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Other Laws & Regulations affecting your client AND impact on NOCLAR:
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This issue 6 volume 16 covers new relevant National laws up to 9 April 2021:
- The Electronic Communications Act (Regulations);
- The Occupational Health and Safety Act (Hazardous chemical agents regulations);
- The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Draft Amendment Bill);
- The Protection of Personal Information Act (Prior authorisation); and
- The Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act (Investigations).
Other acts and articles:
- Legal Practice Act (Accounting rules)
Accounting rules amended to require that electronic accounting records or files hosted offsite must always be kept confidential; must be reasonably secure; and must remain immediately accessible to authorised person from the office of the firm, the Council, and all persons entitled to access thereto by law. Note: Where a firm engages a service provider to provide offsite storage facilities for the records and files of the firm, the firm must procure that the contractual arrangements with the service provider shall bind the service provider to ensure compliance with rule 54.9.2.1
- Protection of Personal Information Act (Prior authorisation)
The Information Regulator determined 1 July 2021 as the date that section 58(2) (aspect of duty of responsible parties to notify Regulator if processing is subject to prior authorisation) applies to processing in terms of section 57 (processing subject to prior authorisation). Note: Section 58(2) does not apply to processing referred to in section 57, which is taking place on the date of commencement of this Act, until the Regulator determines otherwise by notice in Gazette. Further note: Section 58(2) states that responsible parties may not carry out information processing notified to the Regulator under section 57(1) until the Regulator has completed its investigation or until they have received notice that a more detailed investigation will not be conducted
- Public Finance Management Act (Accounting officers)
National and provincial departments; and government components which apply the modified cash standard, exempted for 5 years from 8 April 2021 from the requirement that the accounting officer must prepare financial statements for each financial year as per generally recognized accounting practice.
- Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act (Unemployment Insurance Fund)
Investigation launched into the activities of the Unemployment Insurance Fund relating to payment of Covid-19 temporary employee/employer relief scheme benefits
- Electronic Communications Act (Data and cloud control)
The draft national data and cloud policy intends applying to government entities, the private sector, the public and individuals; and is available from ICASA. Comment deadline 30 working days from 1 April 2021.Page 4 Note: Lists various policy interventions, such as, positioning SITA to drive the adoption of digital government services; declaring digital infrastructure of critical scale and data centre hosting critical cloud computing national strategic assets; framework of shared data under data for good principles; policy on sharing and using IP relating to data generated from intellectual activities; ethical guidelines; and reducing market concentration. Further note: The policy references related laws (such as the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act; Minimum information security standards 1996; National Archives and Record Service of South Africa Act; National e-strategy 2017; National integrated ICT policy white paper 2016; Promotion of Access to Information Act; Protection of Information Act; Protection of Personal Information Act; Public Administration Management Act; South African cybersecurity framework 2012; and Spatial Data Infrastructure Act), to a certain extent, as well as their application, to a certain extent. Final note: Also see, amongst many others, special investigations into SITA one, two, three, and four; the ICASA inquiry into cybersecurity; and the Cybercrimes Bill.
- Electronic Communications Act (Ownership)
Limitations on control and equity ownership gazetted. Note: Compliance by existing licensees is required for class licensees and SMMEs 48 months from 31 March 2021, and is required for large individual licensees 36 months from 31 March 2021. Further note: Compliance is subject to regulation 7(5), which states that regulation 4(1), (2) and (3) is suspended until a date to be published by ICASA. Final note: During the transitional periods, licensees must achieve and comply with the appendix 2 progressive reporting, and submit annual progress reports indicating compliance with the set targets together with the annual reporting in terms of the compliance procedure manual regulations.
- Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (Forms)
A revised return of earnings prescribed form, and an application for the revision of the assessment form, is available from the Department
- Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act
Registration of domestic worker employers gazetted. Note: In the case of an employee who was employed by more than one employer at the time of the accident, the earnings received from all the employers should be submitted to the Compensation Fund
- Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Advertising, infomercial and sponsorship)
The discussion document on the review of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (Advertising, infomercial and programme sponsorship) regulations is available from ICASA. Comment deadline 7 June 2021. Note: The document explains the difference in ASASA content regulation and ICASA scheduling regulation; acknowledges the rapid evolution of the broadcasting sector; and the need to distinguish sponsorships from normal programming to protect against excessive and surreptitious advertising
- National Environmental Management Waste Act (Extended producer responsibility)
Amendments proposed to the extended producer responsibility read with the schemes for the electrical and electronic equipment sector; for the lighting sector; and for the paper and packaging sector (and some single products), all set to commence 5 May 2021. Comment deadline 30 days from 19 March 2021. Note: Existing producers of identified products will be required to register within 6 months from 5 May 2021, while producers of identified products established after 5 May 2021 have 3 months to register from establishment. Further note: Producers of identified products will be required to take numerous measures, such as paying the extended producer responsibility fee to fund the scheme, conduct a life cycle assessment, collaborate on a transformation charter, and reporting to the SA waste information system. Final note: Failure to comply is generally an offence punishable by a fine, imprisonment of up to 15 years, registration revocation and/or forced scheme participation - in some instances one may have to rely on the court to consider the principle that the punishment should be proportionate to the transgression
- Political Party Funding Act (Commencement)
Reminder that the Act (including prohibited donations, disclosure of donations and information, accounting, payment suspension, recovery of irregular amounts, and schedule 2 regulations) and regulations (including request not to disclose, accounting officer duties and offence amounts) commence 1 April 2021. Note: Prohibited donations provisions will spell out that a political party may not accept a donation that it knows or ought reasonably to have known, or suspected, originates from the proceeds of crime and must report that Page 13 knowledge or suspicion to the Commission, even though the prohibition is already an expectation in terms of several common law and statutory laws.
- Rental Housing Act (Draft rental housing regulations)
The draft rental housing regulations propose regulating matters relating to serving and filing of complaints; mediation; dispute hearings (including orders regarding disclosure of relevant documents); rulings; appeals; Page 14 conduct of members of tribunal and of appeal adjudicators; and norms and standards. Comment deadline 60 days from 26 March 2021. Note: The norms and standards (terms and conditions, safety, and basic living conditions) are based on amendments to be made by the Amendment Act 2014, which Act amendments also reference overcrowding, affordability, amount escalation, and maximum rate of deposits methods - the latter four proposed norms and standards are listed in the draft regulation index but do not appear in the draft regulation text. Further note: The draft regulations propose, amongst others, that a lease agreement must exclude any provision which imposes a penalty for late payment of rent whether or not the penalty takes the form of an administrative charge or any other form other than interest. Final note: The draft regulations propose, amongst others, that a tenant must comply with the House Rules (rules in relation to the control, management, administration, use and enjoyment of the rental housing property), which will be enforceable pursuant to these regulations.
- Customary Initiation Bill (Version D)
The Bill proposes regulating customary initiation practices by, inter alia, considering interacting Constitutional Rights; avoiding one-size-fits-all rigidity (e.g. section 37 Provincial peculiarities); and requiring consents and stating prohibitions (as age limited voluntary practice). Note: Considers (see e.g. sections 2, 3, 15, and 33) related laws, eg Children's Act section 111, 118 and 140; Criminal Law (S Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act section 42 ; Criminal Procedure Act; Health Professions Act; Liquor Act; Promotion of Administrative Justice Act; Traditional Health Practitioners Act; and the Children’s Act prohibitions relating to mutilations, circumcisions or testing. Further note: Related laws not specifically referred to by name in the Bill (e.g. the Promotion of Access to Information Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, common law kidnapping, or common law culpable homicide etc), may still apply additionally. Further note: Considers parents and guardians accountability (initiation school or male circumcision decisions to be made with child, child fitness certification and disclosures, confirming a school is registered and persons within it screened, choosing a care-giver, and ensuring academic education not impeded). Final note: Considers parents and guardians rights (to attend to initiate who falls sick; to receive qualified counselling upon death of an initiate; and to remove an initiate if e.g. subjected to abuse, there is a family emergency, or believed the surgeon, practitioner or care-giver no longer meets the fitness requirements)
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