At Last - Electronic Link with City of Johannesburg’s Rates Clearance Department

Posted: May 2009, Johannesburg

The backlog in the rates department has reached epic proportions with attorneys waiting as long as three months for rates assessments to be finalized in some cases. These delays cause major frustration to buyers and sellers of property and have a serious impact on the property registration process.

Now thanks to web based technology, a solution is at hand. L@W has developed an online solution capable of linking Attorneys directly to the City of Johannesburg’s Municipal Rates Department. With the use of this system Attorneys are now able to electronically request their rates figures and will shortly also be able to download the Rates Clearance Certificate from our website (www.lawactive.co.za).

The online rates solution currently in operation for the City of Cape Town, allows attorneys to request figures, make payment and download the rates clearance certificate all electronically. This is ultimately the type of fully integrated solution L@W is aiming to provide to all online municipalities in the near future.

For more information on this solution or other online municipalities visit www.lawactive.co.za or contact 0860 877 877.

Issued by Law Active (Pty) Ltd
Contact: Joelene Subramanien
011 731 8111
071 676 1991

MAKING FICA SIMPLE, SECURE AND COST EFFECTIVE

Posted: May 2009, Johannesburg
LAW Compliance (Pty) Ltd (L@W) is pleased to announce the full release of its FICA Card Solution, after a successful pilot with one of the country’s major financial institutions and several law firms.
The requirements of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), introduced in 2001 with the aim of combating money laundering, have frustrated consumers and institutions over the years. Consumers are constantly required to present documents verifying their identity and confirming their residential details every time they wish to enter into new financial transactions, whilst institutions have a mass of paper to process, check and store at high costs.

With a FICA Card, all the hassle of having to present the same documents to multiple institutions is removed. Consumers simply enroll by uploading their FICA documents into electronic form. This process is done with an accredited and trained professional (Commissioner of Oaths) who certifies and properly authenticates the required documentation. These are then scanned and uploaded to a secure online central repository and a FICA Card is posted to the consumer.

The consumer can then present the FICA Card to subscribing institutions requiring FICA verification, who can securely access the FICA documents online. Consumers can also have their FICA documents securely emailed or faxed to anyone, simply by sending an ‘sms’ request from their cellular phone. In addition, consumers can securely store any important documents in a ‘safe vault’ portion, which only they can access.
Security of the system is paramount. The consumer always has full control of who can access his/her documents at any time. Any party uploading or accessing FICA documents is required to have a digital certificate (like an electronic passport). In addition all databases are fully encrypted using the latest encryption algorithms and all data transmissions are secure.

The advantage to institutions is that the process becomes paperless, with administrative overheads and inefficiencies being reduced. As a result, the process becomes substantially cheaper. There is full transparency with online reporting and monitoring of transactions. Most importantly, the risks with regards to FICA compliancy and fraud are substantially reduced, as intensive training on FICA procedures and security checks for verifying documentation is provided. With the secure audit trail, all transactions are recorded with access to FICA records for as many years as is required.

For more information on becoming a FICA Card holder or a subscribing institution please visit www.ficacard.co.za.

Issued by Law Compliance (Pty) Ltd
Contact: Joelene Subramanien (Marketing Manager)
Direct line: 011 731 8111
Switchboard: 011 731 8001
Email: jsubramanien@lawactive.co.za

The Black Lawyers Association at its Annual General Meeting held on 25 October 2008, in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga resolved to refer, the conduct of Judge Lewis associated with her speech  to the South African Institute of Race Relations, to the JSC for investigation and attention. A full complaint will be submitted to the JSC early next week.

The details of the complaint will be obtained from the JSC once it is submitted.

ISSUED BY:
ANDISWA NDONI
PRESIDENT: BLA

Posted 18th December 2008:
Lawyers say affirmative action statement a threat (2008-12-17)
 
Sapa

The Black Lawyers Association (BLA) expressed concern about newly elected Cope president Terror Lekota’s statement on affirmative action, labelling it as a "threat".
 
At the party’s inaugural conference yesterday, Lekota said the Congress of the People would abide by the Constitution and was committed to the policy of affirmative action. However, Lekota also stated that affirmative action would not be implemented on the basis of race.

Said BLA president Andiswa Ndoni: "This statement exhibits a lack of understanding of the rationale behind employment equity and Broad-based Economic Empowerment policies. Both these policies were meant to enable black people to participate as equals within the corporate world and the economy."

She said anyone committed to giving effect to the Bill of Rights in the Constitution would realise that black people, including professionals, continued to be disadvantaged in the corporate world and in the economy as a whole. "The figures released by the Employment Equity Commission annually speak for themselves. Any other basis than race is not workable because it is precisely because of past racial discrimination that the workplace did not reflect the demographics of the country."

Ndoni said the full and effective participation of black people in the economy could only be achieved through the acceleration of both these policies.

She said the BLA would consult with its members and other fraternal organisations in the new year on how best to respond to this "threat".

"Cope seems determined to reverse the few gains made by black people on account of these policies in order to attract white votes. This is short-sighted and out of step with the aspirations of black people and the equality provisions in the Constitution," said Ndoni.

Posted 19th December 2008:
MEDIA STATEMENT ON BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION December 18 2008

The Congress of the People has noted media reports regarding the party’s policy positions on black economic empowerment (BEE) and affirmative action.

COPE believes strongly that affirmative action and black economic empowerment remain necessary instruments for the transformation of our country. These two issues were sharply debated before and during our recent
congress in Bloemfontein. Congress adopted a clear policy position which focused on improving the implementation of these two policies.

We publish below the policy position agreed to at conference so that the public is better informed when debating COPE’s position on BEE and affirmative action.

The resolutions of conference will be officially released after they are ratified by the congress national committee at its next meeting in early January.

For more information please contact
Sipho Ngwema on 082-499 8111 or Onkgopotse JJ Tabane on 082896 8866

Resolution on BEE and Affirmative Action

1. Affirmative Action
a. There is a recognition that the economy predominantly white, and that the key objectives of affirmative action with respect to broadening participation of historically excluded groups have not been fully achieved.
Senior management positions are, to a considerable extent, still dominated by whites.

b. That the shortage of skills amongst blacks is a legacy of the apartheid system, and that there has been a failure by the current government to address this satisfactorily. Because of the skills distortions
in the economy, policies intended to redress the past, notably affirmative action, have generated unintended consequences.

c. That there is a need to address the unintended consequences of affirmative action and related equity policies. These unintended consequences include nepotism and cronyism in the public service, exclusion
of minorities from the public service, and using race as a sole criterion of employment rather than looking at the potential. Other South African groups such as ’Coloureds’, Indians, and those of Chinese origin have at times expressed exclusion or overlooked for appointments. This has had an adverse impact on race relations, and generates inefficiencies in the economy and the public service.

d. Equity and efficiency objectives should be pursued as complementary, and underpinned by clear and well-managed human capital development strategies. Furthermore, there needs to be appropriate balance between
equity policies and strengthening of the fabric of social cohesion. Race-based policies should also be sensitive to the emergence, and increasing predominance, of class tensions that both include and transcend
race categories.

e. On affirmative action exemptions, certain sectors of the economy that are suffering a crisis of skills shortage - and require rare skills - could receive exemption from affirmative action in order to boost the skills
base in those sectors.

f. There needs to be strong monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of affirmative action as well as its impact on the efficiency on the economy, race relations, and public service delivery. Its objectives
need to be made clear and better communicated.

g. That there is a need to put a particular attention on education and mentorship programmes. Of particular importance is the need for greater investment towards technical and vocational skills development, as well as
into higher education programmes that seek to address the needs of the economy.

2. BEEE
a. That there is a need to address the unintended consequences of BEEE policies. These unintended consequences include creating an elite-based economic system that still leaves the majority of the population excluded from economic participation. Other unintended consequences include the
practice of fronting, encouraging unproductive rent-seeking by same
companies or individuals (both big and small), and fostering corruption in
the public service.

b. That greater emphasis should be placed on grassroots economic development, including increasing support to black-owned SMMEs and those who are in the incipient (informal) economy. There should be strong monitoring mechanism built into policy on the success of failure to facilitate the inclusion of special groups such as youth, women and the disabled.

c. The review of BEEE should lay particular emphasis on other elements of the Score-Card, namely the socio-economic contribution of big business, procurement, and enterprise development. The centre piece should be
broad-based participation. Furthermore, there should also be strong inclination towards engendering a spirit of entrepreneurship and wealth creation.