Cabinet Approves SANRAL Plan for E-Toll Closure and Debt Write-Off
Draft Rates and Monetary Amounts Bill: Treasury Invites Public Comment
Draft South African Police Service Amendment Bill Submitted to Parliament
Parliament Demands Intergovernmental Action Plan on R110bn Municipal Eskom Debt
Parliament Committee Calls for Prioritised Lifestyle Audits for SCM Officials
Draft VAT Amendments Issued for Valuable Metals Reverse Charge
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2013 will go down as the year of living dangerously. Our beloved Madiba passed away, the sign interpreter at his funeral turns out to be a fake with an interesting background, and President Zuma was grateful for the opportunity to change the subject from Nkandla-gate.
The Gauteng Department of Social Development is attempting to bring non-governmental organisations under its control, and this must be resisted, says the SA Institute for Race Relations. It it succeeds in Gauteng, other provinces will follow suit.
The news of Nelson Mandela’s passing has touched the world. Once in a generation, a man appears who embodies greatness. Someone who, despite every reason to hate, chooses the path of love and reconciliation. 
President Zuma's Nkandla residence has cost the taxpayer R215 million, with R31 million of work still in progress. Last year, Zuma told parliament his family paid for the buildings, but this is contradicted by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, who says the President must be called to account for this spending. 
A series of reports from Public Protector Thuli Madonsela paints a damning picture of corruption within President Zuma's administration. Opposition parties and ANC alliance partners have started feasting on the allegations contained in these reports.
Congress of the People (COPE) leader Mosiuoa Lekota says the attempt by government to push through the National Key Points Act in reminiscent of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where the revolutionaries become indistinguishable from the past oppressors.
New black economic empowerment requirements are sowing confusion in the mining industry, with some companies being threatened with cancelled contracts due to non-compliance, says Jako Liebenberg.
The e-toll war got a whole lot bloodier this week with news that several court challenges are being launched to test the constitutionality of government's decision to introduce e-tolls from December. Not since the death of apartheid in 1994 has government faced this kind of opposition.
The government has decided to cancel bi-lateral investment treaties with several countries because they interfere with its transformation agenda. It plans to replace this with the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill, now open for public comment, which aims to curtial potential claims from foreign investors. 
Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela says her team was frustrated and obstructed in their investigations into the R206 million Nkandla estate, built for President Jacob Zuma. The story played out this week in the courts and in the press. 
The State spent R33,7 billion on consultants in the past financial year, prompting Parliament's public accounts watchdog to warn of the emergence of a "parallel state." Where did the money go? On counting cushions, training in positive discipline and duties that public servants are supposed to perform themselves.
John Kane-Berman of the Institute of Race Relations says the Democratic Alliance has betrayed its heritage by signing on to the ANC's racial programme, which is both morally and economically indefensible. 
Recent changes to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Codes of Good Practice pose a major challenge to the way South African companies must conduct business. Jako Liebenberg explains how.
The keenly awaited Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill, which will replace a raft of bilateral investment treaties designed to protect foreign investors, was published in the Government Gazette on Friday, confirming fears that investors’ rights will be diminished.
In Part 2 of our interview with Robyn Zimmerman, a consumer lawyer based in Cape Town, we look at what legal ammunition consumers can bring to their defence in cases where their homes are under threat of repossession, and we look at the fascinating case of Samsodien versus First National Bank. 
South Africa recently annulled bi-lateral trade agreements with several European countries, causing disquiet among our trading partners. The new Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill, which is yet to come before the public for comment, is supposed to create a level trading field. But in the hands of the communists at our Trade ministry, anything is possible.
South Africa's courts have traditionally weighed in on the side of the banks when it comes to home repossession, even though the loans have been securitised and are now under new ownership. But the tide is turning against the banks, says consumer lawyer, Robyn Zimmerman.
A Cape Town couple have laid charges of fraud with the police against First National Bank, its parent FirstRand, and a subsidiary company Ikhaya, for trying to repossess their home in contravention of the law.
Dr Anthea Jeffery, head of special projects at the SA Institute for Race Relations, argues that South Africa's constitutional guarantees are being eroded by the ruling party, and new threats have appeared on the horizon.
Pepe Escobar argues that the de-Americanisation of the world has begun, accelerated by the current "shut-down" of the US government and the shifting of financial risks overseas. China is no longer prepared to keep a low profile, and the days of US hegemony are fast drawing to a close.
Despite the recent Supreme Court of Appeal victory for government over its plans to introduce e-tolls, the matter seems likely to go before the Constitutional Court. If this fails, mass civil disobedience will sink this ship, writes Ciaran Ryan 
Black economic empowerment has failed and should be abolished, says Agang leader Dr Mamphela Ramphele. It should be replaced by a vastly improved education system that prepares South Africa's young for entry to the economy. 
Jako Liebenberg explains what the new black empowerment Codes mean for business. The recently held black empowerment summit highlighted a shift in emphasis from entrepreneurship to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment development in the industrial sector.
As Trade and Industry minister Rob Davies unveils the new-look Codes of Good Practice aimed at accelerting black economic empowerment (BEE), Mark Barnes argues that a complete overhaul of the system is required. 
South Africa's black middle class has more than doubled over the last eight years, growing from 1.7 million South Africans in 2004 to an estimated 4.2 million in 2012, due in large measure to tranaformation measures introduced by the government, said President Jacob Zuma at the recent B-BBEE Summit in Midrand.The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Acts Online. Acts Online accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the article, nor does the information contained herein constitute advice, legal or otherwise.
