On June 17, 2020 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced government’s intention to further ease the lockdown restrictions imposed due to COVID-19, allowing more industries to re-open fully under stringent health and safety protocols. This announcement comes two weeks after the government de-escalated the country from Alert Level 4 to Alert Level 3 pursuant to the Risk Adjustment Strategy on June 1, 2020. The de-escalation of the Alert levels is partly in response to the…

Following the declaration of the National State of Disaster on March 15, 2020, a number of regulations have been enacted to contain and minimise the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa. On June 2, 2020, Judge Norman Davis of the South African High Court found the regulations issued in terms of section 27 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) (the “Act”) under Government Gazette No. 43258 (the “Regulations”), unconstitutional and…

Join us tomorrow, June 3, 2020, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. for a webinar featuring The Honorable Eric Holder, 82nd Attorney General of the United States, to discuss the topic of Law and Crisis Management: Working with Lawyers in Business, Government, and Society to Manage the Challenges of COVID-19. You may register for this event at VirtualConferenceAfrica.com. Drawing on insights from leading lawyers across Africa, this webinar focuses on how the law connects…

On May 13, 2020 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the government’s intention to ease restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. This announcement comes seven weeks after South Africa first announced a national state of disaster in accordance with the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) (the “Act”). This decision to ease restrictions was informed by evidence presented by the National Command Council (“NCC”) which indicated that the early implementation…

If COVID-19 spreads across Africa, it would not only be a human catastrophe for the continent, but one that threatens the Northern Hemisphere with future outbreaks and further human and economic losses. What is true in the United States, where people in poor and minority neighborhoods are dying in disproportionate numbers, is true for the world as a whole: No one will be safe so long as anyone is at risk. If the United States,…

As part of his ongoing response to the COVID-19, President Ramaphosa announced on April 21 that the South African Government was launching a further R500 billion (approximately $26.3 billion) social and economic stimulus package – the biggest ever once-off stimulus injection in South African history. The President described this giant stimulus as constituting the second phase of the Government’s response, intended to stabilize the economy, address the supply and demand side shocks, and to protect…

As South African businesses are left reeling in the wake of the escalating coronavirus crisis and the imposition of a 35-day lockdown , we look at the implications for South African companies and how those in financial difficulty may find some relief under the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (Companies Act). On Friday, March 27 2020, South Africans began a 21-day nation-wide Government-imposed lockdown aimed at slowing the coronavirus pandemic sweeping across the nation. This…