DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

• Most sections of the Domestic Violence Amendment Act, 2021, came into effect on 14 April 2023, according to a presidential proclamation gazetted with:
  • a notice prescribing ‘tariffs of compensation’ payable to electronic communications service providers for the information supplied
  • a notice directing court officials to deal with protection order applications as prescribed, and
  • a notice making R200 the value of any weapon seized.
• Regulations operationalising the Act have also been gazetted.
• Among other things, the new legislation:
  • provides for online protection order applications, and
  • makes it mandatory to report acts of domestic violence perpetrated against children, the disabled and the elderly.

 

ESKOM

• National Treasury has gazetted a notice calling for public comments on proposals for exempting Eskom from certain reporting obligations under the Public Finance Management Act, 1999. A second notice correcting the comments deadline was published five days later.
• A joint parliamentary committee media statement on a meeting with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was issued to explain his decision to ‘temporarily’ withdraw the controversial backdated exemption pending further consultation.
• National Treasury has since published a briefing document presented at the joint parliamentary committee meeting, providing more information on the proposed exemption.

 

CAPTIVE LION INDUSTRY EXIT PROGRAMME

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has gazetted a notice inviting captive lion breeders to register for participation in the department’s voluntary exit programme, which:
  • offers various exit ‘options and pathways’ identified by a ministerial task team appointed in December 2022 to address issues specific to the captive lion industry, but nevertheless
  • places no obligation on programme registrants to proceed with exiting the industry.

 

THREATENED AND PROTECTED SPECIES

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has issued a media statement:
  • explaining the sudden withdrawal of ‘regulations pertaining to threatened or protected terrestrial and freshwater species … and the associated species list’, which among other things:
    • introduced norms and standards for elephant management and leopard trophy hunting, and
    • operationalised regulations affecting trade in and activities involving rhino horn.
• According to the statement, the regulations prompted Wildlife Ranching South Africa and the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa to launch ‘an urgent interdict application in the Gauteng High Court to suspend the commencement of the … regulations and species list’. ‘An out of court settlement was reached between the parties ... in terms of … (which) the Minister agreed to withdraw the notices.’

 

SOLAR ENERGY

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has called for public comments on a second set of proposals for exempting solar photovoltaic facility developers from environmental authorisation requirements. The first set of proposals was gazetted in September 2022. Once operationalised, the exemption will:
  • also cover associated activities, infrastructure and the extension of existing facilities, but
  • will apply only to facilities in low or medium environmental sensitivity areas.

 

GOVERNMENT DAMS

• The Department of Water and Sanitation has called for public comments on draft regulations for controlling access to and the use of government dams for recreational purposes. According to a media statement on the proposed new regulations, their purpose is to:
  • introduce a ‘precautionary approach’ to state dam recreational use
  • ensure that recreational water use in these areas is compatible with other water uses
  • protect the dams’ biodiversity and broader ecosystems, among other things by minimising pollution
  • provide for the safety of recreational water users
  • minimise risks to the department associated with the recreational use of their dams and surrounding areas, and
  • facilitate ‘broad and accountable participation in … resource management planning’.

 

STEEL SECTOR MARKET INQUIRY

• The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has called for public comments on draft terms of reference for a Competition Commission inquiry into the steel sector market. According to a Competition Commission media statement on the inquiry, among other things it will:
  • focus on raw materials/input pricing and upstream steel production, and
  • explore market concentration and the barriers to entry and expansion, especially for emerging iron ore miners.

 

COMMUNICATIONS

• The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa has gazetted amendments to its numbering plan regulations. According to an accompanying reasons document, they:
  • clarify certain definitions in the hope of facilitating implementation and promoting compliance
  • release additional number capacity, and
  • refine and supplement existing provisions in the hope of:
    • promoting the more efficient use and management of number resources, and
    • protecting the rights of subscribers.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby