Weekly Political and Economic Review 01 April 2021 1. Policy/Legislative Updates 1.1. Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Amendment Bill − On 26 March 2021, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development invited interested parties to comment on the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Amendment Bill; − The Bill seeks to address the weaknesses of the current Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act adopted in 2000; − The proposed amendments will strengthen the state’s ability to prevent discrimination and promote equality for all South Africans; − It seeks to amend and broaden the definition and scope of equality and discrimination; − The amendment would require that companies show they have taken reasonable steps to prevent discrimination in the workplace to avoid facing legal consequences; − The amendment; − The amendments make the law more realistically implementable, as the draft bill seeks to clarify and reduce certain duties for the state; − The Bill strengthens enforcement of the provisions of the Act as it now criminalises the wilful submission of false information by any person. 1.2. Section 25 Amendment − On 31 March, members of the ad hoc committee working on the Section 25 constitutional amendment met to finalise the draft bill; − This follows a the Committees briefing on the draft bill by the Department of Land Affairs, which supports the bill; − Parliament’s legal advisors have warned that removing certain sub sections in the Constitution to allow for land expropriation could be unconstitutional; − They have, however, added that the amendment passes the rationality test; − The legal advisors offered Members of the Committee a legal opinion following a week of public hearings; − In response, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member Floyd Shivambu stated that the advice attempts to stand in the way of land reform; − The political party has been in full support of the land reform agenda; − The Committee is expected to meet, once again, in the coming weeks to finalise deliberations. 2. COVID-19 Updates 2.1. Vaccine Rollout − On 29 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced South Africa will have to about 30 million Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines, to be produced at the Eastern Cape Aspen manufacturing facility; − He was speaking after a visit to the factory that would be producing the vaccine in Gqeberha, alongside Deputy President David Mabuza and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize; − On 28 March 2021, during the ANC’s National Executive Committee meeting,. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize stated government’s target of200 000 vaccinations a day from mid- May; − This comes after weeks of criticism about the government’s slow vaccine rollout; − Mkhize stated that more than 2000 vaccination sites including: stadiums, shopping centres, churches and hospitals had been identified for the rollout due to kick off in Mid- May; − A batch of 2.8 million J&J vaccine doses is expected to arrive at the end of April; − Ramaphosa criticised what he called “vaccine apartheid,” calling for equality in vaccine procurement and stating that countries with the capacity to manufacture vaccines should be allowed to do so by the World Trade Organization; − Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen has criticised the president’s comments on “vaccine apartheid,” blaming the delayed vaccine rollout on the incompetence of the president for delegating the vaccine programme instead of directing it himself; − Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) President Julius Malema, on the other hand, accused the government of being incapacitated because it blocks out vaccines from places which are not America or Europe; − He further threatened that to go on protest in demand of more efficient vaccine rollout; 2.2. Easter Period Restrictions − President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on 30 March, giving an update on national efforts in the fight against COVID-19; − His address came in the midst of growing concern over the vaccine rollout programme and fears of a third infection wave as the country moves closer to the Easter weekend period; − President Ramaphosa announced that the country would remain at Alert Level 1, with the following restrictions in place: o Curfew remaining between midnight and 4am, o Interprovincial travel remains permitted, o Beaches, parks and other public recreational spaces are to stay open, with the condition that health protocols such as social distancing and mask-wearing be followed, o On-site sale of alcohol at restaurants and bars is permitted according to licensing conditions up to 11pm, while sale of alcohol for off-site consumption is prohibited between 02 April and 05 April 2021, o Funeral restrictions remain at a maximum of 100 people, with a two-hour service limit; o Over the Easter period, religious gatherings are restricted to a total of 250 people indoors and 500 outdoors, with no more than 50% of a venue’s capacity if the venue is too small for social distancing. − Ramaphosa’s announcement of an increased cap for religious gatherings has been welcomed by religious organisations; − Faith-based organisations along with the South African Council of Churches have welcomed the announcement, although still disappointed at not being allowed larger numbers; − The Democratic Alliance’s John Steenhuisen stated that the off-site alcohol sales restrictions were unscientific and only worked to place unnecessary strain on the livelihoods of those making a living in the sector; − He accused the government of being out of ideas and out of touch with the plight of its citizens; − South African Liquor Brand owners Association (Salba) chairperson commented that the state needed to have discussions with the industry about the rationale behind the continued restrictions of alcohol sale for retailers and the impact of these restrictions; − Lucky Ntimane, Convenor of the National Liquor Traders Council, announced that the partial sale of alcohol was welcome, and would support the sector’s path to recover, but criticised the decision on off premises sales as one that would negatively affect retailers; 3. ANC NEC Meeting − On 29 March 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa gave a national briefing on the African National Congress’s (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, which took place from 26 March to 28 March 2021; − The NEC resolved that all members charged with corruption and other serious crimes should step aside within 30 days; − Failure to step down will result in a suspension subject to the terms of Rule 25 (70) of the ANC’s Constitution; − Secretary-General Ace Magashule was one of those told to step down, which comes on the heels of the ANC’s Integrity Committee report that recommended he should step down while facing criminal charges in December 2020; − The party welcomed Magashule’s decision to seek counsel from past ANC leaders; − Political analyst Professor Dirk Kotze stated that the step-aside policy was polarizing, with one side saying it must be accepted and the other arguing it would be unfair for Magashule to step aside since no court of law has found him guilty. − Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) leader Julius Malema criticised the ANC’s decision on Magashule, commenting that it was a move that should have been carried out at a gathering with ANC’s structures and not a small group of people; − Ramaphosa also announced a ban on the Radical Economic Transformation faction, condemning the establishment of groups within the party undermining the ANC; 4. The Zondo Commission 4.1. Former Eskom Executive Matshela Koko − Former Eskom Executive Matshela Koko, appeared before the Commission on 29 March; − Koko accused former Eskom board Chairperson Ben Ngubane and former Head of Legal Suzanne Daniels of being dishonest with the Commission; − He claimed Ngubane and Daniels had been dishonest about their knowledge of Gupta- linked email address “info-portal,” which was used to email instructions to various Eskom executives; − …Both Ngubane and Daniels had previously denied knowledge of the “info-portal” email address being a Gupta-linked address; − He denied doing the bidding of the Gupta family through their lieutenant Salim Essa, stating that he used to block contracts linked to Trillian Capital; − Koko accused President Ramaphosaof interfering with the running of Eskom between 2012 and 2014, during his tenure as Deputy President, claiming the interference was due to Optimum Coal Mine’s debt of over R1 billion; − He believes Ramaphosa’s interference was linked to ensuring the debt was not paid back; − Koko further accused the Commission of personally targeting him in what he called a “Koko hunt.” 5. State Owned Enterprises 5.1. SABC Retrenchments − As part of a financial turnaround plan, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), announced that 621 employees would be released from the organisation at the end 31 March 2021; − SABC spokesperson, Mmoni Seapolelo, said the Section 189 process (law permitting employers to dismiss employees for operational requirements) had begun with the issuing of notice in June 2020 and was set to conclude on 31 March; − The process was a struggle for the SABC owing to an uproar from employees and unions following its announcement; − The aim of the section 189 process was to cut about R700 million from the annual salary bill which stood at R3.2 billion a year; − The new SABC management needs to find ways to both re-establish organization’s financial probity as well as fulfilling its public mandate. − In response to retrenchment process, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has emphasised that they should only be implemented as a measure of last resort. The party further believes the retrenchments are part of a broader “jobs bloodbath” in the country; − The Broadcasting, Electronic, Media and Allied Workers' Union (Bemawu) has, in the past, expressed shock at the news, saying that the process came at a difficult period owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 5.2.