GOVERNMENT GAZETTE UPDATE

• The eGazette is back online, although no notices published after 24 December 2021 are available.

 

GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM

• The South African Government website ‘documents, latest’ section was updated on 22 February, but the Government Gazette notices added at the time disappeared the next day.
• Possibly as a result of ongoing maintenance, many statements, speeches and other documents have disappeared from the website.

 

ENERGY

• According to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, government is ‘committed to implementing a rational energy transition’ that:
  • ‘addresses … (South Africa’s) national interest and (the) desire to industrialise’
  • is not ‘reckless’
  • is ‘systematic and orderly’, ensuring ‘security of energy supply’, and
  • ‘accepts … (government’s) global commitments to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate against global warming’.

 

MINING

• According to Mineral Resources and Energy Deputy Minister Nobuhle Nkabane, her department is drafting a ‘mining sector women empowerment and gender equality strategy’ to:
  • address the exclusion of and discrimination against women in the industry, and
  • ‘advocate for women participation in the sector'.

 

INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION

• There has been a ‘notable increase’ in party funding declarations, according to a recent media statement

 

PROFESSIONALISING THE PUBLIC SERVICE

• A revised framework will be presented to Cabinet ‘within the next two months’, proposing ‘fundamental reforms’, according to a media statement issued by the governance, state capacity and institutional development cluster. Unfortunately, the statement is no longer available. The revised framework will include:
  • ‘a stronger emphasis on merit-based recruitment and appointments’
  • ‘introducing instruments to undertake integrity testing before any individual joins the public sector’
  • ‘stabilising the political-administrative interface across the public sector’
  • ‘collaborating’ with higher education institutions, professional bodies/associations, government departments/organs of state, and the industry to:
    • ‘work … on curricula development matters’, and
    • ‘support the development of public servants and those who wish the join the public service’, and
  • reviewing the recognition of prior learning and exploring the possibility of targeted recruitment to:
    • optimise its use in the public sector by those whose prior experience needs to be recognised:
      • ‘not only for academic purposes’ but also
      • ‘for the awarding of professional designation by professional associations/bodies/councils/boards’.

 

STATE LITIGATION

• An ‘intergovernmental national litigation forum’ has been established ‘to drive a co-ordinated approach to the management of state litigation. According to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech at its inaugural meeting:
  • ‘litigation against the state has risen by staggering levels’
  • ‘the fact that some South Africans are resorting to the courts to uphold their rights points to widespread and systemic shortcomings in service delivery’
  • ‘the ballooning costs of state litigation have become untenable and unsustainable’
  • ‘the state is the largest consumer of legal services in the country’
  • government has been severely criticised in several court judgments for:
    • the ‘poor quality of legal representation’
    • ‘poor compliance with instructions’
    • the ‘unnecessary expenditure of state funds’, and
    • ‘even dereliction of duty’.
  • ‘We cannot permit a situation where the policy agenda of government is impeded by the courts because we have not been diligent in our approach to litigation’.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby