Practice News
- Practitioners behaving badly:
- You will recall that the LPC is in the process of a striking-off application against adv Mkhwebane. She responded by pleading politics and stating that she is not a practising advocate anyway. The LPC has not covered itself in glory either – this move comes two years after her having been removed by Parliament from her position as PP for misconduct and incompetence.
- The LPC has also instituted a disciplinary enquiry against adv Mpofu for bringing the profession into disrepute. Predictably, MK sprang to his defence…also citing politics as motivation, together with, (predictably?) his solidarity with the marginalised and being black. Whilst none of my business, I confess that having heard of the fees he charges, his identification with poor is certainly marginal!
- And, unfailingly, the RAF:
- It was reported that the SIU found that bungles by the RAF has cost taxpayers some R5bn over the past five years.
- Bizarrely, the SCA judgement against the RAF, regarding its accounting standards, was welcomed by its oversight institution, the Department of Transport! Yet the RAF continues on the course using its GRAP accounting system – clearly Min Creecy’s now virtually year-old undertaking, to sort the RAF out as a matter of priority, has not borne any fruit.
- One suspects that minister Creecy will find it less onerous to not reappoint Mr Letsoalo when his term expires in August.
- The proposed Marriage Bill proposes that the legal age to marry should be 18 which, not unexpectedly, drew widespread comment. The Bill also brought women’s rights versus traditional practice into focus, in that women are for men needing to obtain written consent from existing wives before entering into polygamous marriages, whilst traditionalists held that this undermines cultural traditions. Similarly, Muslims are not overenthusiastic about the conversion of Muslim marriages into civil marriages.
- The shambolic state of some of our Master’s offices has been in the media crosshairs of late. This has been escalated, owing to our Justice Minister revoking the power of the Chief Master to appoint Masters, allegedly owing to “necessary internal coordination”, whatever that means.
- The latest Sectoral BEE targets have been published: https://www.werksmans.com/legal-updates-and-opinions/breaking-news-as-the-minister-of-employment-and-labour-publishes-much-anticipated-sectoral-targets-and-accompanying-regulations/
See the table of ‘numerical targets’ (an acronym for racial targets?) in https://www.werksmans.com/legal-updates-and-opinions/breaking-news-as-the-minister-of-employment-and-labour-publishes-much-anticipated-sectoral-targets-and-accompanying-regulations
This has provoked widespread comment from primarily big business (entities employing more than 50 employees are affected) and three of our major legal firms has challenged this in court. On the one hand, from an existing business perspective, the targets look absurd; on the other, the fact is that we have not made great progress in empowerment. So, what to do: https://www.webberwentzel.com/News/Pages/heightened-responsibilities-for-employers-amidst-employment.aspx
- Effective from 14 April the Johannesburg High Court has launched a Pilot Dedicated Insolvency Court: https://www.werksmans.com/legal-updates-and-opinions/a-guide-to-the-johannesburg-high-court-dedicated-insolvency-court-project/
- Of interest, to especially those involved in RAF cases, is the following article, which deals with how to protect the financial interests of successful but mentally challenged claimants: https://www.macrobert.co.za/insights/posts/protection-of-funds-in-3rd-parties-compensation-and-personal-injuries
- Eyebrows were raised when four candidates for the post of Deputy Chief Justice were nominated by Ramaphosa, and none of these were drawn from the Constitutional Court ranks.
- I refer you to the COJ judgement in which that City was criticised for sham consultation: an unexpectedly well-written article on Constitutional muster may be found at https://www.news24.com/fin24/Opinion/sifiso-skenjana-will-govt-learn-anything-from-its-recent-cannabis-snafu-20250330?
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Hard news:
- When imposing a restraint of trade, do ensure that the restraint will remain in place, regardless of the reason for termination of that employee’s employment: https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/en/news/publications/2025/Practice/Employment-Law/employment-law-alert-7-april-does-the-dismissal-of-an-employee-affect-a-restraint-of-trade
- Is a sick note from a Traditional Health Practitioner valid? Yes, if the issuer is registered as such: https://www.citizen.co.za/business/should-a-sick-note-from-a-traditional-healer-be-recognised-at-work/
- Somewhat arcane, but still: can a non-party to a collective agreement declare a dispute about the interpretation thereof? No: https://www.werksmans.com/legal-updates-and-opinions/whether-non-parties-to-a-collective-agreement-can-refer-a-dispute-about-the-interpretation-and-application-of-the-collective-agreement/
- In the same league, is a question before the Labour Court whether international domicile ousts the jurisdiction of South African labour institutions: https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/news/publications/2025/Practice/Employment-Law/employment-alert-14-april-jurisdiction-in-cross-border-employment-disputes-a-clarification-by-the-labour-court
- At the time of writing, the 15.5% VAT raise was canned; the primary issue before the Cape High Court has therefore fallen away (as an aside we may rightly ask whether the settlement came about as a result of voter pressure or because of about the pending judgement – after all, one does not settle if you think you’re going to win). So, is the dispute on the constitutionality of the VAT imposition before the Cape High Court moot? As I understand mootness, a case can become moot at any stage, even before the judgement is rendered, i.e. when there is no longer a live dispute between the parties and a court decision would have no practical effect. The DA argues that a decision is still necessary to settle the principles involved. We will find out on the 29th; in the interim, the following article on mootness and the case referred to therein may be of interest: https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/en/news/publications/2023/Practice/Dispute/dispute-resolution-alert-22-April-2025-too-late-to-litigate
- Environmental justice? The SCA judged that our state has a constitutional mandate to protect citizens from environmental harm against the background of Highveld air quality compromised by Eskom: https://www.ensafrica.com/news/detail/10056/justice-in-the-face-of-deadly-air-what-the-hi
- A Springboard Interdict is intended to prevent the garnering of an unlawful competitive advantage by an employee to save time and resources for the preparation phase of new business and is derived from English law. In this case, the Cape High Court declined to import this into our law: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2025/165.html
- An application for rescission goes not stop a judgement from being enforced: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPJHC/2025/382.html
- If acting on behalf of a company, make sure that you hold a resolution authorising you to do so: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAFSHC/2025/114.html
- Unless a costs order follows the general rule, a court must give reasons for such an order: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2025/5.html
- Prescription against the member of a company claiming misappropriation, commences when the affected member becomes aware of the misappropriation of funds; arguing that the complainant should have known had he acted in accordance with his fiduciary duties, is not relevant: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2025/44.html
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Conveyancing
- The requirement, in form LLL, stapled to the front cover of (almost) every deed lodged, to provide the race of the (new) owner of property has drawn political and other comment. The DA branded this as contrary to our non-racial democratic values.
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Property
Trends
- Interesting news which, is different, is a note by BusinessTech saying that international real estate brokers had ranked South Africa as the most affordable country in which to purchase property. This deduction is made by comparing property prices with real wages – average SA home prices exceed average wages by 6.22% – the cheapest globally, in terms of cost-to-income ratio!
- At the same time Moneyweb reported that our property fundamentals are better now than five years ago.
- The above positive news has translated into our REIT sector being in a significantly stronger position than last year.
- Lightstone says that the Johannesburg residential property market is picking up. This is interpreted by some as an indication, that that market had hit rock bottom after a decade of sluggish growth.
- Cape Town residential properties, however, have shown a real price increase of 23% since 2010. That this is the case, is old hat, and more is to come – Cape Town has announced an infrastructure investment of R39.7 bn over the next three years and an inner-city plan limiting those areas to pedestrians. This all comes at a cost – an overhaul of utility tariffs providing relief for lower-income households but sharp increases for the more affluent.
- Whilst on the topic of residential property: the lower interest rates have prompted a rise in first-time buyers of homes.
- Ooba reported the highest number of bank loan applications in the first quarter of this year – up by 18%, compared to the last quarter last year. This trend is driven by stable interest rates with an expectation of the interest rate being lowered further, a rosier economic expectation and increased competitiveness amongst banks.
- Ooba also reports a concomitant rise in house prices, especially in Cape Town and Pretoria (10% yoy, in the latter case). The fact is that house prices, compared to building costs, have not kept up over the past years.
- A development, which appears contrary to the above news, is that younger South Africans are increasingly opting to rent rather than buy. This drives up the rental market which, in turn, has propelled rent-to-buy sales.
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News
The JSE-listed developer Balwin Properties has secured a R1bn funding deal from the IFC (think World Bank) for its Tswane Mooikloof Smart City project.
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Legal news
- The City of Johannesburg has been in the news, of late, for all the wrong reasons. But wait, there’s more:
- The COJ delay, in providing alternative accommodation for those occupying a hijacked building, has resulted in a high court order that it pays the owner of that building R12m in damages. this may have ramifications for other cities also!
- The ‘sham’ public participation process resulting in property rates for schools has resulted in the relevant property rates policy being declared invalid.
- Only 70% of our some 9000 estate agents, have submitted their Risk and Compliance Returns. Do this now and avoid sanctions.
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Comment
A wonderful note on Ithala Bank was published in the Witness that the Ithala management wanted its deposit guarantee funds (intended to ensure that it could repay depositors) ‘repurposed’ for use to pay its expenses. So, for that the State cannot run such an institution as that its management cannot draw the line between the security demanded by investors and its own interests.
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BEE is much in the news of late: the new BEE sectoral targets have been met with derision and dismay, with the scrapping of BEE ‘premiums’ called for by those advocating economic growth. Adding oil to the fire, is the ANC intent to create a R100bn Transformation Fund.
Statistically, the cost per black job so created, according to data from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition is steep, calling the cost efficiency of the system in question: https://codera.co.za/cost-per-job-of-south-africas-black-industrialists-fund/
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All of the overspending and under-recovery roil that our state finances has generated of late, has resulted in the IMF warning that our national debt is on course for an 88% of GDP level. So much for fiscal tightening!
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Lighten up
Economics – from the sublime to the ridiculous:
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“If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire.”
Monbiot
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“Q: What’s the difference between a bankrupt attorney and a pigeon?
A: The pigeon can still make a deposit on a Mercedes.”
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Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day…
but teach a man to fish and he will become your competition pricing you out into inevitable bankruptcy and suicide.
Contributed by:
Daan Steenkamp Attorneys
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