A compilation of comments, notes, highlights, discussions, extracts from minutes and attendances on legislation affecting business
The following is comment on a number of Bills in passage at the moment through Parliament that particularily affect business and industry. In depth
studies, possible outcomes and progess on particular pieces of legisalation together with comment and backgroound, however, are reserved for our speciaised reports to to clients. This website has regular updates on specific issues as per the home page. The following are a few random comments Nov, 2025
National State Enterprises Bill
Not debated in Parliament at this point but a highly controversial piece of legislation from the Presidency, this was the last piece of legislations produced by the ANC in the sixth Parliament, before elections 2024. This Bill maps out a revised government structure planned by the ANC for South Africa. Based on draft legislation, the original draft being a product of the now departed Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan added to by Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni after a trip she took to the People’s Republic of China accompanied by President Ramaphosa. It is centrist/socialist in style and a product of the State Presidency’ office, an outcome that forms part of unacceptable number of proposed Bills in process which have a strong communist flavour, not liked by a number of parties in the GNU unless radically altered..
In essence, the Bill presents a framework of an alternative structure for the public service whereby the cabinet is a holding company with its various ministries and 41 ministers running “subsidiaries” which are the government departments and SOEs. Should the GNU remain a force, this Bill is certain to be severely altered in its wording and less focus placed on the powers of ministers and the President.
The principle behind the Bill finds favour with most in broad principle, inasmuch that government departments are left to deal with service delivery, administration, infrastructural matters whilst a central SOC or Limited company houses all ministers and the Presidency, the company dealing with government policy on matters such as BEE and health planning, national developmental matters, etc., international affairs and treasury. As a company, government will be subject to Company Law which is seen as an advantage in dealing with corruption and crime as an entity.
BEE Transformation Fund Bill
Orginally only a concept paper calling for public comment, Parliament is now likely to see this as legislation tabled in almost its original form despite strong objections from business and opposition parties. This Bill is clearly part of a move by the ANC to its consolidate its overall programme of new radical legislation needed to be in place before the build up for the election build up for the May 2026 municipal elections.
The concept also disposes of the government problem what to do with funds accumulated as BEE penalties and fines so far imposed on errant business organisations not meeting their own BEE requirements, added to which are BEE funds collected in terms of BEE legislation.
Considerable objections have been raised against the Minister’s plan to start up a further government funded and state run small business support programme on BEE lines simply because the Department for Small Business Development, set up some five years ago, is tasked with the same undertaking and has been receiving annual support from the Budget to do such. Only government agencies are allowed to for all training and support programmes, according to the Bill, the private sector being specifically excluded.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Park Tau’s proposed BEE Transformation Fund is primarily based on the plan to create a R100bn kitty to support black-owned business development and small, medium, and micro enterprise (SMME) funding. (Refer last month’s editorial)
Minister Tau said his new proposals were “anchored in the B-BBEE Act, which obligates the government to increase the economic participation of black-owned and managed enterprises, such as SMMEs.” The preamble states, amongst other things, that government notes the failure by business to provide assistance by funding of projects favouring black business development..
The funds needed will emanate from “donations” by business and industry, and also using funds accumulated by EIPPS (alternatives to having a BEE shareholding by supporting government projects nominated by the State)..
Expropriation Act
The current version of the Expropriation Bill, now an Act but not yet in the Statute Book, was introduced in Parliament in October 2020, allowing “nil compensation” in the expropriation of, among other categories, state land, abandoned land or land held for speculation under certain defined
circumstances.
The Bill was bundled through Parliament, together with the NHI Bill, using the ANC majority that existed before the May 2024 elections in order to obtain provincial mandates to proceed with the Bill. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Bill into law with a flourish at a Davos financial summit meeting posturing the successes of the ANC in “democratizing South Africa”.
What is now an Act passed by Parliament in a majority vote process is perceived by the US government as contrary to international precepts. It is being used by the Trump administration worldwide as an example of what the white House refers to as “seizure of property.” The present government also sees expropriation per se in a different light to business and agriculture but more as a political gesture of a new way of government for Africa and to distribute land as sole government landlord.
This Act remains at the centre of a political move by the ANC to force through Parliament a number of centralistic/socialist laws almost as insurance, it seems, against the possible further loss of power and inability to force policies either at the polls or in the continual balancing of power within the GNU. The Expropriation Act will doubtless form the basis of further clashes to come on the subject of land ownership and redistribution of land in South Africa. This Act is the most misquoted document ever to come out of the SA Parliament, further alienated from fact by the US Trump Administration and/or White House statements which seem continuing.
The emotive nature of the subject continues to threaten relationships in all spheres of government liaison with business and is much used by the EFF to taunt right wing parties and institutions.
It is our view that in terms of the wording, the Expropriation Bill’s clauses are not as threatening on the issue of property rights and ownership as it appears from the many angry debates across the country. Providing the process of expropriation is followed as outlined in the Act is used to process a necessary transfer of land to the State in the right manner and is only acted upon in terms of the circumstances provided, it will be a useful tool in governance on land issues.
The problem, of course, is that by having such a law on the Statute Books, such law is open to abuse by an undemocratic government under politically charged circumstances and conditions.
Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill 
A product of government’s Health Department, this Bill not only ran into heavy criticism from industry manufacturers, which is to be expected, but all from retailers which was a surprising development. The amendments to be considered have been considerable, sufficient for it to be sent back for total reconsideration by DOH and for redrafting. A complete ban on smoking in certain areas is proposed but the main drive is to tackle vaping products and their sale.
After the 2024 elections, when all legislation tabled but not processed by Parliament was lapsed as a matter of parliamentary rules, DOH revived the Bill. Nothing has been seen or heard to date.
Vaping has become a subject of concern in the meanwhile, and we quote from an article in the Cape Argus date tabled as of yet the 14 April 2025. “As vaping rates among South African teens surge, calls have gone out for the government to urgently enact the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill, to curb what experts warn could become a full-blown national epidemic”.
There will probably be response from DOH in the near future and movement on this legislation, known to be wanted to be in force ASAP by the Minister of Health who is in the anti-vaping camp.
National Health Insurance Act
The 2025 national budget in March only touched the issue as to whether the finance minister was able to provide for a multi-million tranche for the National Health Fund as originally envisaged by Health Minister Motsoaledi. However, universal health has now become the marching song for freedom marches and its application will only work where a countrywide health service is already operating.
In fact, the brouhaha surrounding the setting up a fund to finance NHI in South Africa (expected to cost billions of rands) merely served to prove that the country cannot afford the concept.. New proposals allow for the survival of medical aid schemes in parallel but any promises from the Minister of Health that South Africa will have in the near future any kind of government health service to match the political promises being made, are held to be a fanciful dream and a dangerous misdirection of funds.
Mineral Resources Development Plan (MRDP) Bill
As always, Minister Gwede Mantashe operates on his own, according to his own timings and with little apparent interest in the overall future of the SA mining industry or future investments in South Africa. Busy as he is setting up his cardboard version for government and DMRE of what has been sourly called “a new giant in the petroleum industry” i.e. PetroSA – re-branded as the South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) with taxpayer’s money, he has managed to find time at last to publish a very late draft MRDP Bill.
This, it is now found, completely ignores all input from the mining industry’s main body, the Mineral Resources Council. Almost as an insult, his Department of Mineral Resources department has also put aside the best advice of senior mining engineers, CEOs and captains in the mining and geological exploration industry that took place during many days of hearings at the Minister’s own invitation.
This particularly applies to BEE conditions on which the Minister promised would not appear for the instance of mining exploration, a specialised high-risk task not to be complicated with politicized overtones. When their inclusion was queried by surprised mining executives who attended the earlier meetings, the Minister replied,” Oh, they must go!”, throwing into doubt the finality of the rest of the proposed draft already dispatched to the public for comment.,
In the last-named sphere of operations -exploration, of which Minister Mantashe knows absolutely nothing except how to gamble with other people’s money – the result of Minister’s approach to finding and quantifying the much-needed resources has been contempt from major exploration companies who are a rare breed of highly specialised risk takers. They have left our shores for more accommodating governments who care not for sob stories of past prejudice or sharing the profit but not the risk.
This is also the case of other adventures of the Minister into the petroleum and gas exploration industry, exposing South Africa once again to financial risk and/or reputational damage. We comment on the new MRDP in this edition of ParlyReport.
National Land Transport Amendment Act
The President has at last signed this Bill in to legislation, probably delayed because same was amended by the WP government to favour retention of transport services by the provincial authorities. Also carried over from the Sixth Parliament, the Bill provide for certain powers of provinces and municipalities to conclude contracts for public transport services to their ratepayers. It further expands the powers of the Minister to make regulations and introduce safety measures but is in answer mainly to Western Cape demands that that provincial financial powers are not diminished
The Eighth Parliament of SA 
Speaker
Thoko Didiza
Deputy Speaker
Annelie Lotriet (DA)
Window on Parliament is regularily updated
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