South Africa law firms ask court to quash industry equity code

Some of South Africa's biggest law firms have asked a court to set aside the nation's policy governing Black ownership and representation in the profession, saying that its "unlawful" and "unworkable" in its present form.

The Gauteng High Court will hear the request to set aside the so-called Legal Sector Code, published by Trade Minister Parks Tau in September 2024, from May 4 to 8. Norton Rose Fulbright initially brought the legal proceedings to the court and Bowmans, Webber Wentzel and Werksmans have intervened.

The firms argue that the revised code removes recognition for several established measures aimed at so-called transformation — a local term for policies addressing apartheid-era exclusion through steps such as increasing Black ownership and staffing, and expanding skills development.

Among the concerns raised, the firms said the new code "wrongly excludes" Black non-lawyers from management control scoring, even though professionals in areas such as human resources, technology and accounting often hold critical senior management and leadership roles in law firms, Bowmans, Webber Wentzel and Werksmans said in a statement on Wednesday.

Under South Africa's policy framework on economic empowerment, companies are rated on scorecards that look at Black South African representation in ownership and leadership, as well as what the firms do to promote the development of non-Whites' skills and communities. The level on the scorecard affects companies' eligibility for government contracts and their ability to do business with other corporates.

The firms propose that instead of implementing the LSC, the government allow the generic codes continue to apply to the legal procession "while a lawful, evidence-based and properly constructed LSC is developed."

That would "avoid any regulatory vacuum while allowing the sector and government to produce a code that genuinely advances transformation," they said.

Mugabe's son given fine and to be deported from South Africa

A South African court on Wednesday ordered the youngest son of Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe to pay a large fine and said he would be deported for pointing a toy gun at someone and breaking immigration laws.

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, believed to be in his late 20s, and another man were arrested in February after a worker was shot and wounded at a mansion in Johannesburg where Mugabe was staying.

Both have been in custody since their arrest. They pleaded guilty as part of negotiations with prosecutors.

It is not clear how Bellarmine Mugabe broke South Africa's immigration laws, and he pleaded guilty to pointing a toy gun in a separate incident from the one in which the worker was shot.

He was given a R400 000 fine for pointing the toy gun and a R200 000 fine for violating immigration rules.

His co-accused Tobias Matonhodze pleaded guilty to attempted murder of the worker along with other charges like defeating the ends of justice.

Matonhodze was sentenced to three years in prison, after which he will be deported.

The investigating officer told the Alexandra Magistrate's Court last week that the worker who was shot twice in the back received a compensation settlement of R250 000, with a further payment of R150 000 to come.

The firearm used in the shooting is still missing.

Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years after independence from Britain in 1980. He was ousted in a military coup in 2017 and died in 2019 at a hospital in Singapore, aged 95.

South Africa plans exchange control revamp to attract billions in investment

South Africa has proposed a sweeping overhaul of its decades-old rules governing money flows, including tightening its control on crypto assets, seeking to bolster its position as a financial hub for Africa and attract more investor capital.

The finance ministry's proposals include raising discretionary offshore allowances for individuals, regulating crypto assets and easing capital-flow restrictions.

The JSE estimates the changes could attract at least 10 trillion rand ($608 billion) in investment over time.

Much of the legislation being overhauled dates back to 1961, with some provisions originating as early as 1933, Vukile Davidson, deputy director-general of financial policy at National Treasury, told Reuters in an interview.

"At the time, exchange control was principally used to deal with a wide range of issues beyond just capital flows management," said Davidson. "It was used to manage the domestic revenue base, to manage illicit flows, to ensure the stability of the financial sector."

That blunt instrument is now being replaced with more targeted reforms, he said, signalling South Africa's readiness to modernise and adopt a "positive bias" approach to managing cross-border capital flows.

National Treasury published the draft circular for public comment on April 17.

DOMICILE FOR NON-RAND FUNDS A key aim of the overhaul is to address long-standing structural problems that have seen South Africa lose financial capital to rival hubs.

Under the proposals, asset managers would for the first time be allowed to run non-rand funds - which raise, deploy and report in foreign currencies such as US dollars - from a South African base. Current rules require such funds to be legally domiciled offshore, even when they are managed locally.

"Places like Mauritius, increasingly Kenya and Kigali, and Dubai ... have been much more successful in attracting South African financial firms," Davidson said.

Samuel Mokorosi, head of deals and origination at the JSE, said rules requiring non-rand funds to be domiciled offshore were costing South Africa jobs and expertise.

The bourse, which leads Operation Phumelela - a private-sector reform initiative pushing for capital markets reform - welcomed the proposed change.

BRINGING CRYPTO INTO THE FOLD The overhaul would also bring crypto assets formally into the exchange control framework, treating them for the first time as a distinct but regulated form of capital.

Crypto trading above a set threshold would be permitted only through a new class of regulated intermediaries, with mandatory declaration of holdings and significant transactions to National Treasury.

Crypto plays a growing but contested role in South Africa, where high adoption has made it a tool for trading, remittances and, increasingly, cross-border value transfer outside the traditional banking system.

The proposals represent "what is arguably the most significant overhaul of South Africa's capital flow regime and bring cryptoasset transactions squarely within the country's cross-border controls," said Desiree Reddy at law firm Deneys.

The exchange control revamp forms part of a broader reform agenda pursued by the government in recent years, spanning energy, logistics, infrastructure, fiscal policy and financial regulation.

Davidson said the timing and pace of the changes were also influenced by geopolitical shifts that are creating opportunities for South Africa to attract capital flows.

BLSA Reform Tracker shows progress, but some institutional reforms are lagging

The Reform Tracker of business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) shows that central government reforms are generally progressing, albeit some more slowly, and are broadly moving in the right direction.

However, an important exception is the overall logistics reform programme, says BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso.

The tracker shows a step backwards in the index tracking reforms, which was driven by multiple factors, including the missed deadlines for Volume 4 of the Network Statement, delays in the National Rail Bill and, importantly, the emerging challenges to private-sector participation in the logistics system.

State-owned Transnet continues to design all participation terms and runs all projects, which results in agreements that heavily favour the parastatal over private partners, she points out.

The network access agreements that are supposed to see 11 private sector operators on the Transnet network are struggling toward completion with terms that substantially constrain the ability of private operators to succeed, she adds.

"Logistics reform was showing good promise three months ago, but warning lights are now flashing. We need a competitive, efficient and innovative logistics system for our economy to deliver growth.

"These reforms must be accelerated and the institutional resistance and obstacles need to be tackled decisively. Transnet cannot be allowed to design terms that undermine the entire reform objective," says Mavuso.

Further, the tracker highlighted progress in electricity reform following the review in the first quarter of the year that brought to light decisions on the structure for unbundling the network operator from State-owned Eskom that conflicted with established policy.

Eskom and the Department of Energy and Electricity had proposed an unbundling structure that did not align with the policy objective of creating an efficient, neutral hub for a competitive electricity market.

This institutional deviation from policy could have derailed the entire electricity market transformation, Mavuso notes.

However, President Cyril Ramaphosa decisively put reforms back on track by confirming the policy during his yearly State of the Nation address in February. The BLSA Reform Tracker reflects an improved trajectory as a result of this.

The fact that such an intervention was needed reveals how fragile reform progress remains when institutions deviate from agreed policy, Mavuso asserts.

Meanwhile, municipal reforms have been slower to develop than national reforms. The BLSA Reform Tracker shows progress in separating water and electricity services in municipalities, but progress on other fronts, including greater professionalisation and rooting out corruption, have been flat, says Mavuso.

"Business has a clear and direct interest in municipal performance. Well-functioning councils are essential to business by ensuring production can happen, and employees live in conditions that support a good family life. From local roads to water, the cost of doing business can be heavily affected by service provision," she says.

The Local Government White Paper review process will strengthen the separation between political leadership and the administration, and support the professionalisation of the civil service, as well as introduce a corruption register to ensure dismissed employees do not work for the State again, she says.

Dysfunctional municipalities are a binding constraint on investment and job creation, while functional ones are engines of growth. The problems afflicting municipal service delivery are the central challenge facing South Africa's economic trajectory, says Mavuso.

"On the local government front, and many other fronts, reform implementation will deliver the growth and jobs our country critically needs."

Gwarube calls for Treasury probe into textbook procurement

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said on Tuesday that she has written to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, requesting an investigation into allegations of irregular textbook procurement.

A News24 media report revealed that publishing company Lighthouse Publishers had registered three days after the details of the contract were revealed. The contract specified the production of textbooks for learners in Grades 1 to 3 and learning materials, for the Department of Education. Lighthouse Publishers, which would stand to make over R285-million, has denied anything untoward in the procurement process.

Gwarube said the allegation were concerning and that she was seeking advice from Treasury before moving on the matter.

"At stake is the delivery of quality education materials to over 13.7-million learners across South Africa. Any compromise in the integrity of textbook procurement directly threatens the ability of the education system to function effectively and undermines the constitutional right of every child to access basic education," she said.

As the legal custodian of legal compliance, Gwarube said, should Treasury's investigation uncover wrongdoing, she promised to act on those implicated.

Meanwhile, ActionSA echoed calls for an investigation, warning that any corruption in the education sector undermined the quality of learning.

"ActionSA calls on the Department of Basic Education and National Treasury to move with urgency to establish the full facts and ensure there is no doubt that this contract was awarded lawfully, transparently and in the best interests of millions of learners," it said.

Ramaphosa warns global inequality entrenches poverty, calls for independent panel to be recognised

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday declared global inequality as one of the most pressing threats to human progress, warning that it stunts development, wastes human potential and entrenches poverty.

Addressing the Consultative Council of the Founding Committee of the International Panel on Inequality, at the Wits School of Governance, in Johannesburg, he highlighted that where inequality exists, opportunity is scarce, and where opportunity is scarce, potential is wasted, ultimately stopping progress.

"Inequality literally entrenches poverty across generations. It results in one's starting point in life being a handicap and results in inferior schooling, nutrition, lack of networks that make upward mobility difficult or impossible. This prevents humanity's progress," he said.

Under the country's G20 Presidency, Ramaphosa established the Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, chaired by Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz.

The committee's findings, delivered in late 2025, revealed a staggering "inequality emergency."

The report found that between 2000 and 2024, the richest 1 percent of people in the world captured 41 percent of all new wealth, while the poorer half of humanity captured just 1 percent of new wealth.

Ramaphosa stated that the report provided evidence that extreme inequality is a threat to democratic freedoms, economic growth and general well-being.

He argued that humanity cannot advance while many of the world's people are denied the fundamentals such as water, food, shelter, education, employment, and security.

"… humanity cannot advance when the talents, capabilities, creativity and energy of billions of people remain untapped and their potential remains unrealised.

"By the same measure, humanity cannot advance in a world that is deeply unjust and where so many people said.

Ramaphosa emphasised that inequality threatens the stability of societies and the sustainability of economies.

"It worsens the effects of climate disasters and steadily makes the planet less inhabitable for all people," he added.

The International Panel on Inequality represents a concrete opportunity to confront this emergency, Ramaphosa said, noting that this is an opportunity to bring together governments and peoples from different countries to help the world understand and address inequality.

He highlighted the need for "coordinated multilateral action".

"We encourage all world leaders and all governments to actively support the establishment of the Panel as a permanent international body," he said.

Ramaphosa pointed out that once established, equipped and supported, the International Panel will be one of the most effective instruments the global community has to direct efforts to substantially reduce inequality.

Opposition parties slams leadership instability following SAPS Commissioner's suspension

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and ActionSA have expressed concerns with the growing leadership instability in the country's security cluster, following the precautionary suspension of National Police Commissioner general Fannie Masemola.

On Thursday President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Masemola following his Tuesday appearance in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court.

Masemola faces four counts of violating the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). The charges relate to his role as the South African Police Service (SAPS) accounting officer and involves a contract awarded to Medicare24, a company linked to businessman Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala.

"In consideration of the seriousness of these charges and the critical role of the National Commissioner in leading the fight against crime, I have agreed with general Masemola that he be deemed to be on precautionary suspension pending the conclusion of the case," said Ramaphosa.

In the meantime, he appointed SAPS Divisional Commissioner for Financial Management Services Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane as the Acting National Commissioner of Police.

Having been in the police service for close on two decades, having extensive experience in policing, strategic management, financial management and governance, Ramaphosa expressed confidence in Dimpane.

IFP Chief Whip in the National Assembly Nhlanhla Hadebe noted Dimpane's appointment but warned that a "growing trend" of temporary leadership is undermining national security.

"The concurrent presence of both an Acting Minister and an Acting National Commissioner signals a troubling lack of stability, continuity, and decisive leadership," he said.

Hadebe pointed out that while the IFP extends the "benefit of the doubt" to Dimpane, the party emphasised that permanent appointments must be prioritised to restore public confidence and fulfil the SAPS's constitutional mandate.

ActionSA Member of Parliament Dereleen James echoed these sentiments, describing the current situation as a "cycle of acting appointments".

James pointed out that Masemola's suspension adds to a "pattern of instability" that includes the previous suspension of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.

"Today marks another indication of the growing instability obstructing law enforcement from fulfilling its most basic mandate to protect South Africa and her people," said James.

ActionSA maintained that while decisive action is necessary to protect SAPS's integrity, "repeated reactive interventions" underscore what the party believes is a deeper failure of leadership and oversight at the highest levels of government.

Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police chairperson Ian Cameron stressed that the appointment of an Acting National Commissioner must mark a turning point for SAPS.

"This is an opportunity to restore stability, reinforce ethical leadership, and refocus SAPS on its core mandate of fighting crime and protecting citizens. The Acting National Commissioner must act decisively to rebuild institutional integrity," she said.

Cameron reiterated that individuals implicated in ongoing investigations, including those linked to the Madlanga Commission and the Ad Hoc Committee, should be suspended pending the finalisation of investigations.

"The path forward must be defined by transparency, accountability and ethical governance. South Africans deserve a police service that works in their interest, not one distracted by internal crises," he stated.

Democratic Alliance (DA) federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis welcomed Dimpane's appointment as a "necessary step" to protect the integrity of the office and to ensure that SAPS continues to function while Masemola's case unfolds.

The party reiterated its call for a board of inquiry into Masemola's fitness to hold office, stating that suspension is not enough.

"These serious allegations require full and proper scrutiny so that accountability is not delayed, dilu...

'I'm fighting to fix Johannesburg, not the Middle East' – Helen Zille

Despite facing intense criticism and scrutiny over her stance on foreign affairs, Democratic Alliance (DA) Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille has declared that her focus remains on fixing the failing infrastructure in the City of Johannesburg.

Speaking exclusively with Polity, Zille addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding her position on the Israel-Gaza conflict, which has seen some critics accuse her of being evasive or holding double standards.

Zille dismissed what she said were attempts to turn the municipal election into a debate on international relations, arguing that such tactics are aimed at derailing her campaign for the upcoming local government elections.

"I'm fighting to be mayor of Joburg, not Ramallah, or Bethlehem, or Tehran, or Gaza City, or Tel Aviv. I'm focusing on fixing Joburg," Zille stated.

She argued that those pushing the geopolitical debate are merely trying to prevent a DA victory.

"They do not have any other argument to use. They cannot point to a single success that they have had in government. It is really scraping the bottom of the barrel to try and turn the election for Joburg into an international relations issue," she said.

Zille's campaign is primarily focused on reversing the collapse of services in the City of Johannesburg, which she has likened to the decline of ancient Rome, owing to internal decay.

She highlighted that the city faces a crippling infrastructure backlog estimated at R300-billion, requiring an urgent and drastic change in management.

"That's going to have to take a lot of partnerships. It is going to have to take partnerships with the utilities renewal programme that is being set in motion by the national treasury. It is going to need a lot of private partners, not only private business, but a lot of community organisations who are really maintaining parks and other things," she said.

She emphasised that tackling the city's financial distress is her priority.

She has previously pledged to ring-fence revenues to ensure money is spent on service delivery rather than administrative bloating.

"The first thing we must do is focus on the finances and having the right people in the right places. If you don't get the finances sorted out, stop corruption, and focus the money where it is needed and where it can be productively used for service delivery, you're never going to fix this problem," she said.

Addressing the issue of administrative capacity, she promised a shake-up of the civil service to remove political appointees.

"If you have deployed cadres in critical service delivery posts who aren't adequately qualified or hard working enough or anything like that to get the job done, then you've got an equal problem. So, we're going to look at capacity," she stated.

Zille said there has been a "curious aversion" to digitisation in Johannesburg, which she claimed is intended to facilitate corruption.

"To counter this, we must digitise. We need password-protected access to digital records so we can monitor exactly who is accessing them and what they are doing. Furthermore, we must ensure that any remaining extractable records are properly preserved and retained," she stated.

She pointed out that the situation at the Metro is an "absolute disaster".

"… I have no doubt that the purpose has been to loot and create an income stream through its demolition and redevelopment.

"While some political leaders call for the scrapping of Johannesburg's entities, I disagree. These entities can function exceptionally well if they are led by highly competent professionals," she said.

Zille explained that her plan is to ensure boards consist of experts in essential service delivery fields, such as water, roads, refuse removal, and power.

"…if managed correctly, these entities are the key to effective governance," she said.

ANC says SACP will not participate in party's election activities

The African National Congress (ANC) has officially announced that the South African Communist Party (SACP) will not participate in ANC election structures, processes, campaign activities or candidate lists, urging ANC members to act in full compliance with the party's Constitution.

This followed the SACP's decision to contest elections independently, a move the ANC warns carries "clear organisational consequences."

During a media briefing on Thursday, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula clarified that the SACP's resolution to contest independently adopted in 2022, created a "new political reality".

Mbalula noted that independent contestation by the SACP introduces direct political competition.

"Experience from recent by-elections confirms that independent contestation creates confusion among supporters and divisions within communities," he stated.

He acknowledged that while the alliance has delivered essential gains in social protection and democratic rights, the party is still reeling from the electoral setbacks of 2024.

He cited persistent inequality, unemployment, and declining public confidence as factors that have weakened the movement.

He highlighted that the ANC has, over an extended period, engaged the SACP and other Alliance partners to preserve unity and avoid fragmentation.

"… however, these engagements did not yield consensus, and the SACP has proceeded with preparations to contest elections, including participation in by-elections," he explained.

He pointed out that the NEC was concerned that this development risks fragmentation, weakening the Alliance, and undermining the broader transformation agenda at a time when the democratic movement faces both internal weaknesses and coordinated external pressures.

"Experience from recent by-elections confirms that independent contestation introduces direct political competition with the ANC, creating confusion among supporters and divisions within communities," he said.

Mbalula said the ANC Constitution is explicit in regulating conduct during elections, providing that no member may stand for election, campaign or canvass in opposition to a candidate endorsed by the ANC.

"This provision applies without exception and constitutes a binding organisational rule that ensures coherence and discipline in the electoral arena.

"In line with this constitutional framework, the NEC has reaffirmed that all members of the ANC are obligated to campaign for the ANC and its candidates in all elections. This obligation is binding on all members, including those who hold dual membership with the SACP," he said.

To ensure clarity, consistency and discipline across the movement, Mbalula said the NEC has directed that all ANC members, including those serving in leadership structures and public office, must declare whether they will campaign for the ANC or any other political formation.

He said failure to do so will be interpreted as a commitment to campaign for the ANC in accordance with the oath of membership.

"Any conduct that undermines the ANC's electoral campaign will attract immediate organisational action to safeguard the integrity and cohesion of the movement," he explained.

Meanwhile, the SACP has directed its members to ignore ANC dual membership ultimatum, calling it an attempt to disenfranchise members and erode the basis of the alliance.

Trump poised to expand refugee programme for white South Africans

President Donald Trump's administration is considering more than doubling an annual refugee limit to bring more white South Africans into the US, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Trump, a Republican, paused refugee admissions from around the world when he took office in January 2025. Weeks later, he issued an executive order prioritising the resettlement of European-descended Afrikaners, saying they faced race-based persecution in majority-Black South Africa. South Africa's government vehemently denies the claims.

The US Refugee Admissions Program was formally established in 1980 after hundreds of thousands of people fled wars in Vietnam and Cambodia. The programme expanded to provide safe haven to persecuted people around the globe. Trump has used it almost exclusively to bring white South Africans into the US, part of a broader upending of norms around humanitarian protection.

In recent weeks, US officials have discussed expanding the 7 500-person refugee cap by 10 000 to allow more South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity to obtain refugee status, said people familiar with internal planning, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share non-public government discussions.

The White House referred questions to the US State Department. A State Department spokesperson did not confirm or deny the discussions around expanding the refugee admissions ceiling.

"If the president decides to raise the FY 2026 refugee admissions cap, he will do so at the appropriate time, and any numbers discussed at this point are only speculation," the spokesperson said.

During the apartheid era, which ended with the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa maintained a racially segregated society with separate schools, neighbourhoods and public facilities for people classified as Black, coloured, white or Asian.

Blacks make up 81% of South Africa's population, according to 2022 census data. Afrikaners and other white South Africans constitute 7% of the population.

The US admitted about 4 500 South Africans as refugees through the first six months of the fiscal year, State Department figures show, on pace to exceed Trump's existing limits for the programme. The only refugees other than white South Africans to enter this fiscal year were three Afghans, according to State Department statistics.

Trump set the record-low refugee ceiling of 7 500 for fiscal year 2026, which began October 1, 2025, down from a ceiling of 125 000 a year under former President Joe Biden.

The Trump administration is also discussing bringing in refugees of other nationalities, one of the people familiar with planning said.

US officials are weighing whether religious minorities from Iran and countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union could be included under what's known as the "Lautenberg" programme, the person said. The programme stems from a 1989 budget amendment introduced by then-US Senator Frank Lautenberg that aimed to make it easier for Jewish refugees to resettle in the US.

SOME SOUTH AFRICANS IN THE US DECIDE TO GO BACK HOME

Even as Trump looks to further ramp up the entry of South Africans, an internal US government email reviewed by Reuters showed that at least four refugees already in the US have returned to South Africa.

One South African who arrived in Minneapolis in late January departed the US less than a month later, the email showed. Case notes said that plans for his daughter and grandchildren to join him "fell through" so he returned to his home country.

A pair of South Africans who arrived in Twin Falls, Idaho, in late January via the refugee programme turned around a week later, saying a parent was ill in South Africa, the email showed.

Another South African resettled in Moline, Illinois, in mid-March returned home weeks later, the email said.

"Resettlement occurred quickly, she had not thoroughly thought through the process, and her family in South Africa...