SOCIAL RELIEF OF DISTRESS

The Department of Social Development issued a media statement explaining the contents of a notice in the Government Gazette:

• increasing the monthly social relief of distress grant from R350 to R370, with effect from 1 April 2024, and
• further amending regulations in place since April 2022, affecting:
  • the recovery of grant money paid in error
  • the availability of uncollected benefits, and
  • the final payment following the death of a grant beneficiary.

 

IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS

• The Department of Home Affairs gazetted a second set of amendments to regulations in place since 2014 under the Immigration Act, 2002. The regulations have only been amended once before, in 2018. Immediately in force, the latest amendments were released in draft form in February for public comment and affect:
  • corporate, work, visitors’ and ‘temporary sojourn’ visa applications
  • permanent residence applications, and
  • applications to reside in South Africa ‘on other grounds’.

 

FINANCIAL SECTOR REGULATION AMENDMENT ACT

• National Treasury gazetted a notice announcing the 1 April 2024 commencement of more sections of Chapter 12A of the Financial Sector Regulation Amendment Act, 2021, dealing with the resolution of failed banks.

 

WASTE MANAGEMENT

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment published a strategy for managing hazardous household waste. Released in draft form in January 2023 for public comment, the strategy was developed as a baseline governance model for collecting, transporting and storing hazardous household waste at municipal level.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL REHABILITATION

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment gazetted a notice calling for public comments on a proposed methodology for calculating the amount to be set aside for environmental rehabilitation following the cessation of low-risk reconnaissance, prospecting, exploration and mining operations. The documents to which the notice refers are:
  • a draft rehabilitation plan template, and
  • a draft set-aside calculation template.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORISATION

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment gazetted two sets of norms affecting energy generation, transmission and distribution technology and grid infrastructure development. The norms prescribe criteria to be met before applying for exclusion from environmental authorisation requirements when constructing new or expanding existing:
  • battery storage facilities, and
  • solar photovoltaic facilities.

 

COASTAL MARINE WATER QUALITY

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment gazetted a notice calling for public comments on draft guidelines for ensuring that water quality throughout the country’s natural coastal marine environment remains ‘in a fit state’ for supporting:
  • marine aquatic ecosystems, and
  • mariculture (in which aquatic plants and animals are farmed in salt water for human consumption).

 

SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT

• The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) called for public comments on a draft radio frequency migration plan intended to ensure the efficient management of spectrum. Among other things, the draft plan:
  • identifies where a change in the use of a radio frequency band may be required and why
  • outlines the process for migrating users and usages from one spectrum location to another or within the same band, and in that context:
  • identifies radio frequency bands:
    • for which assignment plans have been developed, and
    • those likely to require a feasibility study.

 

• ICASA also gazetted a findings document following Phase 2 of its inquiry into dynamic spectrum (TV white space) access and opportunistic spectrum management. In the authority’s view, regulatory frameworks are required to:
  • ensure the ‘efficient utilisation of spectrum resources’
  • ‘support universal broadband access’
  • facilitate market access by small operators, community networks and new entrants, and
  • encourage ‘innovation in emerging and future wireless services’.

 

POSTAL SERVICES

• The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) gazetted a findings document and position paper following its inquiry into mail conveyancing. According to ICASA, prevailing mail conveyance ‘challenges’ cannot be addressed effectively under the existing regulatory framework. This is noting that, among other things, the October 2009 regulations do not:
  • ‘cater’ for the entire mail conveyance process
  • adequately protect consumers against the loss and damage of goods, and in that context
  • appear to fall far short of providing for the necessary insurance.

 

MAINTENANCE ACT

• Having competed a review of the Maintenance Act, 1998, the South African Law Reform Commission published a report that includes a draft amendment Bill. According to an accompanying media statement, recommendations in the report include;
  • several addressing specific circumstances involving the non-payment of maintenance and associated debt servicing
  • that ‘mediation be formally incorporated into the Maintenance Act’ and made mandatory
  • that the Minister be empowered to issue guidelines for determining maintenance awards ‘in order to ensure uniformity’, and that
  • provision be made for children above the age of 18 still dependent on their parents for financial support apply for maintenance.

 

COMPETITION COMMISSION

In anticipation of conducting an inquiry into the polymer market, the Competition Commission called for public comments on draft terms of reference. They are underpinned by the Commission’s prioritisation of intermediate industrial products for competition law enforcement The intention is that the inquiry should cover the entire polymer value chain:

• from coal and crude oil to feedstock propylene and ethylene (monomers), and
• the polypropylene and polyethylene (polymers) used in manufacturing plastic pipes and packaging, among other things.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby