Legislative Developments
The Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs plans to develop a Constitution 18th Amendment Bill to amend provincial boundaries.
President Jacob Zuma has signed into law the Financial Sector Regulation Act 2017.
The Copyright Amendment Bill and Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill were classified as falling within ambit of section 18(1) Traditional Leadership & Governance Framework Act. Both were referred to the National House of Traditional Leaders. The National House of Traditional Leaders must, within 30 days from the date of the referral, make any comments it wishes to make.
The Department of Trade and Industry has commenced the process of amending the Companies Act of 2008. According to the Department, the amendments are aimed at instilling corporate accountability, transparency and reduction of regulatory burden.
The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Amendment Bill is a step closer to becoming law. It was passed by the National Assembly and referred to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for concurrence. The NCOP is expected to have additional public hearings and consult further on the Bill. The Minister of Transport is confident that, once operational, the bill will change drive behaviour and encourage compliance.
The draft legislation for the Human Settlements Development Bank has been completed and is currently in the process of being assessed through a socio-economic impact assessment, for introduction to Cabinet.
White Papers on Policing and Safety and Security were gazetted.
Cabinet approved for the publication of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill of 2017 in the Government Gazette for public comment. The Bill is the outcome of the review of all basic education legislation with a view to enhancing organisational efficiency so as to improve school governance, leadership and accountability, transforming education services, and protecting vulnerable groups to ensure the well-being of learners.
Work is underway to table legislative amendments for regulating and funding paralegals and community advice offices.
National Treasury says that legislation is needed to compel pension fund administrators to increase efforts to trace beneficiaries and pay out billions of rand in unclaimed funds.
The Property Practitioners Bill and the Loan and Mortgage Disclosure Act (HLAMDA) Amendment Bill were gazetted for public comment earlier this year. The Department of Human Settlements has incorporated the relevant and applicable comments into the Bills, and the process to have Cabinet approval and endorsement for the revised Bills to be introduced into Parliament has commenced.
The Information Regulator has published the draft regulations relating to the Protection of Personal Information Act and is asking the public to comment. The deadline is 7 November 2017 and comments can be sent to [email protected]