By Atlegang Maredi
Beneficial ownership emphasises on accountability and openness within companies, it has emerged as the key component of corporate governance. The Companies Act, as well as the Regulations thereto, were subject to amendments following the enactment of the General Laws (Anti-Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022 (“General Laws Amendment Act”). These latest amendments were effective from 1 April 2023. The amendments are aimed at regulating transparency in relation to the beneficial ownership of companies and other legal arrangements. These amendments align South Africa with the Finance Action Task Force (FATF), a global organisation tasked with combating money laundering, tax evasion and terrorism financing.
Additionally, and in line, said amendments, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) launched the Beneficial Ownership register, which requires, companies in South Africa to reveal ultimate owners in accordance with specific rules.
By: Jehoshaphat John Njau 30 May 2022
This article is a continuation of our last article (MUST HAVE LEGAL DOCUMENTS FOR EVERY BUSINESS: MEMORANDUM OF INCORPORATION (snatlaw.co.za)), wherein the importance of key legal documents and in particular Memorandum of Incorporation was highlighted. In this article we will continue the discussion by looking into the importance of another company’s legal document named Shareholders agreement.
Shareholders Agreement is arguably the second most important company’s legal document after the Memorandum of Incorporation. It is an agreement between the company and its shareholders that provides for the rights and obligations of shareholders and extend protection to minority shareholders.
By: Jehoshaphat John Njau 11 April 2022
Legal documents have a significant role to play in protecting and promoting the interests of the business owners during the course of a business lifetime. Prioritising business legal needs often seem like a daunting and overwhelming task, but it doesn’t have to be. We at Sekgala and Njau attorneys have always believed – it is wiser to start protecting your business from the very start and not leave it until its too late or wait to be forced to do so by the authorities because of non-compliance.
By: Jehoshaphat John Njau 11 April 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered one of the worst jobs crises in South Arica since the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. There is a real danger that the crisis will continue to increase poverty and widen the already existing inequalities in South Africa.
There is a need as a country, now more than ever, to rethink on income generation mechanisms in ways that will stop the growing jobs crisis that is turning into a social – political crisis as evidenced in July 2021.
We believe a strong private sector will be instrumental in the recovery and reconstruction of the South African economy through establishments of stable and flourishing companies that are geared towards jobs creation.