When he was running to win the White House, President Joe Biden’s campaign committed to implement a “bold strategy” toward Africa, and one that would be based on a “mutually respectful engagement” and a reinvigorated diplomacy, if elected. Indeed, the campaign was the first-ever to outline how it would promote the interests of the African
Africa’s Great Green Wall
What if a wall could restore degrading land or save biodiversity? Imagine that it stretched from Senegal to Djibouti, was about three times the size of the Great Barrier Reef, and made entirely of trees and vegetation. With an influx of funding from a coalition of international development banks and governments, that wall is one step closer to becoming reality.
In 2007, the African Union launched the Great Green Wall initiative, as part of Declaration 137 VIII. The goal was to restore Africa’s degraded landscape by planting vegetation about 10 miles wide and over 4,000 miles long in the Sahel region, at the southern edge of the Sahara desert. The goal has since evolved to address not only degradation, but land use, peacebuilding, and climate change.
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Making Your Intentions Known in Contract: Complex Formulae
As project finance becomes more widespread in Africa, government officials, bankers and developers will all become exposed to the complex documentation that comes with it. Some of the payment mechanisms can be very complicated and lawyers are often asked to include “worked examples” in the documentation. A recent case looked at the use of worked examples in contracts governed by English law. The court concluded the following:
- worked examples are integral parts of finance and other commercial contracts;
- it is often only when narratives and formulae are worked through that their true effect can properly be seen;
- where there is more than one worked example, consistency among the examples (in this case the inclusion of a missing step), strongly suggests that this was a deliberate choice by the drafter; and
- it is inherently more probable that the parties’ true bargain is to be found in the worked examples.
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An Update on South Africa’s 2013 Protection of Personal Information Act
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on June 22, 2020, that certain sections of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act 4 of 2013) (“POPIA”) would become effective on July 1, 2020. POPIA gives effect to the right to privacy in section 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996). POPIA will impact all responsible parties that collect, store, process and / or disseminate personal information as part of their business activities. POPIA defines a responsible party as “a public or private body or any other person which, alone or in conjunction with others, determines the purpose of and means for processing personal information”. The commencement of these essential provisions contained in POPIA, now position South Africa in line with global best practice on data protection and privacy. The commencement of POPIA signifies a great advance for the South African data protection and privacy legal landscape.
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Register Now: Law and Crisis Management Event with The Honorable Eric Holder, Wednesday June 3rd
Join us tomorrow, June 3, 2020, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. for a webinar featuring The Honorable Eric Holder, 82nd Attorney General of the United States, to discuss the topic of Law and Crisis Management: Working with Lawyers in Business, Government, and Society to Manage the Challenges of COVID-19. You may register for
South Africa’s Economic Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic (Part III)
As part of his ongoing response to the COVID-19, President Ramaphosa announced on April 21 that the South African Government was launching a further R500 billion (approximately $26.3 billion) social and economic stimulus package – the biggest ever once-off stimulus injection in South African history. The President described this giant stimulus as constituting the second
South Africa’s Economic Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic (Part II)
On 6 April, 2020, we published an article outlining South Africa’s initial economic response in support of its already ailing economy against the adverse economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Two weeks have passed since we first published that article, and we think it is prudent to provide this follow-up, outlining the latest developments in
South Africa’s Economic Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic
South Africa did not record the first case of Covid-19 in Africa, but it now has the highest number of reported cases on the continent.
Having had the benefit of watching governments respond to the outbreak of the pandemic in Asia, Europe and the United States, President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 15, 2020, with only
Coronavirus: Potential Implications for Africa
The Coronavirus (hereinafter “COVID-19”) is upending lives around the world—equally in developed and developing countries. Some are already affected by the deadly impact of COVID-19 (e.g. China, Italy, and France), while others’ lives have been altered due to efforts taken to “flatten the curve,” to ensure hospital systems are not overrun with patients
COP 25: “Missed Opportunity” for Climate Change Action in Africa
Reports project that given current activities, the world will exceed the threshold for dangerous climate change in 2030. To address this forecast, 196 States plus the European Union met in Madrid, Spain in December 2019 for COP 25—the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate