At their core, the Regulations in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 issued and brought into operation yesterday, 18 March 2020, outline the responsibilities of all government departments, the release and allocation of resources, and the conditions under which liquor industry may function. In the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic being declared a national state of disaster, the Regulations are intended to contain the spread of the virus ...
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his address to the nation on Sunday, 15 March 2020, declared a national state of disaster and introduced a numberof measures to curb the spread of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19). As of 19 March 2020, South Africa has recorded 150 confirmed cases of COVID-19 ...
In consideration of the COVID-19 outbreak in Mauritius we want to take this opportunity to inform you of our business continuity and safeguarding procedures.ENSafrica’s top priority is to preserve the health and well-being of its people, its clients, all its business partners and their familiesas well as the ongoing success of business operations ...
Background As you no doubt know, the coronavirus (COVID-19) has been declared to be a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (“WHO”).In this time of global crisis, what is most key-critical to us, is that we continue to look after the wellness of our people while we service your business’s requirements and structure ourselves in a way that we are able deliver to you at the level you have come to expect of ENSafrica ...
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is changing the way we live, interact and conduct business. The Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (“B-BBEE”) world in South Africa is no different. All companies undergoing a B-BBEE verification are required to permit their B-BBEE verification agencies to conduct on-site inspections and personal interviews as part of the verification process ...
Background Other than hand sanitizer manufacturers, private hospitals and the like which stand to profit from the coronavirus (COVID-19) disaster unfolding, the vast majority of South African companies fall into two groups: those that are hemorrhaging but will ultimately survive, and those who will not ...
With the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), many businesses have taken the decision to request that employees work from home. To work from home, employees will either be using their own personal devices or company-issued equipment to either access the company network remotely or to transmit data and information through their own personal network. There are a few inherent information security risks that are posed by these arrangements ...
On 15 March 2020, President Kenyatta gave a speech on how the Kenyan Government intends to manage the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We outline these measures below and also provide some pointers: Travel For 30 days following the announcement, or as varied by the National Emergency Response Committee, travel is suspended for all persons coming into Kenya from any country with reported COVID-19 cases ...
Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the Bank of Mauritius has been closely monitoring its economic impact on the banking sector and the Mauritian economy. On 10 March 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Mauritius reduced the key repo rate by 50 basis points to 2.85% per annum and on 13 March 2020, the Bank of Mauritius introduced a Support Programme to further assist Mauritian businesses across all economic sectors ...
In a press release today, 17 March 2020, the Department of Employment and Labour (the “Department”) appealed to employers to use the prescriptions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 in governing workplaces in relation to Covid-19, also known as the Coronavirus. The Department has implored employers to prepare themselves and their employees as far in advance as possible for potentially worsening outbreak conditions ...
In a press release today, 17 March 2020, the Department of Employment and Labour (the “Department”) appealed to employers to use the prescriptions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 in governing workplaces in relation to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Department has implored employers to prepare themselves and their employees as far in advance as possible for potentially worsening outbreak conditions ...
The economic climate in which many South African firms operate has meant that dismissals for operational requirements have become an inescapable concern. However are employees always entitled to severance pay? Section 41(1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 provides that a retrenched employee is entitled to severance pay at least equal to one week’s remuneration for every year of completed service with the employer ...
BOTSWANA: New tax management system introduced With effect from 1 April 2020, the Botswana Unified Revenue Service is introducing a new tax management system called Lekgetho Live. Under the new system, companies’ Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (“CIPA”) numbers will be used as their tax identification number (“TIN”), whereas citizens’ TINs will consist of the letter I and their Omang number ...
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Bank of Mauritius has been closely monitoring its economic impact on the banking sector and the Mauritian economy.On 10 March 2020, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Mauritius reduced the key repo rate by 50 basis points to 2.85% per annum and on 13 March 2020, the Bank of Mauritius introduced a Support Programme to further assist Mauritian Businesses across all economic sectors ...
In light of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech on the country’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) last night, there are a number of new questions that we anticipate will be plaguing employers. Given all the restrictions on travel and gatherings, should employers close their doors and send employees home? No. An employer has the obligation to provide, as far as is reasonably practicable, a safe and healthy working environment ...
Following the South African President’s speech on 15 March 2020 that a national state of disaster has been declared in terms of the coronavirus (COVID-19), a number of measures were implemented to counteract the impact of the virus by the South African Government. We cover below the legal implications of some of these measures, particularly the repayment of bookings and data protection ...
This article is an updated version of the article published on 16 March 2020. On 15 March 2020, South African President Ramaphosa announced the declaration of a national state of disaster, as a result of the recent events surrounding the rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in South Africa. The declaration of a national disaster was made in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (the "DMA") ...
On 15 March 2020, South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002. This declaration will enable government to have an integrated and coordinated disaster management mechanism that will focus on preventing and reducing the outbreak of Covid-19, otherwise known as the Coronavirus. The president announced measures that South Africa will take to prevent and control of the Coronavirus ...
In view of the impending implementation of the Portable Gratuity Retirement Fund (“PRGF”), the Minister of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training has issued The Workers’ Rights (Portable Retirement Gratuity Fund) Regulations 2020 (the “PRGF Regulations”), deemed effective as from January 1, 2020. The implementation of the PRGF was, by a decision of Cabinet on December 13, 2019, postponed from 1 January 2020 to 1 April 2020 ...
A 2019 amendment to the Kenyan Companies Act, 2015 introduced a requirement for every company to keep a register of its beneficial owners and submit a copy of this register to the Registrar of Companies (the “Registrar”) within 30 days of preparation. In order to put the above statutory requirements into action, the Attorney-General published the Companies (Beneficial Ownership Information) Regulations, 2020 (the “Regulations”) with effect from 28 February 2020 ...
The Parliament of Rwanda recently passed two key laws to counter money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (“WMDs”), in an effort to strengthen and increase confidence in its financial system. Law No. 74/2019 of 29 January 2020 establishing the Financial Intelligence Centre (“Law No ...
The right to strike is enshrined in section 23 of the South African Constitution and regulated in some detail in the LabourRelations Act, 1995 (“LRA”). It is a valuable arrow in the quiver of strategies to be considered by employees when engaging in collective bargaining, but employers also have recourse when it comes to collective bargaining: locking out employees. In a sense, the right to strike and the recourse to a lock-out in this context are two sides of the same coin ...
On February 13, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the promulgation of certain significant sections of the Competition Amendment Act, 2018, including a change to the confidentiality regime, the new buyer power provision and the new price discrimination provision. The trade & industry minister has also published new regulations on buyer power and price discrimination ...