Legal Articles and Guides

Group Five shareholders, who are likely to walk away empty-handed after the collapse of the construction firm, are considering suing directors for allegedly misleading them about the circumstances leading to its collapse.

Peter Moyo plans to launch a lawsuit against his former employer Old Mutual after he was fired as the CEO of the insurer over an alleged conflict of interest, his lawyer said yesterday, according to a Business Day report.

Retailer Steinhoff has posted a loss of €1.19bn (R19.35bn at current exchange rates) for the year ended September 2018, notes a Fin24 report. The Stellenbosch-headquartered conglomerate published its delayed 2018 audited earnings report after the close of SA markets yesterday.

The Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture has told former President Jacob Zuma’s lawyers it urgently needs him to agree within five weeks to testify. But, notes a Business Day report, Zuma’s lawyer, Daniel Mantsha, said his client continued to question the impartiality of the inquiry, while also denying that the former President is not co-operating with its investigation.

The Public Protector has given everyone who scored from a dodgy R39m Nelson Mandela memorial service a pass. A Mail & Guardian report says Busisiwe Mkhwebane has found that the DG who approved the irregular payments should be held solely accountable.

Advisory firm Regiments Capital earned an ‘excessive’ R265.5m from Transnet to facilitate loan transactions for the state freight and rail entity to finance its 1 064 locomotive project, the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture heard on Friday.

AYO Technologies has served summons on one of its largest shareholders, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), for an amount expected to run to billions of rands.

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has no trace of documents to show how and why it invested almost R4bn into an obscure oil company with links to the ANC and former President Jacob Zuma, according to a Business Day report.

Steinhoff International Holdings, already embroiled in multiple legal claims over its accounting, is now also facing a mass investor lawsuit in Germany after a Frankfurt court received 10 suits, the minimum amount to allow the cases to be heard jointly under a special group litigation procedure, notes Fin24.

The City of Tshwane has paid the legal fees for municipal manager Moeketsi Mosola who sought an interdict, in his personal capacity, against the release of a report showing irregularities in the awarding of the GladAfrica tender.

The City of Cape Town has welcomed the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) setting a date to hear its petition to buy electricity directly from independent power producers (IPPs). The city wants the Energy Minister and the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) to allow it to purchase power from IPPs.

The provincial government will not allow the Magwa and Majola Tea estates to be liquidated, says acting head of the Rural Development & Agrarian Reform Department Zoleka Makina. Makina said the government had sunk R116m into the business rescue process of the two projects in the past three years and had no intention of throwing in the towel now, notes a Daily Dispatch report.

The damning findings of the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) against Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in the so-called Vrede dairy farm case, has again led to a chorus of calls for her to be removed from office. Among them is News24 assistant editor, Pieter du Toit, who says the court findings show that Mkhwebane is, 'at best, simply not up the job'.

Businesses and individuals owe the City of Cape Town more than R9.4bn which includes R1.3bn for indigent properties where the debt is unlikely to be recovered, says a Cape Argus report.

Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom has asked Airbnb to ensure its booking system can limit the number of nights landlords make their homes available on the short-term rental platform. According to a Sunday Times report, Hanekom’s spokesperson, Blessing Manale, confirmed Hanekom met company representatives in Pretoria last week and asked them to ‘ensure their IT systems are aligned with the national rules or thresholds, to ensure and enable compliance by hosts’.