15 Oct 2013

Legal

Ramphele: Drop BEE

Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele has called for SA to abandon empowerment, which, she says, has not worked. A great many people would agree with her. She also said that under an Agang government, officials found guilty of corruption would be jailed for a minimum of 15 years. Do we hear calls of "More!" "More!"?

Our education system is generally considered by quite a few people to be in a shambles, so it's not surprising that it's bleeding teachers. According to Angie Motshekga, some 14,000 teachers left the education department in the 2012/13 financial year. Of these, 6,272 resigned. If one reads media reports of teachers being assaulted, disruptive pupils and what-have-you, the only real surprise is that there are not more teachers taking the gap and taking up less onerous jobs in which they will have the respect they deserve... from all quarters.

We need entrepreneurs here, but Canada plans to lure SA entrepreneurs to Canada with a Start-up Visa. So what are we going to do to keep our budding entrepreneurs and future employers here?

Come fly with me - but only if you have a bit of cash... Rob Baker (no relation, as you can see he's far better looking than I am) makes some points about what the role of a state-owned airline should be, and also, what the state should not do that might stifle competition.

Rod Baker, Content Director

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Weekly top stories

Is your trust deed valid?
[Professor Willie van der Westhuizen] The alarming answer is most probably not, because legal audits have shown that more than ninety percent (90%) of trust deeds (and/or amendments to trust deeds) in South Africa may not stand the test of validity if tested in a court of law. Read more >>

Commercial Law
Commission awaits 'sensitive documents'
The arms procurement commission resumed on Monday, 14 October, and cynics are waiting to see whether the Department of Defence and its procurement agency, Armscor, have declassified "sensitive documents". Read more >>

Comair to honour ruling
Comair will adhere to a court ruling to accommodate passengers of the grounded low-cost airline FlySafair‚ Comair's chief executive Erik Venter said. Read more >>

Drug makers battle over Pill
One of South Africa's most popular contraceptives, Yasmin, is the subject of a bitter court battle that pits a generic drugs company against a multinational. Read more >>

Cosatu to continue fight against e-tolls
The Supreme Court of Appeal's dismissal of the Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance's (Outa) challenge to e-tolls makes no difference to Cosatu's campaign, the trade union federation said on Wednesday. Read more >>

Cell C takes bigger rivals to Competition Commission
Cell C announced on Wednesday (10 October) that it had formally lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission against the dominant incumbent mobile operators‚ MTN and Vodacom‚ for anti-competitive conduct. Read more >>

Mid-tier audit firms prepare to make most of shake-up
[Max Gebhardt] Mid-tier audit firms are in a race to bulk up as they look to gain market share from the big four accounting firms amid a regulatory shake-up in the audit profession. Read more >>

Divisions over 'aggressive' tax planning
[Amanda Visser] Tax authorities are being more aggressive in challenging companies' tax practices, but this is leading to a disparity over what tax practitioners and politicians consider aggressive tax planning. Read more >>


Criminal Law
MTN's Zondo to hand herself to police after sting operation
[Samuel Mungadze] MTN's general manager of business risk‚ Lily Zondo‚ will hand herself over at the Sandton police station on Monday morning (14 October)‚ after a warrant of arrest was issued against her last week over an extortion case. Read more >>

Kenya seizes four tons of ivory as elephant slaughter surges
NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenyan customs officers have seized almost four tons of elephant ivory in two separate shipments, officials said as Africa sees a surge in poaching of the threatened animals. Read more >>


Environmental Law
Revision of General Authorisations in terms of section 39 of the National Water Act
[Helen Dagut and Li-Fen Chien] On 6 September 2013, the Department of Environmental Affairs published a notice to revise certain General Authorisations under the National Water Act, 1998. Read more >>


Labour Law
Legal representation in the CCMA - the saga continues
[Nicholas Preston] As a general rule, litigants are entitled to legal representation at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) arbitrations unless the issue relates to an alleged unfair dismissal and that the reason for the dismissal relates to the employees alleged misconduct or incapacity. Read more >>

SAB granted interdict to stop violence by Fawu
South African Breweries (SAB) has been granted an interdict by the Labour Court which states striking workers must halt any violent activities and abide by the picketing rules. Read more >>


International

Kenya not lobbying for ICC pull-out: minister
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA: Kenya is not lobbying for an African withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, its foreign minister said last week as African leaders prepared to debate the issue. Read more >>

US ban on some Samsung devices upheld
NEW YORK CITY, USA: The Obama administration on Tuesday (8 October) upheld a decision to ban some Samsung mobile technology products because of the patent violations owned by Apple. Read more >>


More International


Government

IEC unveils election plan
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Wednesday, 10 October, unveiled an elaborate election plan that includes a voter registration campaign to attract as many South Africans as possible to participate in next year's general elections. Read more >>


More Government news


New events to diarise

Compensation for Occupational Injuries & Diseases
Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business - 31 Oct 2013 Pietermaritzburg


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