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COMPANIES AMENDMENT BILL UPDATE
- 31 May 2023
- Trade, Industry & Competition
- SA Legal Academy
A Companies Amendment Bill dealing with the ‘disclosure of wage differentials’ will be submitted to Cabinet ‘within three months’, according to Trade, Industry & Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel’s 2023/24 budget vote speech.
However, the Minister’s 2022/23 budget vote speech included a similar commitment. At the time, members of the National Assembly were told Patel expected the Bill to be ready for Cabinet ‘by August’.
In April 2022, during a National Assembly Trade & Industry Committee meeting on the Department of Trade, Industry & Competition’s annual performance plan for 2022/23, Deputy Director-General for consumer and corporate regulation, Evelyn Masotja, referred to the preparation of two Companies Amendment Bills (Parliamentary Monitoring Group).
The intention was that one – apparently known as the ‘omnibus Bill’ and released in 2021 for public comment – would focus on remuneration and company share disclosure. The other would deal with worker participation at board level. At the time, the ‘omnibus Bill’ was being revised to reflect decisions made in the National Economic Development & Labour Council, according to Masotja.
In April 2023, during a meeting of the same committee on the department’s annual performance plan for 2023/24, the Minister referred to a different ‘omnibus Bill’ (Parliamentary Monitoring Group). Prepared and tabled by National Treasury, this Bill had focused on measures to curb money laundering and terrorist financing – including amendments to the Companies Act affecting beneficial ownership.
At the time of this meeting the Bill had already been passed by Parliament and signed into law. Sections amending the Companies Act and related regulations came into force on 24 May 2023, as SA Legal Academy has already reported.
Against that backdrop, the Minister’s remarks in his recent budget vote speech point to yet another Companies Amendment Bill now in the pipeline. This one will focus on ‘making it easier for companies to comply with legislation’ and access International Trade Administration Commission services. This is expected to ‘unlock more investment and growth’.
- Minister’s 2023/24 budget vote speech
- Minister’s 2022/23 budget vote speech
- SA Legal Academy article
Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch