addition to ownership, the preferential procurement category requires localization with “Empowering
Suppliers,” which could prove challenging to companies importing products or inputs for value chains.
Sectors such as financial services, mining, and petroleum have their own “transformation charters”
intended to promote accelerated empowerment within these sectors. As of 2011, the integrated finance,
transport, forest products, construction, tourism, and chartered accountancy sectors’ charters had the force
of law in South Africa. In 2012, transformation charters were introduced for information and
communication technology, property, and agriculture.
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
The 2002 Electronic Communications and Transactions Act governs electronic commerce in South
Africa. The law was designed to facilitate electronic commerce, but it has been criticized as imposing
significant regulatory burdens. The law requires government accreditation for certain electronic
signatures, takes government control of South Africa’s “.za” domain name, and requires a long list of
disclosures for websites that sell via the Internet.
In 2003, the South African Law Reform Commission began considering the need for new data protection
legislation. In 2009, it introduced the Protection of Personal Information Bill to the National
Assembly. The bill cleared the National Assembly in August 2013, and President Zuma signed the bill in
November 2013. It will enter into effect one year after the commencement date, which is expected within
the first six months of 2014.
OTHER BARRIERS
Several laws have been enacted in the last decade and a half to increase transparency and reduce
corruption in South Africa’s government, although some of the laws suffer from deficiencies. For
example, the 2000 Protected Disclosures Act, intended to protect whistleblowers, is limited by a
stipulation that a whistleblower is protected only in disclosing information regarding his or her employer;
the same protection does not apply if the whistleblower discloses information about an organization with
which his or her employer has a contract. In 2013, in a step said to take the government away from
greater transparency, South Africa’s Parliament passed a controversial “Protection of State Information
Bill” to regulate the classification, protection, and dissemination of state information. The bill has been
criticized by academics, civil society groups, international organizations, and the media as limiting
transparency and freedom of expression. Critics do acknowledge, however, that the latest version of the
bill is vastly superior to the first proposed version, and that many of their recommendations for changes to
the bill have been made. While President Zuma returned the bill to Parliament for technical changes, it is
expected to become law during 2014, after which it will likely face a Constitutional challenge.
The implementation of transparency and anticorruption law suffers from challenges. South Africa has
more than 10 agencies engaged in anticorruption activities, such as the Public Service Commission, the
Office of the Public Protector, and the Office of the Auditor-General, that are constitutionally mandated
to address corruption as part of their responsibilities. However, high rates of violent crime strain overall
law enforcement capacity and make it difficult for South African criminal and judicial entities to dedicate
adequate resources to anticorruption efforts. A number of high-level officials were investigated for
corruption during 2013, including former Communications Minister Dina Pule. Pule is alleged to have
funneled several contracts and government resources to her partner through the International
Communications Technology Indaba (tradeshow). Pule was removed as Minister of Communications but
retains her position in Parliament.