STATE OF DISASTER: SEVERE ENERGY SUPPLY CONSTRAINTS

• Published on 27 February 2023 immediately effective, the disaster management regulations were withdrawn and replaced the following day. It is not clear why. Among other things:
  • they require all institutions within the spheres of national, provincial and local government to take steps to prevent the situation from escalating, subject to the availability of funds
  • empower Cabinet ministers to issue directions on matters ‘within their mandate’
  • enable the use of emergency procurement procedures, nevertheless making ‘specific provision’ for:
    • affected accounting officers to report regularly to the Auditor-General on expenditure incurred in implementing the regulations, and
    • regular reporting to Parliament on these expenses, and
  • ‘facilitate the importation of electricity by Eskom from neighbouring countries’
• Four media statements have been issued on the new regulations:
  • a press release from Government Communications (28 February)
  • introductory remarks from Minister in the Presidency responsible for planning, monitoring and evaluation, Mondli Gungubele, at a media briefing (3 March)
  • remarks at the briefing from Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (in which, among other things, she noted provisions ‘facilitating the sale of electricity generated by individuals, organs of state or private institutions to licensed distributors’), and
  • remarks at the briefing from Health Minister Joe Phaahla (in which, among other things, he noted that the regulations will enable government to exempt not only essential health services and infrastructure such as hospitals from load-shedding, but also water treatment plants).

 

FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE (FATF) GREY-LISTING DECISION

• National Treasury has issued:
  • a media statement among other things:
    • noting government’s commitment to implementing an ‘action plan’ to address ‘all outstanding deficiencies’ in South Africa’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing regime, strengthening it where necessary
    • reassuring financial sector stakeholders that none of the plan’s interventions ‘relate directly’ to the preventive measures already in place, and
    • predicting that the increased monitoring now required ‘will have (a) limited impact on financial stability and (the) cost of doing business with South Africa’, and
  • a fact sheet explaining the implications of grey listing.

 

PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATIONS

• The Department of Public Service and Administration has called for comments on draft amendments to the 2016 public service regulations. Among other things, they seek to further ‘regulate lifestyle audits’.

 

LAND TRANSPORT

• The Department of Transport has called for input on its draft national land transport strategic framework for the next five years. Once finalised, the framework will:
  • set ‘the overarching goals, vision, and objectives for each element of the transport system’, and
  • inform the development of:
    • provincial land transport frameworks
    • municipal integrated transport plans, and
    • related transport programmes and projects.

 

DEEDS REGISTRIES

• The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has gazetted:
  •  a notice calling for input on its intention to re-align certain areas of jurisdiction in Gauteng to facilitate access to deeds registration services for ‘all citizens of the province’, and
  • adjustments to the fees payable for various services performed in terms of the Deeds Registries Act, 1937.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby