All systems are in place for the long-awaited new Companies Act to be up and running on Friday, with only President Jacob Zuma’s signature needed to bring it into law, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced on Thursday.

“The Companies Amendment Bill is currently going through the necessary approval processes, which would culminate in the President’s assent.”

DTI consumer and corporate deputy director-general Zodwa Ntuli said at a press conference in Johannesburg that there should not be any more delays in the implementation of the Companies Act of 2008, which is due to be implemented on April 1.

However, the DTI said in a statement later in the day that the Presidency should be allowed to “apply its mind sufficiently in processing” the bill before signing it into law.

The Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry adopted the Companies Amendment Bill on March 24, following a rigorous consultative process that resulted in the incorporation of recommendations from stakeholders.

Issues that was raised by stakeholders during the eight-year process and rectified by the DTI, included the domestication of companies, the business rescue model, the registration of external companies in South Africa and the clarification of independent reviews.

Ntuli told Engineering News Online that the vastness of the Act was the DTI’s greatest challenge, but that it has now been optimally streamlined.

“The Act covers a very wide spectrum and needed a lot of work, since it has not been changed since 1973. The DTI wanted the Act to be on global standards and even more advanced than its counterpart in other countries, and therefore consulted with many stakeholders, which elongated the process,” she noted.

Ntuli added that the inclusiveness of the consultation process and the clarity of the Act resulted in a law that put South Africa on the map in terms of corporate law regimes.

Meanwhile, the DTI also announced the leadership of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), naming Astrid Ludin, the former deputy director-general of the Consumer and Corporate Regulation division in the DTI, as commissioner, and Rory Voller, who is currently heading the Legal and Regulatory Services division in the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro), as deputy commissioner.

The appointments were another step towards the full implementation of the Companies Act.

Ntuli believed that all the necessary systems and processes were in place for the CIPC to function, and said that agreement has been reached with organised labour regarding current employees of the Cipro and the Office of Companies and Intellectual Property Enforcement.

The DTI reiterated that the implementation of the Companies Act would bring a progressive corporate environment conducive to economic growth, development, and transformation of business conduct in South Africa.

Further, the legislation ensured enhanced protection for minority shareholders, early turnaround of companies in distress, which would save jobs, and fewer steps to register a company, which would encourage increased participation in the economy. The legislation would also ensure improved enforcement powers, resulting in early detection of any attempts to hijack or clone companies.

The DTI’s MacDonald Netshitenzhe said the department had been accused of “over consulting” during the process of refining the Act, but believed it was necessary to reach the current state of readiness.

“Although we went through an extensive process to complete the Act to global standards, we can not guarantee that there will not be any teething problems. However, industry can continue to raise its queries after the Act has been implemented, as the DTI recognises the need for guidance from industry practitioners,” he noted.

He added that the DTI would return to Parliament, should there be any more challenges in future, in its aim to improve the Act continuously.