Katlego Sekhu
Here’s a recap of the top stories and in-depth discussions you might have missed on 959 Breakfast this week. From significant legal rulings to financial distress and copyright infringement allegations, here are the highlights:
Demerit system for traffic offences set to expand
This week, The Constitutional Court found that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offenses Act (AARTO) is constitutional. The Act, which is already in effect in Gauteng, will introduce a demerit system where an individual or company pays a penalty and gets points when a traffic offence is committed. Motorists will start with zero points and gain demerit points via the AARTO process.
Legal Analyst and Founder of Dubazana Attorneys, Nthabiseng Dubazana, joined Sizwe Dhlomo and the team to weigh in on this judgment.
Unused local municipality funds returned to the Treasury
Over the last year, municipalities returned nearly a billion rand in unused funds to the treasury. Treasury allocates a budget at the beginning of every financial year to each municipality, and whatever funds are not used are returned to Treasury and reappropriated in the following budget. This is alarming considering the lack of service delivery in the country. Independent Political analyst Khaya Sithole weighed in on this, sharing that service delivery is being looked at as a trade utility instead of delivering services.
The SABC could be headed for business rescue
According to reports, the SABC is in financial distress and could be forced to apply for business rescue. The Sunday Times reports that the national broadcaster looks set to announce losses of more than R1 billion for the past financial year. The constant loadshedding and the state of the economy were some of the things the national broadcaster attributed to its financial turmoil. CFO Yolande van Biljon has warned that in the worst-case scenario, the broadcaster might have to follow the route of the South African Post Office to avoid liquidation.
Open AI and Meta sued for copyright infringement
American comedienne Sarah Silverman, along with two novelists, have sued Meta and Open AI for allegedly using their copyrighted books without consent to train their AI-trained software programs. The editor of My Broad Band, Jan Vermeulen, joined Sizwe Dhlomo to weigh in on the matter.
The South African Post Office placed under business rescue
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria granted the government’s request to place the South African Post Office under business rescue. Gugulethu Mfuphi, on Business Update, provided an update on the situation alongside Sizwe Dhlomo and the team, addressing concerns about the potential loss of 7,000 jobs.
Mfuphi emphasized that while this decision presents challenges, it is a better alternative to liquidation as it opens avenues for finding solutions and sustainable methods to address the organization’s debt.
