Gentle reader
This will be my last newsletter for about a month – SWMBO and I shall be taking leave, to drink chianti & grappa!
Going on leave is like doing long jump. You start off and run, you sprint, you run bedonnerd, and then, on the departure board, you hurl yourself upwards and onwards; from then on, you are in the hands of the gods!
I am almost there.
Daan
Practice
News
- Lawyers:
The charges, brought against the Pretoria Chief magistrate, has again taken a turn in the High Court, again to the gentleman’s detriment.
- NPA:
- Gupta, version 2, is in process – you will recall that the NPA had hardly covered itself in glory the first time around.
- The latest prosecution scandal is that six murder accused, having been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by the regional court, were successful in their application to have their sentence set aside as the magistrate had neglected to inform them that they were entitled to have assessors present. Like the above – do again.
- RAF:
- The High Court in Pretoria struck the RAF application (of course brought as a matter of urgency) for the extension of its 180-day moratorium on the execution of writs against it – because of a lack of urgency!
- This judgement led to this august institution inviting attorney associations to an (again) urgent meeting to discuss issues – these meaning that the RAF now will have to pay claims within 14 calendar days! The fact is that we all would benefit by stability within the RAF and that we have all lost patience with its never-ending legal and financial woes.
- Today, (9/9/25), a Moneyweb note appeared, stating that the interim board of the RAF, having met with the above-mentioned attorney associations, plans to “aggressively begin paying nearly R19bn in outstanding claims older than 180 days from next month”. The note speaks of an intent to modernise and so on; good and high time too!
- A News24 article reports that the Concourt is falling behind with judgements; apparently a 200-day lapse between hearing and delivery, is not an exception.
- A Northern Cape farmer has instituted action against the Landbank owing to the bank having neglected to inform him, as surety, that the purchaser of his farm was in arrear with bond repayments to the Landbank. This will be interesting, as a positive judgement, will result in creditors taking on responsibilities towards sureties for the financial conduct of the debtors.
- An interesting article came up on police access to bank accounts in cases of fraud: banks habitually refuse to give information to whom money is forwarded from the account, in which the stolen funds are deposited. Frustrating but I cannot see this position changing.
- Whistleblowers: our Government Pensions Administration Agency has hired forensics to identify staff who leaked confidential information, which exposed corruption, costing the agency some R2bn… To make matters worse, those who hired the investigators are themselves under investigation. Fun.
- The third oldest profession (prostitution and clergy come first) supporting the oldest profession? Sixteen organisations joined into a case in which the Western Province High Court was asked to declare se(x) work legal.
- BEE: the Gauteng High Court had, on 28 August, dismissed the urgent application by NEASA and Sakeliga seeking to suspend the implementation of sectoral numerical targets under the EEA act. These organisations there upon announced that they would appeal directly to the Concourt, to set aside this judgement. High stakes and bringing this application as an urgent matter certainly didn’t help the cause.
- Our retirement fund trustees have been warned by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and Pension Funds Adjudicator that the 20% of them, who have not completed their compulsory training (which must be done within six months of appointment), will face consequences.
- The LPFF has amended its rules so that interest, on attorneys’ trust accounts, is automatically swept by banks to the Fund. This change came into operation on 1 September and ensures that such interest will be swept to the Fund, within five working days after the end of each calendar month.
- On 4 September, the Minister of Employment and Labour published a new Code of Good Practice on Dismissal; look at the insight: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/practice-areas/guides/downloads/The-Draft-Code-of-Good-Practice-on-Dismissal.pdf
- Gaslighting may be defined as psychological manipulation by a person to cause self-doubt or confusion in the mind of another. The objective being to influence the target person to abandon his observations, knowledge and recollections in favour of the perpetrator’s false narrative. Gaslighting in domestic violence – take a look: https://werksmans.com/what-does-the-domestic-violence-act-say-about-gaslighting/
- An interesting judgement, commented upon by CDH, is that the strict application of section 34 of the Insolvency Act, will nullify business rescue which depends on the sale of the business by a trading company for its success: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/export/sites/cdh/news/publications/2025/Sectors/Corporate-Debt/Downloads/Corporate-Debt-Turnaround-Restructuring-Alert-2-September-2025.pdf
- Questioning the validity of a will, owing to the alleged mental incapacity of the testator, is not easy, as shown by the Dyantyi case, drawn from the Eastern Circuit Local Division: ask me for a copy.
Conveyancing
- Sections 3a, 6b, 12d, 12g and 13 of the Deeds Registries Amendment Act 20/2024 came into operation on one September, via Gazette 53274 dated 1 September: these deal with primarily land tenure rights.
- West published a note on the capacity of a rehabilitated insolvent to deal with immovable property; also on reversionary rights and to whom it applies: ask me for copies.
- In conveyancing, we very often have municipal rates disputes, which interfere with the transfer of the property concerned. This article deals with payments of such funds under protest: https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/en/news/publications/2025/Practice/Dispute-Resolution/dispute-resolution-alert-2-september-when-protest-payments-pay-off
- CRC 6/2025 says little, save dealing with consents connected to the cancellation of a bond, the release of property or of a joint debtor or surety.
- An internal apportionment of fees for KZN has been published by our local conveyancing association; this apportionment applies to all work received by the instructing conveyancer on or after 1 September.
Property
Trends
- An interesting comparison, made on Moneyweb, was to compare the number of millionaires in Jo’burg and Cape Town. Johannesburg tops the list at 11700, with Cape Town at 8500. This formed part of a report stating that, whilst Jo’burg is currently our (and Africa’s) wealthiest city, Cape Town is fast catching up and could surpass Jo’burg in five years’ time. The point of all this is to emphasise the growth (think good governance, lifestyle and so on) in property take-up within that area.
- Bolstering the above view is a report by Businesstech that our Atlantic Seaboard property market is burgeoning, with high-value transactions and demand on the back of downsizing for convenience and lifestyle.
- Equites (a Reit) has reported a strong demand for industrial property as supply chain operators continue to invest in logistics.
- All the above, as well as recent business reports (think lower rates lifting spending power), appear to bode well for our immediate financial future. Statistics by Codera indicate that, had our economy continued to grow at its pre-2010 rate, our real GDP per capita would have been more than 30% higher in just 15 years. Instead, our investment rates have fallen towards pre-democracy lows which does not bode well for our market generally. Take a look: https://codera.co.za/understanding-south-africas-investment-freeze/
News
- Recent updates to the Rental Housing Act should be noted: especially a requirement that leases be contained in a written contract. Take a look: https://dailyinvestor.com/property/99533/legal-changes-for-renters-and-landlords-in-south-africa/
- The minor Jo’burg unpleasantness, surrounding surveillance cameras, has given rise to several articles on the topic; this one deals with the installation of such cameras within complexes: https://businesstech.co.za/news/trending/836439/think-twice-before-installing-security-cameras-inside-a-complex-or-estate-in-south-africa/
- Further on Jo’burg, it appears that its residents are increasingly turning to the courts to deal with account errors, inflated tariffs and unlawful disconnections; the continuing meltdown our financial capital.
- A side note on Gauteng efficiency and development, is a note to the effect that there is R13bn in infrastructure projects within Gauteng which have been declared incomplete owing contractor default or delay.
- REITs are the everyman’s investment portal into property; are distributions from such an investment taxable? Yes: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/qa/advisor-questions/do-reit-distributions-qualify-for-the-sars-interest-tax-exemption/
Property and conveyancing
- A conveyancing checklist is available at: https://chrisfick.co.za/the-south-african-conveyancing-checklist-for-buyers-and-sellers/
- Whilst passe, a short discussion on movables/fixtures may be interesting to some: https://www.tcinc.co.za/Our-Insights/ArticleDetail/Title/Movables-vs-Fixtures-Understanding-Property-Attachments-in-Real-Estate-Sales
Lighten up (on gaslighting)
My girlfriend accused me of gaslighting her. I told her she’s crazy, there’s no such thing as gaslighting.
