Economy
There’s not much new in circulation regarding our economy other than re-statements of the following:
the Reserve Bank saying that SA cannot rely on high commodity prices for our economic recovery;
the World Bank projecting our after-CV 19 growth rate at 4.6%;
comments on the NHI and Pension reform Reference
BEE and the economy Reference
there is a Group 20, EU and OECD, global-minimum-tax deal on the table.
Two matters did attract my attention:
Sasol is planning a green hydrogen project for Boegoebaai (in the middle of nowhere – Northern Cape). Green hydrogen is described as hydrogen produced from renewable sources – this is the technology involved: Reference
Our Minister of Public Works, announcing infrastructure projects estimated at R595bn. He must be kidding – my scepticism arises from a sub-text which says that there is a “funding gap” of R441bn: a great headline but where will the balance of the funds come from when the state can only invest about 25% of the capital needed? Now the state is calling for the private sector to invest at least a third of the capital needed for this; so, who will finance the other 45%? Another report holds that the Infrastructure Fund will receive R24bn in funding from the Treasury which should enable the Development Bank to implement of projects – these are loans?
Business
Similarly there is not much going on, on the business front:
PwC will allow all 40,000 of its US client services employees to work virtually from anywhere; hand-in-hand with this is the expression Employer Value Proposition: an offer of a more flexible working environment, work-life balance, learning opportunities, freedom and trust;
take a look at a table of civil service salaries: Reference
the use of foggers in preventing the spread of CV 19 has eventually been ditched by the Department of Health: “These are unnecessary, wastefully expensive and create confusion around non-pharmaceutical interventions. Ventilation is critical but fogging is not effective.”
Eskom turns out to be one of the worst environmental polluters worldwide;
the move towards compulsory CV19 vaccination is gaining strength in that Mediclinic, and Life, has joined Discovery in compelling employees to be vaccinated. This topic even came out in the JSC interviews in that Dodson SC, suggested that the limitations of section 15 of our Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion, conscience and opinion will end up being debated before the Constitutional Court if the state wished to compell individuals to vaccinate;
Eskom will revert back to diesel engines – termed de-electrify – in a bid to avoid the effects of copper cable theft: a sad commentary on the state of our nation; and
there was a time when South Africa was the most industrialised country on our continent. When Ipap was introduced, the objective was to grow manufacturing jobs by 350,000 by 2020. Instead we have lost 218,000 manufacturing jobs over that period. In fact, since 1990, employment in our manufacturing industry, has declined by 40%
The following I found very interesting:
an announcement that the the WHO has approved a first malaria vaccine. This is a massive step forward as mosquitoes kill some 400,000 people worldwide every year;
the result of a study on WFH (working from home) productivity: Reference
a groot gedoente about the phosphorus leaks into the Ohlanga stream; which has now raised questions on regulatory failure by the local authorities: this event would never have occurred if the authorities had the will to do their job;
Much had been said about the so-called resource curse and we have had some limp-wristed attempts to beneficiate our mineral exports – the fact is that we can avoid the apparently unavoidable side-effect of being resource-rich: Reference
Practice
News:
The SIU, weighed down by a dire shortage of forensic and other investigators, has called for more money…
The Master’s officers are increasingly dysfunctional and is facing a number of urgent applications to deal with the burgeoning list of outstanding estate appointments. The SIU investigation has not been finalised… See above!
Santam has been given another blood nose in its attempts to avoid BI liability.
We have had more business insolvencies in the first seven months of this year (+21%) than last year.
A note on the removal of trustees in a testamentary trust is worth a look at: Reference
Hard news:
De bloedige hand erft niet is a dictum that all law students are taught (in my case even more applicable because my family apparently has been involved in such nefarious activities-ex parte Steenkamp is the leading case on the topic). A note written by Fluxmans, extends that principle to a second generation of heirs: Reference
A recent newspaper article on inheritances, left to discretionary trusts, attracted my attention: the writer (v/d Spuy) argued (probably correctly) that one may validly leave an inheritance to a vesting trust but not to a discretionary trust. This correctly summarises the law of inheritance but, my experience is that I have not seen an inheritance, bequeathed to discretionary trust, queried by the Master. I would be most interested to hear of other practitioners in this respect.
Evictions? Reference
A so-called condition precedent, that a loan be obtained by a purchaser, cannot be employed to destroy a deed of sale where the purchaser has paid the full purchase price in cash: Reference
Be careful with the incorporation of exemption clauses in a contract, as the person you seek to bind may not necessarily foresee their presence in the documentation: Reference
The test for foreseeable injury and negligence is formulated at paragraph 13 of the following case: Reference
I, and I’m sure many other practitioners also, were very surprised to find judge Hlope and our current Public Protector amongst the list of nominees for the position of Constitutional Court judge. To find the former supported by the BLA, stuck in my throat – the fact is that JP Hlope has been adjudged to be deserving of impeachment and one must needs assume that this bunch (now aided and abetted by Malema) is playing political games. The latter’s CV presents her as an erstwhile employee of Home Affairs, an ambassador and a member of the HRC: these are not qualifications that enables one to sit on the supreme bench of our country!
That the JSC selection process is deeply flawed, could be further seen via a video, in which a lady justice, in interview with the JSC ,was asked to comment on the Plascon-Evans rule. This is a rule governing factual disputes in motion court proceedings and is part of a litigation practitioner’s stock-in-trade. The lady, to put it mildly, did not get down to the essence and heaven help us if such as she are thought by some to merit Constitutional Court appointment.
Speaking of this, merit drawn from skill, appears to be virtually absent in the selection process of nominees. One accepts that a candidate, for a post as Constitutional Court judge, knows these things. To have to check, by asking them such questions, is demeaning (but clearly necessary).
Property
The only interesting property news relates to EWC and reforms, of which later. A few notable items are the following:
A general article on landlord and tenant affairs: Reference
Developers and owners must take heed that one cannot own exclusive use areas in a scheme unless you also own a unit: Reference
A mixed-use development is planned for Shongweni on presumably Tongaat Hulett land.
A body corporate may only withhold a levy certificate for the payment of levies and not other debits: Reference
The debate around EWC is probably over simplified and reduced to security of ownership and the effects of dispossession on our economy. The latest salvo by Jeffrey (see below) holds that an opinion poll which showed that only 5% of South Africans think land reform should be one of the top priorities for the government to address – most respondents wanted policies that promote growth and jobs, I think is probably misdirection. As I have, in earlier issues, attempted to illustrate, such redress is not unique in world history. Take, for instance, a Wikipedia summary of such reforms by country: Reference
Where Jeffrey does make a point, is her analysis of the court/mediation processes suggested for our country, which, inspires little confidence: Reference
Quotables
(A)rguably one of the most wasteful, costly, and ineffective redistribution strategies, devised in any post-colonial society since the end of the Second World War”. This
William Gumede, associate Prof at Wits, on BEE
Friendship isn’t about who came first and who you’ve known the longest. It’s about who came and never left.
Unknown
Comment
Nummawan had, reportedly, been at deaths door, hence his discharge to go home to Nkandla, presumably to die. Yet, I have heard a YouTube rendering of his electioneering pitch and I gather that the party top brass had expected him to assist in campaigning. Another miracle – expected, no less!
