LAND TENURE RIGHTS

 

• The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development gazetted regulations under the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act, 1991. In force since 1 April 2024, they:
  • prescribe the procedures to be followed when applying for the conversion of a land tenure right into an ownership right
  • require the Minister to issue a notice of application, prescribing the information to be included
  • set out the procedures to be followed when objecting to the conversion of a land tenure right to an ownership right, and
  • when a conversion application is successful, require the Minister to notify the registrar accordingly.

 

LAND COURT ACT IN FORCE

 

• A presidential proclamation declared that – except for one section (regulations) and amendments to certain pieces of legislation listed in its schedule – the Land Court Act, 2023, came into effect on 4 April 2024.

 

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

 

• The Department of Employment and Labour called for public comments on draft regulations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, dealing with hazardous chemical agents. The intention is that they should repeal and replace regulations in force since March 2021. Among other things, the draft regulations cover:
  • labelling and packaging (including the disclosure of ingredient identity)
  • disposal
  • risk assessment
  • exposure control (including monitoring, medical screening and medical surveillance)
  • the responsibilities of anyone exposed to hazardous chemicals in the workplace, and
  • personal protective clothing and facilities.

 

CAPTIVE LION INDUSTRY

 

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment released a report recommending exit options for participants in the captive lion industry. Cabinet approved the report on 27 March 2024 for implementation. According to a statement issued by Minister Barbara Creecy, ‘key recommendations’ will be implemented in phases:
  • Phase 1 will focus on finalising exit pathways and terms, in liaison with voluntary exit candidates identified earlier in the process
  • Phase 2 will entail:
    • the acquisition and incineration of lion bone stockpiles, ‘contingent upon (the) sterilisation of lions and compliance with … voluntary exit principles’, and
    • issuing a ‘short-term’ directive on permit requirements and oversight responsibilities with the intention of ensuring compliance with prescribed animal well-being standards.
• It is not clear from the statement if a ban on intensive lion breeding in controlled environments ‘in the medium term’ forms part of Phase 2. Its purpose will be to ‘safeguard (the) benefits of voluntary exit’. Neither is it clear when interventions will be made to end the captive keeping of lions for commercial purposes altogether, which the report recommends.

 

FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE CENTRE

 

• The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) issued a public compliance communication intended to provide guidance on what is meant by the term ‘high-value goods dealer’ as an accountable institution under the FIC Act, 2001. This is noting that dealers in high-value goods were added to the Act’s Schedule 1 in November 2022 – and that the revised schedule came into effect the following month.
• According to an accompanying notice, the document:
  • includes examples of potential money laundering, terrorist financing and weapons of mass destruction proliferation risks facing dealers in high-value goods, and
  • where appropriate, reflects input received during consultations on a draft version released in December 2022.

 

JUDICIAL MATTERS AMENDMENT ACT, 2023

• The Judicial Matters Amendment Act, 2023, has been gazetted and is largely in force. Only section 9 of the new statute is not immediately effective but once commenced will further amend section 103 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1965 (the Minister’s powers to make regulations). Among other things, the Act amends:
  •  the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, providing for the expungement of criminal records when an admission of guilt fine has been paid
  • the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act, 1990, providing that the regimes of all existing customary law marriages are regarded as being in community of property
  • the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007, regulating the manner in which child pornography must be dealt with and disposed of, and
  • the International Arbitration Act, 2017, repealing the common law crime of defamation without affecting civil liability.
• According to a Presidency media statement, in addition the Act:
  • makes an offence of failing to prevent corrupt activities under the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 (in line with Zondo Commission report recommendations), and
  • under the Domestic Violence Act, 1998:
    • penalises a wilfully false declaration in support of an application for a protection order, and
    • allows an protection order application to be made without an affidavit.

 

RAIL TRANSPORT

 

• The Railway Safety Regulator called for public comments on proposals for a new set of safety management system requirements for railway operators intending to apply for, maintain or renew a railway safety permit. According to the document’s executive summary, the draft determination’s intention is to:
  • ‘support, through practical advice, the design, implementation and delivery of a structured and organisation-wide railway safety management system’
  • with that in mind, to provide a user-friendly ‘tool’ for railway operators, and
  • to ‘facilitate’ compliance with all legal requirements.
• Meanwhile, the regulator has gazetted a ‘common’, ‘harmonised’ approach to risk evaluation and assessment as an addendum to the existing determination.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby