CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW

• The South African Police Service has gazetted a notice drawing attention to a revised national instruction published for general information. Its purpose is to ‘provide clear direction … on how to deal with a child in conflict with the law’:
  • in keeping with the requirements of the Child Justice Act, as amended, and noting
  • recent amendments to the Act’s regulations, among other things raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years.

 

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY

• The Department of Employment and Labour has issued a media statement announcing:
  • the ‘imminent’ enactment of the Employment Equity Amendment Bill, which
    • will come into force on 1 September 2023.
• According to the statement:
  • ‘even those businesses that do not necessarily do business directly with the state will have to comply with the law’
  • ‘engagements on ... setting ... sector-specific employment equity targets ... will be completed by the end of September 2022’
  • a list of the sector targets envisaged will be published ‘in due course’ for stakeholder input, and
  • an ‘online assessment system’ will be created ‘to monitor the implementation of sector targets’.

 

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY

• The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has:
  • issued a media statement drawing attention to:
    • a Government Gazette notice calling for public comment on proposals to exempt certain activities from licensing requirements under the Electricity Regulation Act.

 

PROTEST ACTION

• The Department of Employment and Labour has gazetted a code of good practice for protest action intended to promote and/or defend the socio-economic interests of workers.

 

SCRAP METAL TRADE

• The International Trade Administration Commission has gazetted two notices for public comment:
  • draft guidelines on the importation of ‘certain metal processing machinery and mechanical appliances, including furnaces, granulators, guillotines and shredders, and
  • draft export control guidelines for semi-finished metal products.
• This is noting the publication last month of policy proposals on measures to restrict and regulate trade in ferrous and non-ferrous metal waste, scrap and semi-finished products with the aim of discouraging damage to infrastructure. At this stage, no decision has been taken.

 

COMPETITION ACT

• The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has called for public comments on draft block exemption regulations that, once in force:
  • will enable ‘collaboration between SMMEs that would otherwise contravene the Act’, and
  • stimulate ‘the growth and participation of SMMEs in the economy’.

 

FILMS AND PUBLICATIONS ACT

• The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has gazetted amendments to the regulations, aligning them with provisions in the Films and Publications Amendment Act, 2019, which came into force in March.

 

BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has called for public comments on proposals to extend the False Bay operating area for white shark cage diving.

 

 

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITES

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has issued a media statement on a ‘revised South African tentative list for consideration and inscription on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage list’. The list does not appear to be publicly available.

 

MAGISTRATES' COURT RULES

• The Rules Board for Courts of Law has gazetted more amendments to rules on proceedings in the magistrates’ courts, with all relevant forms. They apply retrospectively from 8 July 2022.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby