Tag: Webber Wentzel

The prospect of South Africa losing its benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) understandably raises concerns. Preferential access matters, particularly where exporters operate on tight margins. However, businesses should not respond to headlines alone. Instead, they should understand their exposure, preserve viable customer relationships and accelerate expansion into other markets.

When we published our Virtual Assets Regulation Across Africa guide, the continent's regulatory landscape was still taking shape. Many jurisdictions had begun considering how to regulate crypto assets. However, legislative frameworks remained fragmented and, in some cases, uncertain.

For as long as African states have borrowed on international markets, a handful of analysts sitting thousands of kilometres away have had an outsized say in what that money costs. With the official launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) in Mauritius on 7 October 2026, the African Union (AU) has gone beyond claiming a seat at the proverbial table. Instead, it has built its own table.

With the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its integration into corporate systems, a key question arises: can a company be held responsible for misleading statements made by its AI chatbot to a customer? This issue arose in Moffatt vs Air Canada, a case concerning a refund for a bereavement fare. Although a Canadian small-claims tribunal decided the case in 2024, its ruling does not bind South African courts.

Businesses claiming diesel refunds may be inclined to view the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) new diesel refund registration system as little more than an administrative change. However, the reforms signal a far more fundamental shift.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has launched a market inquiry (the Inquiry). The inquiry will investigate the impact of Over-The-Top Services (OTTs) on licensees in the telecommunications, broadcasting and postal sectors. The scope of the inquiry is broad. It could have significant implications for OTT service providers, telecommunications licensees and broadcasting licensees.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer something financial institutions are preparing for. It is already embedded in how decisions are made, how products are designed and how risk is managed. Whether through fraud detection, algorithmic trading, customer engagement or compliance monitoring, AI is steadily reshaping the financial services sector.

South Africa has been fighting corruption with legislation that, frankly, lacked teeth. The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004 (PRECCA) has long been the cornerstone of the country's anti-corruption framework - criminalising bribery, fraud and a broad range of corrupt conduct in both the public and private sectors. The law was there. The convictions, historically, were not. That is rapidly changing.

When a senior advisor or executive walks out the door, especially to join a competitor, your restraint of trade clause is often the only thing standing between you and serious commercial damage. Here is what recent South African case law tells us about what works, what does not and what you need to do now.

If there is one thing organisations know well, it is that disputes are expensive. The expense extends beyond legal fees. It also includes management time, damaged relationships and strategic distraction. A supplier dispute that should take weeks can consume months of senior attention. For multinationals juggling cross-jurisdictional matters, the logistical burden alone can dwarf the value of the underlying claim.