Justice and Public Interest on the Mic - Episode 3 - Vital pathways to citizenship under the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995

What’s wrong with business rescue?

According to recent Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) data, there has been a rise in company closures, with liquidations increasing by 14,3% in April 2024, when compared to April 2023. Further, according to the Fitch Ratings forecast of real gross domestic product growth, we will see an increase of only 0,9% in 2024 and at best 1,3% in 2025. Against this backdrop, and given our social, economic and political landscape, organisations in South Africa face real challenges, and business distress can beexpected.  

Increase in interest rates: A delicate balance between contractual freedom and consumer protection

That parties have contractual freedom is not in doubt. To this end, courts have upheld the sanctity of contracts entered into by parties, except in cases where the parties contracted outside statute or where holding parties to their bargain would be unconscionable or result in unjust enrichment to one party at the expense of theother. 

CDH launches innovative Technology & Communications service offering with Tayyibah Suliman at the helm

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH), one of South Africa and Kenya’s leading corporate and commercial law firms, continues to evolve with a refreshed Technology & Communications service offering. This offering is led by the accomplished Sector Head Tayyibah Suliman, a Director at CDH’s Corporate & Commercialpractice.  

Foreign governing laws and enforcement of foreign judgments in Kenya

In the case of Opera Software Ireland Limited v Keraco Holdings Limited (Miscellaneous Case E059 of 2024) KEHC 8699 (KLR)), the High Court of Kenya refused to enforce a foreign judgment against Keraco Holdings Limited (Keraco), a Kenyan company, due to the lack of clarity regarding the governing law of the contract. The judgment creditor, Opera Software Ireland Limited (Opera), sought to enforce a judgment awarded in its favour from the High Court of Justice in the UK. Both parties had entered into a simple contract for the provision of services which made reference to Opera’s standard terms and conditions accessible from theirwebsite.  

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.

Health and Safety in the Workplace: Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) - Pending Amendments