Employment state of play

29 May 2024 declared a public holiday for the general elections.

The Office of the President has confirmed that in terms of section 49(2) of the Constitution, read with section 17 of the Electoral Act 73 of 1998, President Cyril Ramaphosa has proclaimed Wednesday, 29 May 2024 as the date for South Africa’s general national and provincial elections.

Updates to the new visa regime and potential reforms ahead

Operation Vulindlela, which was established in October 2020, is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury aimed at accelerating the implementation of structural reforms and support for the national economy’s recovery from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Going back to basics: The importance of reducing the essential terms of a sale of property agreement to writing

The recent judgment of Cooper N O and Another v Curro Heights Properties (Pty) Ltd (1300/2021) ZASCA 66 (16 May 2023) once again highlights the importance of reducing the essential terms of a sale of property agreement to writing.

Carbon tax changes related to the renewable energy premium deduction and carbon offset allowance

Kenya’s tax outlook for 2024

Since coming into office in September 2022, the incumbent Kenyan Government has implemented policy measures aimed at steering economic recovery. As per the 2023 Budget Policy Statement and the Fourth Medium-Term Plan, it is currently targeting five key priority sectors. These sectors include agricultural transformation; the micro-, small- and medium-size enterprise economy; housing and settlement; healthcare; digital superhighway; and the creative industry. The Government is also redesigning taxation instruments to make them supportive of economic activity while boosting revenue collection. All these interventions have yielded progress, as the economy indicated an average growth rate of 5,6% in the first three quarters of 2023, up from 4,8% in 2022.

Revised critical skills list

The Immigration Act 13 of 2002 empowers the Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs to issue a critical skills visa to an individual who is in possession of “ such skills or qualifications determined to be critical for the Republic from time to time ”, subject to meeting all the other requirements for the issuing of the visa. The skills and qualifications determined to be critical are published in a critical skills list issued by the Minister of the Department of Home Affairs (Minister) from time to time. A critical skills visa is issued based on compliance with the critical skills list and allows the holder to work in South Africa within a specific occupation listed on the critical skills list.