The Corporate Laws Amendment Act, which became law at the end of last year, has introduced a number of changes to company legislation. The Act has introduced the concept of a "widely held" company and described certain compliance requirements which must be met.
Many tax practitioners and their clients will find themselves on the wrong side of the Receiver of Revenue as the final date to submit tax returns passed on Friday. Tax practitioners have faced big delays because of major technical glitches with the e-filing system, while individuals are being asked taxing questions.
South Africa’s 2006 total mineral sales of R195,6-billion represented a more than 34% increase over the previous year’s figure of R145-billion and illustrates the industry’s more effective exploitation of the global commodities boom, heard the Chamber of Mines of South Africa’s annual general meeting in November last year.
Mining has been the mainstay of African economic development from an agrarian to an industry-based continent. Rod Pickering, president of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, said in his New Year’s message: "The end of 2007 marks the close of one of the most exciting years in the history of the mining industry."
While most of the country’s challenges — political uncertainty, a downturn in the economy and power failures — are manageable, crime has emerged as the one factor which consumers and businesses feel powerless to tackle. Anecdotal evidence suggests that violent house robberies are increasing.
After a prolonged fight and years of negotiation, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has finally succeeded in wresting mining environmental impact assessments from the Department of Minerals and Energy, after the two departments reached a settlement through its two ministers.
This week, Jacob Zuma; his lawyer, Michael Hulley; and French arms company Thint argued in the Constitutional Court for search warrants served on them to be declared invalid. Although it would be premature to predict an outcome, it was evident that the Constitutional Court judges recognised the enormity of their task.
The Constitutional Court has ruled that a man who spent five years in jail because of an administrative error may sue the minister of justice for unlawful arrest. Chief Justice Pius Langa, delivering the unanimous ruling this week, noted that the Grahamstown High Court in 1999 forgot to issue a warrant for Jonathan Zealand’s release.
Kenya’s 10th Parliament opened on March 6 this year, with upbeat expectations that a ”new dawn” would end the violence and turmoil that wracked the country after December’s presidential election. It is set to endorse, in the coming weeks, the different elements of the political solution brokered by Kofi Annan’s African Union mediation team.
A major Saudi Arabian marine company has accused controversial Coega prawn farm SeaArk Africa of lying about an alleged R70-million deal between the companies. Three weeks ago, the Mail & Guardian revealed the identities of the people behind SeaArk Africa.