SOVEREIGN DEBT

• National Treasury issued a media statement on the outcome of a recent IMF post-financing assessment visit, among other things noting that South Africa was found to have ‘adequate’ capacity to repay the July 2020 USD 4.3bn IMF loan required for addressing ‘the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic’.
• According to the IMF report itself:
  • the ‘significant macroeconomic challenges’ now facing South Africa after a decade of ever-declining real per-capita GDP are a direct consequence of:
    • ‘weak policies’
    • ‘an inability to address entrenched structural rigidities’, and
    • ‘governance weaknesses that undermined key sectors of activity (electricity, logistics)’, and
  • the government of national unity ‘should use the opportunity of a new mandate to implement bold reforms to address long-standing challenges and achieve the economy’s full potential, requiring:
    • ‘determined structural and fiscal reforms, complemented by prudent monetary and financial policies
    • increased ambition, and
    • accelerated implementation.

CANNABIS AND HEMP MASTER PLAN

• A media statement on Cabinet’s most recent meeting included information on the status of a cannabis master plan, the development of which began in October 2021 when hemp was declared an agricultural product under the Plant Improvement Act, 1976. According to the statement:
  • Department of Trade, Industry and Competition consultations on a ‘cannabis commercialisation policy’ have apparently been on hold pending the recent completion of a ‘situational and value chain analysis’ of the hemp and cannabis sector
  • the process of drafting regulations giving practical effect to the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act has only recently been ‘initiated’ (the Act having joined the statute books in May 2024)
  • South African Health Products Regulatory Authority consultations on changes to schedules under the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965, have now been ‘concluded’ (amendments to Schedule 6 have since been gazetted).
  • progress has been made with:

• developing seeds for new ‘hemp varieties’
• developing a ‘hemp certification scheme’ for regulating ‘the varietal integrity and quality of hemp propagation material’ in support of a ‘sustainable seed system’, and
• research into:
  • ‘cannabis breeding for medicinal, fibre and other uses’
  • ‘cannabis plant disease surveillance’
  • ‘indigenous germplasm collection’, and
  • further ‘cannabis seed system development’.

• The proposed new master plan is expected to cover:
  • effective regulatory services
  • sustainable seed supply systems
  • research and technology development
  • producer support systems
  • market development
  • enterprise and supplier development
  • manufacturing and product development
  • education and training, and
  • communication and awareness.

AERONAUTICAL AND MARITIME SEARCH AND RESCUE

• A draft Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Bill was gazetted for public comment. The proposed new piece of legislation:
  • is informed by the findings of a review of government policy on search and rescue
  • seeks to align the regulation of search and rescue operations at sea with ever-evolving domestic and international developments
  • seeks to create ‘an enabling environment for the efficient conduct of search and rescue operations in South Africa’
  • focuses largely on governance and related matters, and
  • will eventually repeal and replace the South African Maritime and Aeronautical Search and Rescue Act, 2002, as amended in 2013.

CLIMATE CHANGE

• South Africa’s fourth national communication report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was released in draft form for public comment. According to a Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Government Gazette notice announcing this:
  • the purpose of the draft report is to provide the Convention’s financial mechanism with information on the resources needed to implement national climate change policy and the broader Convention
  • ‘significant and scaled-up resources are needed … for mitigation and adaptation actions across the entire economy’, and
  • ‘government is putting in place an enabling institutional environment that can support a sustainable climate finance model, where mitigation and adaptation actions are funded over the long term and where this funding is accessible in a timeous manner to a broad range of stakeholders’.

Prepared by Pam Saxby