Romer Attorneys

08/11/2018

I have recently consulted a client with major issues with BEE compliance. Here is some info:

Proposed amendments to the General Principles Statement

51% Black-owned and 100% Black-owned Exempt Micro Enterprises and Qualifying Small Enterprises that seek to benefit from the enhanced recognition principles through which it can be recognised as automatic Level 2 or Level 1 contributors to BEE, can no longer utilise the modified flow through principle to do so.

Generic Enterprises (enterprises with an annual total revenue of R50 million or more) that are 100% Black owned (measured using only the flow-through principle) and large enterprises that are at least 51% Black-owned (measured using only the flow-through principle) can gain enhanced recognition to Level 1 and Level 2 contributors respectively. Such large enterprises will only be required to obtain a BEE verification certificate which verifies their ownership.

Enhanced BEE recognition can be gained where participating entities could move up 1 or even 2 BEE levels on the generic scorecard, if they achieve targets in respect of the so-called YES Initiative, which initiative is aimed at creating jobs for Black youth (ages 18 to 35). In order for a measured entity to be eligible for enhanced BEE recognition through the YES Initiative it must meet certain qualification criteria, such as, in the case of a large enterprise, achieving the sub-minimum for each priority element or an average of 50% across all three priority elements and ensuring that it maintains or improves its BEE status level. A further criterion which required an enterprise to also achieve full points under a specific sub-element of the skills development element has now been dropped by the Department of Trade and Industry (“DTI”) due to resistance and criticism from the business community to the inclusion of this criterion.

All companies participating in the YES Initiative must determine its YES target for new job creation based on criteria stipulated in the Proposed Amendments. Entities that are unable to create a sufficient number of new jobs in order to meet their targets may also qualify by sponsoring new placements in Exempt Micro Enterprises or Qualifying Small Enterprises.

Proposed amendments to the Enterprise and Supplier development Statements

The key amendments which are proposed here are the introduction of a multiplier factor of 2 for 51% Black Owned or 51% Black Women Owned Entities under the Preferential Procurement Scorecard; the combination and reallocation of points and targets for procurement expenditure on EMEs and QSEs under the Preferential Procurement Scorecard; and the recognition of Enterprise Development or Supplier Development initiatives irrespective of the growth in turnover of the relevant enterprise or supplier development beneficiary.

Proposed amendments to the Skills Development Statement

Skills development expenditure on bursaries for Black students at Higher Education Institutions has been proposed as a new sub-element under the skills development scorecard. The compliance target is 2.5% of the leviable amount - essentially an entity’s annual payroll - for 4 points on skills scorecard.

The target for skills development expenditure on learning programmes in the learning programme matrix is however proposed to be reduced from 6% to 3.5% of the leviable amount for 6 points in order to accommodate the new bursary sub-element.

The provision that legitimate training costs such as accommodation, catering and travelling cannot exceed 15% of the total value of skills development expenditure will not apply to the target for bursaries for Black students at Higher Education Institutions, allowing such expense items to be included for recognition under the new bursary sub-element.

Reaction and way forward

The proposed amendments, specifically pertaining to enhanced recognition for Black-owned Generic enterprises, have been met with widespread criticism from various sectors and have been hailed as a proposal for “the death of Broad-Based BEE”. It is expected that further dialogue will take place on this aspect between the DTI and relevant industry role players. The proposals regarding the YES Initiative and recognition for bursaries to Black students under the skills development have on the other hand been more positively received and should in all probability find their way into the amended BEE Codes. For the moment, it is still a waiting game to see what will come of the Proposed Amendments and in particular whether the DTI will press through with the controversial enhanced recognition for Black-owned Generic enterprises.

26/06/2018

Stellenbosch University Law Clinic fights tampon tax
2018-06-22 06:17
Christina Pitt
The Stellenbosch University (SU) Law Clinic has joined the fight to topple tampon tax and has made a written submission to National Treasury to include feminine hygiene products on the list of zero-rated VAT items.
The clinic conducted research on tampon tax shortly after the National Treasury called for public submissions for the expansion of the current list of zero-rated VAT items.
"The research indicates that the lack of access to feminine hygiene products, primarily as a result of the high prices of these products, is an enormous problem that confronts poor, vulnerable and marginalised women and girls in South Africa," SU Law Clinic attorney Monja Posthumus-Meyjes said.
"Because they can't afford this, they are forced to turn to alternative options that are mostly unhygienic and pose serious health risks."
Posthumus-Meyjes enlisted help from candidate attorney Danielle Louw and Erika Wright as well as Dr Lize Mills and Dr Silke de Lange of SU's Faculty of Law.
Girls could lose about 90 days of schooling a year
Their research focused on the impact that high prices of feminine products have on women who cannot afford it.
"The fact that many girls and women cannot afford proper sanitary hygiene products has further serious consequences in other aspects of their lives," Posthumus-Meyjes explained.
"About 30% of female [pupils] in South African schools do not attend school when they menstruate as they cannot afford sanitary hygiene products. This means that a girl could effectively lose about 90 days of schooling a year as a direct result of issues relating to menstruation."
The issue of tampon tax has come under the spotlight recently after MPs in Parliament insisted that that feminine hygiene products should be exempt from VAT or even be made freely available.
In 2004, Kenya became the first country in the world to abolish tampon tax. The Mauritian government similarly stopped adding VAT to sanitary pads and tampons in 2017.
ARTICLE FROM NEWS 24!

15/06/2018

Afrikaans has to fall as a dominant language at Stellenbosch University because it denies black students access, the institution says in papers filed at the Constitutional Court. The court will be the final arbiter in the battle by Afrikaans lobby groups to have the language re-instated as a parallel medium of instruction at a number of universities. Stellenbosch will square off with Gelyke Kanse, one of the lobby groups, notes a report in The Mercury. Gelyke Kanse brought an application aiming to set aside a High Court ruling in favour of the university’s 2016 decision to adopt English as its single medium of instruction. In heads of argument, the group’s counsels, Jan Heunis and Karrisha Pillay, argued the university’s new policy was inconsistent with the Constitution, which granted everyone a right to be educated in an official language of their choice provided this was practical. ‘We submit that the ongoing annihilation of Afrikaans as a language of instruction does not accord with the positive obligation imposed on national government by section 6(4) of the Constitution.’ They accused the university of not dropping Afrikaans for transformation purposes, but as a reaction to the growing number of white English-speaking students and lecturers. The university rejected this claim, however, saying the majority of its new students were black. The university’s counsels, Jeremy Muller and Nick de Jager, said 63% of the institution’s first-year students in 2015 were blacks who did not write Afrikaans in matric. ‘The majority of black African students could not learn in Afrikaans.’ AfriForum has waged – and lost – similar legal battles against Unisa, the University of Pretoria and Free State University. North-West was the only university still using Afrikaans and English, notes the report. Constitutional Court registrar Kgwadi Makgakga said the matter will be heard on 13 September.

03/05/2018

How many direct marketing calls have you received this week? Did you accept an invitation to attend a presentation? Did you excitedly sign on the dotted line, only to find that the next day you had "buyer's remorse"? There is hope for you. The Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 gives you 5 days within which to cancel the agreement, it is called a 5 day cooling off period. But beware each agreement may contain a different procedure to be adopted in exercising this right to terminate! Read your agreement. The Regulations to the CPA have a form that you can use. If in need of assistance consult your attorney.

24/04/2018

BEWARE of paying an admission of guilt fine?


I am sure you have been in a situation where you have had the option to pay an admission of guilt fine. This fine is paid before you appear in court, and seems to be an easy and affordable way out. Often this is especially true when you receive a traffic fine.

But BEWARE by paying an admission of guilt, you may get a criminal record.

If a criminal record arises from paying an admission of guilt fine, the criminal record will be valid for 10 years. If the admission of guilt appears on your SAP69 (criminal record), you may have difficulty obtaining a visa to travel overseas, applying for a firearm license, applying for a job, etc.

When in doubt contact your attorney for advice before making any admissions of guilt.

Divorce & Family Lawyer

24/04/2018

How time has flown....six years ago Maria joined Michael in his practice and two years ago we moved to our own offices in Kloof!