FROZEN BONE-IN CHICKEN IMPORTS

• The South African Revenue Service gazetted anti-dumping duties on frozen bone-in chicken portions from Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Poland and Spain
• According to a notice gazetted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, approved last year the measure was:
  • suspended for 12 months in order to stabilise the price of chicken as a main source of protein in South Africa’s poorer communities, and
  • is intended to protect local producers from the detrimental effect of cheap imports.

 

SCRAP METAL TRADE

• The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition gazetted notices announcing a four-year extension to the 2013 policy directive on:
  • preferential pricing, and
  • export control.
• The extension will only come into effect in December 2023, once a temporary suspension of these measures has been lifted.
• The policy directive was suspended as one of several steps being taken to curb cable theft, illegal trade in scrap metal and concomitant infrastructure damage.

 

MEDIA SERVICES

• The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies called for public comments on a draft White Paper outlining ‘a new vision’ for audio and audiovisual media services and ‘online content safety’.

 

ONLINE INTERMEDIATION PLATFORMS

• The Competition Commission published its final report on a market inquiry that began in April 2021.

 

LIQUOR PRODUCTS

• The Liquor Products Amendment Act, 2021, came into effect on 1 August 2023 by presidential proclamation in the Government Gazette.
• Among other things, it is expected to curb the proliferation and uncontrolled sale of sugar-fermented beverages and other concoctions.

 

WATER RESOURCE INFRASTRUCTURE

• In anticipation of tabling the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency Bill in Parliament, an explanatory summary of its contents was gazetted.

 

RENEWABLE ENERGY

• According to an article in SAnews, the deadline for submissions on the renewable energy draft masterplan has been extended to 18 August 2023.

 

ENERGY PERFORMANCE

• The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy gazetted amendments to regulations on the mandatory display of energy performance certificates in non-residential buildings.

 

PENGUIN POPULATION DECLINE

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment published a report on the outcome of a recent review and assessment of ‘the science related to managing … interactions between the small pelagic (anchovy and sardines) fishery and the conservation of African penguins’.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment called for public comments on proposed amendments to the 2104 environmental impact assessment regulations and related listing notices. They could have significant implications for the mining industry,

 

COMMUNICATIONS INTERCEPTION

• The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development gazetted an explanatory summary of a Bill amending the Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA), in anticipation of its introduction in Parliament. The Bill responds to a February 2021 Constitutional Court judgment recognising ‘the importance of the right to privacy in the context of state surveillance’.

 

INVESTIGATING DIRECTORATE AGAINST CORRUPTION

The Department of Justice and Correctional Services also gazetted an explanatory summary of the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill, which seeks to make the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption a permanent entity.

 

RADIO FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

• The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa published radio frequency spectrum assignment plans for eight bands.

 

DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT MODEL

The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs called for public comments on draft regulations framing the institutionalisation of the district development model.

 

MAGISTRATES

• The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development gazetted a notice on benefits due when vacating the office of a magistrate and disposing of cases still in progress.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby