There having been no new Covid-19 ministerial directives or disaster management regulations issued last week, this update focuses on other key developments. It does not feature Bills, draft Bills or parliamentary committee media statements.

Economic reconstruction and recovery

• More information about the economic reconstruction and recovery plan unveiled on 15 October by President Cyril Ramaphosa is available in supplementary documents:
  • highlights
  • implementation, and
  • a strategy for ‘mass employment’

Energy

• The May 2011 regulations on new electricity generation capacity (as amended in November 2016) have been amended again to ‘enable municipalities to apply to the Minister to procure or buy (it) in accordance with the (2019) Integrated Resource Plan’.
• Gazetted on 16 November, the amendments prescribe the conditions to be met by municipalities wishing to apply.
• According to a Department of Mineral Resources and Energy media statement, any municipality wishing to proceed should be ‘in good financial standing’.

Land reform

• Applications for the release of state-held agricultural land should follow a process prescribed in documents now available on the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development website.
• This follows Minister Thoko Didiza’s announcement on 1 October.
• The ‘land inquiry process’ is ‘ongoing’ regarding state land ‘already occupied without formal approval from the department’ and farms acquired through government’s proactive land acquisition programme.

Climate change

• South Africa’s fourth biennial update report is in the process of being prepared for submission to the United Nation authorities concerned, in keeping with the country’s obligations as a party to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• The draft released on Friday for comment includes the national greenhouse gas emission inventory for 2000 to 2017, which was gazetted in draft form last month.

Environment

• Draft regulations have been gazetted proposing a ‘prior informed consent procedure’ to be followed when importing or exporting certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides.
• Once in force, they are expected to facilitate the exchange of information between countries.

Legal aid

• Draft amendments to the legal aid regulations have been gazetted for comment.
• They have implications for regulations:
  • 9 (civil matters)
  • 11 (related limitations and exclusions)
  • 13 (maintenance, domestic violence and harassment cases)
  • 14 (labour cases)
  • 15 (divorce and family law cases)
  • 23 (legal representation for children)
  • 27 (qualifying for legal aid and the associated means test)
  • 31 (partially subsidised legal aid), and
  • 32 (contributions by a legal aid recipient).

 

Funeral parlour, cremation legislation under investigation

 

• The South African Law Reform Commission has released an issue paper for comment.
• It is the first document in an ongoing investigation.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby