South Africa

A vast amount of ink has been spilt in the last decade discussing the consequences of divorce upon a spouse’s Pension Interest when married in community of property, this being the natural offshoot of changes over time to both the Divorce Act (Act 70 of 1979) and the Pension Fund Act (Act 24 of 1956). Although this article is not going to rehash what is common knowledge, it’s prudent to note for present purposes that these changes were aimed at giving effect to the “clean-break” principle when it came to parties’ Pension Interests upon divorce, a non-member spouse then entitled to 50% of a members Pension interest upon divorce when married in community of property. These changes were welcomed given that upon the granting of a Divorce, the Court would order that the member spouse’s Pension Fund be directed to pay to the non-member spouse 50% of the member spouse’s pension interest. The practical implication of divorce upon retirees taking cognisance of the above general position does however require attention, specifically for two reasons: A practical one, being that there was a greater tendency for the generation in question to conclude a marriage in community property, be that by choice or design; A legislative one, given that definition of “Pension Interest” in the Divorce Act is the following: “the benefits to which a party as a member of a pension fund would have been entitled in terms of the rules of that fund if his membership of the fund would have terminated on the date of the divorce on account of his resignation from office”. The practical implication for retirees is that a Pension Fund cannot be ordered by Court to pay to a non-member spouse upon divorce 50% of the members spouse’s Pension given that the benefit had already accrued to such member spouse upon retirement. Before exasperation sets in, this does not mean that a non-member spouse is not entitled to 50% of the member’s pension benefit but simply that payment of such …

13 May 202: The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has called for public comment on mandatory community service for legal professionals in the country. One of the purposes of the Legal Practice Act (LPA) is to broaden access to justice by putting in place measures to provide for the rendering of community service by candidate legal practitioners and practising legal practitioners. The new regulations, which are open for public comment until 20 June 2022 can be found at the following link: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/legal-practice-act/ “As with all our campaigns, we encourage the South African public to make their submissions. Participation in decision-making processes means citizens, civil society organisations and other interested parties can influence the development of policies and laws which affect them. DearSA has made this process easy and transparent, and we call on citizens to make their voices heard and co-shape these amendments.” Said DearSA CEO Gideon Joubert on Friday. The new regulations propose the following: Candidate legal practitioners A candidate legal practitioner must, as a component of their vocational training, render eight hours per annum of community service. A person who commences service as a candidate legal practitioner during the course of a calendar year must perform community service equal to not less than one hour per month, or part thereof, in the first calendar year of vocational training. The community service rendered by a candidate attorney must be supervised by their principal and the community service rendered by a pupil must be supervised by their engaging advocate. The period of service referred may be intermittent or continuous. Any extra hours of community service rendered in a calendar year may be carried forward as credits for the next calendar year. A candidate legal practitioner must, after completion of the period of practical vocational training, submit to the council one or more certificates …

May 9, 2022: Under Secretary of State Jose W. Fernandez will travel to Cape Town, South Africa, May 9-11, and Lusaka, Zambia, May 12-13, to engage with government officials, business, and members of civil society to support our shared objectives regarding trade and investment, public health and environment programs, and pandemic relief. In Cape Town, Under Secretary Fernandez will give a keynote address at the Invest in Africa Mining Indaba, Africa’s largest mining investment conference, where he will focus on the importance of U.S. support and investment for developing and securing more resilient critical mineral supply-chains.  The Under Secretary will focus on promoting increased investment in Africa to further job growth, greater economic inclusion, and opportunity for citizens in the United States and across the continent.  He will also meet with private sector representatives to deepen our ongoing collaboration to improve the response to and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, including measures to support vaccine development and sustainable production. Under Secretary Fernandez will then travel to Lusaka, where he will meet with President Hakainde Hichilema and Government of Zambia representatives to strengthen bilateral economic ties and promote U.S. investment and business engagement focused on inclusive economic growth and prosperity. The Under Secretary will host representatives from the local business community and the private sector to promote an enabling environment for trade and investment opportunities and economic growth for the citizens of Zambia and the region. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za International/. Under Secretary Fernandez’s Travel to South Africa and Zambia Submission Details Author: Africa Media from The Africa Regional Media Hub. More Info link: Images: For a high res version of THIS image please contact The Africa Regional Media Hub Facebook: Twitter: …

09 May 2022: DearSA has written to the Director-General (DG) at the Department of Health informing him that the public participation process over proposed changes to health regulations is a ‘sham’ and irregular’ after numerous participants received notifications that their emails had been deleted without being read. The DearSA campaign elicited an unprecedented level of public response, with more than 226,000 comments from South Africans (that figure has since risen to more than 285,000) – more than 95% of them opposing the proposed changes to health regulations. Allowing just 30 days for public comment on draconian changes in health regulations is unconscionable, given the regulations are contained in 153 pages and, if allowed to pass, will materially and adversely affect the rights of all South Africans. Even more concerning is a notice published in the Government Gazette on 4 May 2022, which on the one hand extends the period for public comment on these draft regulations to 5 July 2022, but on the other hand makes permanent certain regulations under the National Health Act. Various commentators have pointed out the permanent application of certain health regulations while awaiting comment from the public over many of these same regulations is a duplicitous and cynical move by government. DearSA filed papers on 9 May 2022 to interdict the government from introducing health regulations without public comment. The Minister of Health has used a clause in the Act which allows him to permanently introduce regulations – covering such vital issues as mask-wearing, the size of outdoor gatherings and vaccine certificate requirements for people travelling to and from South Africa – without having to submit these regulations for public comment. DearSA says the draft regulations are unlawful, and the Minister of Health has gone outside the powers granted him under the National Health Act. “The Act is concerned with regulating the provision of healthcare services across all …