Detailed below is a notice that came from Tshepo Mongalo of DTI

Please note that the Corporate Laws Amendment Act is envisaged to be effective on the date to be promulgated in the Government Gazette after the regulatory framework proposed in that Act has been established. It is currently envisaged that that date will be at the end of September, beginning of October 2007.

Regarding harmonisation of the Companies Bill and the Corporate Laws Amendment Act, please note the following observation.

Many comments received on the Companies Bill question the relationship of this Bill to the Corporate Laws Amendment Act, 24 of 2006, arguing that it will be extremely confusing to introduce those reforms for a brief period, only to supplement them in short order with this Bill which overlaps, goes beyond, and is in some cases inconsistent with that Act. The point is valid and of considerable concern. That Act has been assented to by the President and there are really only three choices, none of them particularly desireable:

1. The first choice is to delay implementation of that Act until the Companies Bill has been enacted. The repeal provisions of the Companies Bill will negate that Act. The confusion will be avoided, but at a cost of having wasted the resources developing and bringing that Bill forward, and disappointing the expectations created by it.
   
   
2. The second choice is to allow that Act to take its course, and come into effect, then negate it shortly after when The Companies Bill comes into force. This may cause confusion, but it may be the best option.
   
   
3. The third possibility is to conform the Companies Bill in every respect to the reforms in that Act, so that the process is seen as rational and incremental. That is not compatible with some of the principles and architecture of the Companies Bill. The two are not
   harmonious: that Act is consistent with the underlying principles and architecture of the 1973 Act, while the Companies Bill is based on a different vision. Conformity of the Companies Bill to that Act will not be a good fit, and will inevitable lead to conceptual ambiguity and interpretative confusion.

But since a decision has been taken to implement the Act towards the end of September, it seems the second option will be followed.

Regards,

Tshepo Mongalo
Project Manager: Company Law Review

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