monitoring Group
website
Sex
Offences Act : ACDP cites gaping holes - 17 August
The African Christian Democratic Party on Tuesday urged the justice
department to comply with the outstanding obligations of the Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences) Amendment Act. The Act contained 16 obligations state
departments were required to complete by December 2008, ACDP spokesperson
Steve Swart said. These obligations were intended to enable those state
departments to give full effect to the provisions of the Act in an attempt
to combat, and ultimately, eradicate the high level of sexual offences in
South Africa. - IOL website
Defence
Amendment Bill
17 August
2010
Statement
by Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, on the
Defence Amendment Bill
Polity website
Gender
Equality Bill
Bold
Gender Equality Bill to set new standards - 9 August
A new Bill is in the pipeline that will see gender parity measures being
enforced across all sectors of society. For the Minister for
Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya,
while progress has been made with regard to gender parity, more still
needs to be done and she is confident the new Bill will go a long way in
achieving this. - BuaNews
Online website
ANC
backs gender parity bill - 9 August
We therefore call upon our Parliament to fast track the Gender Equality
Bill discussions, as proposed by the Ministry for Women, Children and
Persons with Disabilities. This Bill will ensure that it enforces
gender parity measures across all sectors of society. - Politicsweb
website
Intellectual
Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act 51 of
2008
Regulations
made in terms of Section 17
GNR 675/GG 33433
http://www.polity.org.za/article/intellectual-property-rights-from-publicly-financed-research-and-development-act-act-
no-51-of-2008-regulations-made-in-terms-of-section-17-gazette-no-33433-regulation-675-2010-08-12
Internet
and Cell Phone Pornography Bill
The
return of fake morality? - 16
August
The fact that a state body like the Film and Publication Board, with the
assistance and support of the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs,
teamed up with a very reactionary, homophobic, anti-abortion,
religious group, is truly shocking as it sends a signal that a
state institution has chosen sides against the values of openness,
respect for difference, freedom of religion and opinion and human
dignity ensrined in the Constitution. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally
Speaking blog
Keyphrase :
Family Policy Institute
The
Windows of Heaven (and your wallets) are open! - 27 August
If I ever wavered in my commitment to remain a constitutional democrat
and if I ever feared that I would fall into the arms of dangerous spin
merchants, there will always be people like Mr Errol Naidoo (who is the
director of an outfit called the "Family Policy Unit") to keep
me on the straight and narrow (no pun intended). - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally
Speaking blog
See also
: InfoUpdate
17 of 2010
Local
Government : Municipal Systems Amendment Bill [B22-2010]
18 August 2010
Local
Government : Municipal Systems Amendment Bill [B22-2010] : Deputy Minister
briefing
Parliamentary Monitoring Group
website
National
Education Policy Act
Education
Information Policy : Amendment of Education Information Policy
GN 677/GG 33426
http://www.polity.org.za/article/national-education-policy-act-education-information-policy-amendment-of-education-
information-policy-gazette-no-33426-notice-677-2010-08-12
Protection
from Harassment Bill, 2010
4 August 2010
Protection
from Harassment Bill, 2010 : Department of Justice briefing
Parliamentary Monitoring Group
website
Protection
of Information Bill
Our
plan to fight state secrecy law : Zille - 5 August
The Protection of Information Bill currently before Parliament poses the
gravest legislative threat to our constitutional democracy since 1994.
We in the Democratic Alliance will fight the Bill with every means at
our disposal. Today I would like to share this battle plan with you. - Politicsweb
website
Zille
vows to fight Information Bill - 6 August
DA leader Helen Zille vowed on Thursday to use "every means
available" to fight the Protection of Information Bill, which she
said was the "gravest legislative threat to our constitutional
democracy since 1994". Zille spelt out her battle plan - which
includes approaching the Constitutional Court as a last resort - at
Parliament yesterday. - IOL website
Zille
believing her own propaganda : ANC - 9 August
The Office of the ANC Chief Whip has noted with interest Helen Zille's
plan, which she announced in the media, to secretly lobby individual
ANC MPs to vote against the Protection of Information Bill, which is
currently before parliament. In line with our commitment to the
principle of participatory democracy, the ANC has always remained open
to any engagement either inside or outside parliament on critical
issues affecting our society. - Politicsweb
website
Cwele
to brief MPs on Protection Information Bill - 10 August
State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele will come to
Parliament on Friday to address Members of Parliament on the Protection
of Information Bill, which has set the stage for a showdown between
government and the media. Cecil Burgess, the chairperson of the ad hoc
committee handling the controversial bill, said tht Cwele had intended
to do so on Tuesday but needed time to study developments around the
bill, having been away on a State visit to Russia. - Polity
website
Information
bill meeting delayed - 12 August
State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele has asked for more
time to consider submissions made on the protection of information bill.
This has led to a postponement, of several weeks, of Cwele's scheduled
briefing to a special parliamentary committee dealing with the bill. - News24
website
MPs
want independent advice on new bill - 10 August
The Parliamentary ad hoc committee considering the bitterly contentious
Protection of Information Bill is pressing for an outside legal opinion
on its constitutionality. Cecil Burgess, the committee chair has
undertaken to talk to both the speaker and the secretary of Parliament
to discover if he is allowed to invite outside legal assistance, and if
Parliament can afford it. - Business
Report website
13 August
2010
Protection
of Personal Information Bill : Deliberations
Parliamentary Monitoring Group
website
Read
all about the info bill . . . while you still can
- 15 August
The information bill and proposed
media tribunal pose a threat to media freedom. Rowan Philp outlines some
of the things newspapers would not be able to tell you - Times
Live website
Academic
bets salary on info bill - 17 August
A University of Cape Town academic
has offered to hand over a year of his salary to the chief state law
adviser if the Protection of Information Bill passes scrutiny by the
Constitutional Court. Constitutional law expert Professor Pierre de Vos
proposed the wager during a Harold Wolpe Trust seminar at the university
on Thursday evening. He said the court would find that the controversial
bill, which seeks to set new rules for classifying information as
secret, was simply too broad. - News24
website
Vavi
questions Protection of Information Bill - 17 August
(Cosatu) secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi criticised the proposed
Protection of Information Bill during the Ruth First memorial lecture at
the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) on Tuesday. - Mail
& Guardian website
South
Africa security minister should rework repressive information bill
- 17 August
One week after sending an open letter to South Africa's
President Jacob Zuma expressing concern at moves by the government and
the ruling ANC party to pass an Information Bill and create a Media
Appeals Tribunal answerable to Parliament, the International Press
Institute (IPI) today called on South African Minister for State
Security Siyabonga Cwele to seriously consider media and civil society
recommendations on the Protection of Information Bill, and to bring its
provisions in line with the South African constitution and with
international press freedom standards. - International
Press Institute website
Why
now? - 19 August
There is no doubt that the media is facing the greatest threat to its
freedom since the advent of democracy. The proposed Protection of
Information Bill and Media Appeals Tribunal, the proposed Protection
from Harassment Bill (which thankfully seems to have been put on hold),
the proposed Independent Communications Authority
of South Africa Amendment Bill and the proposed Public
Broadcasting Service Bill all aim to tighten the control of the
government over the free flow of information. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally
Speaking blog
A
grotesque law that must be rejected in the name of freedom - 24
August
Nic Dawes, editor-in-chief of Mail & Guardian, on the Independent
website
Protection
of Info bill needs to be changed : Mbete - 24 August
African National Congress Chairperson Baleka Mbete on Monday said
South Africa needs to a protection of information act to protect itself
and its citizens from espionage. But she also said Parliament is slowing
down the process of adopting the bill because there are problems with
the current draft. - Eye
Witness News website
Media
has it wrong about secrecy law's victims - 25 August
Sometimes the national debate's confusions can help the grassroots
citizens it usually ignores. This is surely why the Protection of
Information Bill is being denounced by the media as a threat to
journalists, despite the probability that it would do much to imperil
the rights of citizens, particularly the poor, and little or nothing to
threaten the media and those who work in it. - Steven Friedman on the Business
Day website
Why
Steven Friedman is wrong - 26
August
Steven Friedman, writing in Business Day yesterday, argued
that journalists do not have much to fear from the proposed Protection
of Information Bill. In the process of making an excellent point,
namely that those that will be the hardest hit if the Bill is passed
will be ordinary citizens who wish to engage in grassroots activism,
Friedman wrongly interprets the punitive provisions of the Bill and
completely underestimates the possible chilling effect of the Bill on
the work of journalists. - Pierre de Vos on the Constitutionally
Speaking blog
Friedman
wrong on secrecy bill - 26 August
Professor Steven Friedman in an article in Business Day says
that the media has it wrong about secrecy law's victims and that the
failure of the media to analyse the bill accurately may be the only
reason it has received so much attention. I humbly beg to differ. - Michael
Trapido on the Thought
Leader blog
ANC
MP says info Bill 'goes too far' - 26 August
Make the press ombudsman more transparent and accountable to the public
rather than impose a media tribunal in the form proposed by the African
National Congress, a senior MP of the party has argued. ANC MP Ben Turok
angrily denounced the media for being "irresponsible" and
"irritating" during an M&G Critical Thinking
Forum debate on media freedom in Cape Town on Wednesday, but said he
agreed the Protection of Information Bill "goes too far" and
that the proposed media appeals tribunal was not the solution. - Mail
& Guardian website
SA
parliament likely to change media bill - 26 August
South Africa's parliament is likely to change a proposed bill on state
secrets that critics fear could hamper access to market-sensitive data
and muzzle media investigations into corruption. "What I do expect
is there will be a lot of changes", Cecil Burgess, chairman of an
ad hoc parliamentary committee for the Protection of Information Bill,
told Reuters on Thursday. - Business
Report website
| See also
: Media [South
Africa] |
Public
Service Broadcasting Bill
New
bill will give minister control over SABC : Zille - 13 August
A proposed public broadcasting law will place the SABC under the control
of the communications minister and mark a return to the days when the
ruling party determined what was aired on television and radio,
Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille said on Friday. She said the
Public Service Broadcasting Bill would "put the SABC under the de
jure control of the minister of communications" by giving him
authority over its finances and the power to issue directives to the
board. - Business Report website
Rules
Board for Courts of Law Act 107 of 1985 and
Jurisdiction of
Regional Courts Amendment Act 31 of 2008
Rules
regulating the conduct of the proceedings of the Magistrates' Courts of
South Africa published and Magistrates' Courts Rules of Court published
in GNR 1108/GG 980/21-06-1968 repealed with effect from a date to be
fixed by the Minister
GNR 740/GG 33487/23-08-2010
Source
: OSALL (Annami)
South
African Citizenship Amendment Bill
Citizenship
Bill's penalty for fighting in foreign war criticised
- 18 August
South Africans who fight for
foreign countries in wars that the government "does not
support" could in future lose their citizenship if new legislative
proposals, which are themselves possibly unconstitutional, are approved.
This emerged yesterday during
parliamentary hearings on the South African Citizenship Amendment Bill
when the Law Society of SA and the Citizen
Rights Africa Initiative objected to the clause that provides for the
automatic deprivation of citizenship in such instances. - allAfrica
website
South
African Human Rights Commission
18 August
2010
South
African Human Rights Commission : Report on 1st quarter 2010/2011
Parliamentary Monitoring Group
website
* * * Subscription required * * *
South
African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill 2010
NA
approves Reserve Bank Bill - 10 August
The National Assembly on Tuesday approved a bill designed to change the
way that the South African Reserve Bank is governed and prevent
shareholders disrupting its operations for their own gain. - Polity
website
10 August
2010
Gordhan
: Address by the Finance Minister on the South African Reserve Bank
Amendment Bill 2010, National Assembly, Cape Town
Polity website
Central
Bank bill needs urgent attention : Gordhan - 10 August
The potential destabilisation of South Africa's Reserve Bank by a few
shareholders must be dealt with urgently, Finance Minister Pravin
Gordhan said on Tuesday, adding that proposed amendments to the bank's
shareholding structure would not affect its independence. Gordhan in May
announced proposals seeking to tighten rules on shareholding in the
central bank in a bid to stop private shareholders, who the state said
were motivated by a desire for profit, from undermining the bank's
independence. - Moneyweb
website
| The Select Committee on Finance
invites stakeholders and interested parties to submit written
submissions on the South
African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill [B10-2010]
- The South African Reserve Bank
Amendment Bill seeks to amend the South African Reserve Bank Act
(Act No 90 of 1989) in order to achieve the following
objectives :
- to amend the South African
Reserve Bank Act, 1989, as to provide for the amendment of certain
definitions, the insertion of new definitions and the deletion of
a definition ;
- to provide for the
establishment of a Panel for the election of directors to the
Board and the functions of the Panel ;
- to reinforce the requirements
regarding the limitation on shareholding in the South African
Reserve Bank and to prevent the abuse. of those provisions ;
- to provide for the nomination
of Directors by a broader base of the South African public and to
broaden representation on the Board of the South African Reserve
Bank ;
- to define clear criteria
regarding when persons are disqualified from serving on the Board
;
- to provide for the confirmation
of Board nominees against "fit and proper" and fiduciary
criteria ;
- to clarify the powers and
functions of the Board ; and
- to provide for the possibility
of the Governor and Deputy Governors being re-appointed to serve
terms of office of less than five years.
Public hearings will be conducted
at Parliament on the 25 August 2010.
Submissions and your indication
to make oral presentation can be emailed to the Committee
Secretary, Mr Zolani Rento at zrento@parliament.gov.za
by no later than 12:00 on Monday, 23 August 2010.
Enquiries
telephone 021-403 8071 / cell 083-707 2188
The
Bill is also here : www.pmg.org.za/bill
Mlulami Dodo
Parliamentary Monitoring
Group
Website : http://www.pmg.org.za
Access to all Parliamentary Committee information
Email : mlulami@pmg.org.za
Telephone : 021-465 8885 |
Superior
Courts Bill
Judiciary
to keep control of courts : Radebe - 25 August
The Superior Courts Bill would "radicalise the judiciary",
giving it more powers to ensure the administration of courts was more in
the hands of the judiciary than the executive, Justice
Minister Jeff Radebe said yesterday. The latest version of the
bill sees a significant departure from its predecessor. - Business
Day website
Taxation
Laws Amendment Bill
24 August
2010
Gordhan
: Address by the Minister of Finance, on the Taxation Laws Amendment
Bill, National Assembly, Cape Town
Polity
website
See
also : Gordhan
moots new emissions tax for all vehicles [South Africa]
The following
was tabled in Parliament yesterday [25 August 2010] : Taxation
Laws Amendment Bill [B28-2010] and Voluntary
Disclosure Programme and Taxation Laws Second Amendment Bill [B29-2010]
Source
: OSALL (Lara)
Transport
Laws Repeal Bill
| The Portfolio Committee on
Transport (National Assembly) invites all stakeholders and
interested parties to submit written comments on the Transport
Laws Repeal Bill [B19 -2010]
The Bill seeks to repeal certain
obsolete or redundant transport laws : Amongst others,
Schedule 1 lists Acts that may be
repealed in their entirety. For instance, the Schedule seeks to
repeal some 20 Railway Construction Acts, dating back to 1939.
These Acts authorised the construction of and equipment for
railway lines at certain places in the country. The Schedule also
seeks to repeal Acts that no longer serve any purpose. For
example, the Railway and Habours Strike and Service Amendments
Act, 1914 (Act no. 7 of 1914), granted employees who did not take
part in the 1914 strike, special leave, a bonus, a. reward or
special promotion, Since this Act no longer serves purpose it may
be repealed.
Public hearings will be conducted
at Parliament on Tuesday, 7 and Wednesday, 8 September 2010.
Comments can be emailed to the
Committee Secretary Ms Dineo Martin at dmartin@parliament.gov.za
by no later than 17:00 on Friday, 03 September 2010. Please
indicate your interest in making a verbal presentation.
Enquiries telephone Ms Dineo
Martin : 021-403 3601 ; cell 072-231 2337
The
Bill is also available here: www.pmg.org.za/bill
Mlulami Dodo
Parliamentary Monitoring
Group
Website : http://www.pmg.org.za
Access to all
Parliamentary Committee information
Email : mlulami@pmg.org.za
Telephone : 021-465 8885 |
Water
Research Act
Water
Research Fund : rates and charges
GN 686/GG 33426
http://www.polity.org.za/article/water-research-act-water-research-fund-rates-and-charges-gazette-no-33426-notice-686-
2010-08-12