WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT

• The Department of Water and Sanitation has gazetted a notice calling for public comments on a draft policy for integrated water quality management. Among other things, the proposed new policy seeks to:
  • facilitate a partnership between government, the private sector and civil society that will result in a more ‘coherent, consolidated, current and inclusive approach to the way water quality is managed’
  • align water quality management policy with current legislation and relevant overarching policies so that ‘matters not adequately addressed’ can be resolved
  • guide the further development of legislative and regulatory instruments, along with appropriate measures to manage water quality
  • inform water resource management interventions, as well as related policy and strategic development processes
  • address key operational issues, including the need to broaden finance mechanisms and improve knowledge and information, and
  • provide guidance on sustainable water use.

 

MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has gazetted a notice calling for input on ten draft plans developed under the Marine Spatial Planning Act, 2018. Each draft plan focuses on one of the following sectors:
  • marine biodiversity
  • coastal and marine tourism
  • marine transport and ports
  • maritime and underwater cultural heritage
  • marine defence
  • marine science and innovation
  • marine aquaculture
  • offshore oil and gas
  • marine underwater infrastructure
  • wild fisheries.
• The approach used in preparing the draft plans foresees a spatial management system that would include general and sector-specific guidelines, along with a zoning scheme with spatial regulations.

 

JUDICIAL MATTERS AMENDMENT BILL

• The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has gazetted an explanatory summary of the next Judicial Matters Amendment Bill, which is expected to be tabled in Parliament soon. Among other things it will seek to amend:
  • the Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1944, to further regulate the calling of witnesses and the use of assessors
  • the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, regarding information that must appear on a summons or a written notice
  • the Matrimonial Property Act, 1984, to repeal an unspecified unconstitutional provision
  • the Domestic Violence Act, 1998, ‘to penalise the making of a false declaration’
  • the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000, to give effect to an unspecified Constitutional Court judgment
  • the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004, ‘to regulate and strengthen the duty of private sector entities to put in place measures against corrupt activities’, and
  • the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007, to:
    • ‘regulate the designation of public health establishments for purposes of providing post-exposure prophylaxis and carrying out compulsory HIV testing’
    • amend the definition of ‘sexual offence
    • regulate the designation of sexual offences courts, and
    • ‘regulate the manner in which child pornography must be dealt with and … disposed of’.

 

LEGAL PRACTICE COUNCIL

• The National Assembly’s Justice and Correctional Services Committee has approved two sets of draft regulations prepared under the Legal Practice Act, 2014. They have not yet been gazetted. However, according to committee reports tabled recently in the House:
  • one set of regulations deals with community service and, once in force, will require:
    • candidate legal practitioners to ‘undertake eight hours per annum’, and
    • practising legal practitioners to ‘render 40 hours per annum’, while
  • the other set of regulations focuses on procedures for electing Council members.

 

SMALL BUSINESSES

• The National Assembly Committee on Small Business Development has approached the House for permission to draft a Bill intended to address difficulties experienced by small, medium and micro enterprises supplying goods and services to the state and large private sector entities. According to a report tabled recently in the House, the Bill will seek, among other things, to provide for:
  • a mechanism for resolving business-to-business and supplier-contractor disputes, and
  • the establishment of a small enterprise appeals tribunal.

 

MEDIA AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS MARKET INQUIRY

• In anticipation of embarking on an inquiry into the media and digital platforms market, the Competition Commission has called for comments on its proposed terms of reference. According to an accompanying media statement, the inquiry will focus on:
  • search engines
  • social media sites
  • video sharing platforms
  • news aggregation platforms, and
  • will evaluate the impact of new technologies on the business operations of digital platforms.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby