On 16 September 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the easing of the risk-adjusted strategy of the national lockdown to Alert Level 1, which commenced at midnight on 20 September 2020.
On Tuesday, 18 August 2020, at 0h00, the South African national lockdown was downgraded from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2. Regulations prescribing the legal parameters of the Alert Level 2 restrictions and allowances were published on the same day and many of them are discussed here.
His address did not declare an escalation of the alert level currently in place, as widely expected, but rather confirmed that whilst the Alert Level 3 Regulations would, for now, remain in force, that these Regulations would be further limited and refined in certain respects. The increase in the degree of restriction under the Level 3 Regulations was justified by the President as being necessary to curb the impending storm predicted early on by experts advising government
We are slowly emerging from lockdown and the cabin fever is abating. We can leave our homes now, but can only lumber our lonely way about, hoping not to crash into a pole when our [...]
Following the declaration by President on 15 April 2020 that the national lockdown will be extended by two weeks, various amendments to the existing lockdown Regulations were published on 16 April 2020 (“the Amendments”). These amendments will govern private and commercial transactions and restrictions until the lockdown is lifted, which for now is set as being on 01 May 2020. This article will briefly discuss the most relevant of these amendments and their impact.
COVID-19: Price gouging, panic buying and the spotlight on suppliers: the Minister of Trade and Industry has spoken
The Occupational Safety and Health Act, No. 85 of 1993 (“the Act”) aims to ensure the wellbeing, health and safety of employees in the workplace. In light of the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to consider the effects the spread of the virus may have on the South African employer and specifically the risk the virus poses to employees in the workplace. In this regard, section 8 of the Act is of importance as it sets out the duties that employers owe to their employees and is discussed below
On 15 March 2020, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, declared a national state of disaster, citing special circumstances warranting such declaration in terms of Section 27(1) of the Act. Furthermore, Dr Mmaphaka Tau, in his capacity as the Head of the National Disaster Management Centre, classifying the COVID-19 pandemic as a national disaster, in other words, a disaster affecting all of the provinces, in terms of section 23(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002 (“the Act”).
Multiple departments and pieces of legislation are involved and apply to the labelling of hazardous chemicals in South Africa. The departments of Trade and Industry, Environmental Affairs, Transport, Labour Dept and the South African Bureau [...]
How many appointments are required in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (the Act) and how many are discretionary? When asked for an absolute list of required appointments we can [...]