ZONDO COMMISSION REPORT

• Parliament has issued a media statement:
  • acknowledging receipt of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to recommendations in the report, which the President unpacked in his address to the nation on 23 October
  • undertaking to ensure that the ‘mechanisms required to address … deficiencies identified by the Commission’ are put in place, and
  • noting that the presiding officers ‘have already referred certain matters requiring direct action … to parliamentary structures for processing’.

 

PROFESSIONALISING THE PUBLIC SECTOR

• The Department of Public Service and Administration has published a framework that – in his capacity as the portfolio’s Acting Minister – Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi believes will assist the sixth administration in its ongoing efforts to facilitate the process of building ‘a capable, ethical and developmental state’.
• This is noting that, according to the Minister, ‘the release of the professionalisation framework coincides with the response by President Cyril Ramaphosa to the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud’.

 

ROAD ACCIDENT FUND

• The statutory limit for loss of income and support claims has been adjusted and will come into force on 31 October 2022.

 

DRAFT WHITE PAPER ON THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF SA’s BIODIVERSITY

• The draft White Paper released in July for comment has been revised and gazetted with a call for more input from members of the public. It is not clear why the document was revised, or which sections are affected.

 

FILMS AND PUBLICATIONS ACT

• Amendments to the Act’s Schedules 1-5 have been gazetted, among other things affecting:
  • the obligations of internet service providers, and
  • complaints regarding the distribution of prohibited content.

 

NATIONAL CONSUMER COMMISSION

• Consumer group accreditation applications under the Consumer Protection Act will now be assessed using guidelines gazetted on 28 October 2022.

 

RULES BOARD FOR COURTS OF LAW

• Proposed amendments to Uniform Rules 6 (applications) and 57A (appointment and discharge of curators) have been released for public comment. The rules respectively fall under Prevention of Organised Crime Act Chapters 5 (proceeds of unlawful activity) and 6 (civil recovery of property).

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby