Durban — The portfolio committee on Trade and Industry in Parliament has welcomed the presentation by Minister Ebrahim Patel on its fourth quarter performance report 2022/23 and on its progress on implementing recommendations emanating from the State Capture Commission’s report.
In the department’s presentation it said it had drafted amendments to the Companies Act after the Zondo Commission recommended that Section 162 of the Companies Act be amended to permit applications to have directors declared delinquent, to be brought even after two years on good cause shown.
Patel said the draft is being taken through a Cabinet process and is expected to be considered this month. He said two options were being considered: either to add the amendments to the current review of the Companies Amendment Bill or to consider this in the next Companies Act legislative review.
The commission identified a number of companies implicated in State Capture. He said the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) is a regulator within the department that will enforce the law. He said the CIPC engaged the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), state-owned companies that fall within its portfolio and Law Enforcement Agencies in March regarding potential delinquency applications.
“A road map was agreed upon by all parties. Other actions include referrals of directors to professional bodies, as these companies are now the subject of further legal process by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), the committee is requested to engage the DPE on the progress made.”
Patel said the state attorney had been instructed to brief counsel to assist the CIPC in evaluating the merits of specific delinquency applications.
“CIPC is pursuing private entities and natural persons: compliance notices have been prepared and some have been signed off to cause the companies to provide proof of steps taken to address certain governance matters and the areas requiring attention, per the state capture report.”
Performance, electricity challenges and inflationary pressures, coupled with higher interest rates came up. He said the increase in SA’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.4% avoided a technical recession.
Their action plan was to support new energy generation through measures such as unblocking and promoting investment and addressing regulatory challenges. Assisting firms with adaptation strategies, such as the energy resilience scheme and promoting longer-term energy efficiency in the economy through technical standards work.
Another strategy is to promote industrialisation to ensure SA can develop the security of supply of components and create jobs in the process.
Wayne Maxim Thring from the African Christian Democratic Party welcomed the presentation but asked what interventions were in place to upskill and reskill unemployed people to fight joblessness.
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