The road ahead? Transforming South Africa’s Minibus Taxi Industry through digital technology

by | Nov 9, 2025 | SAMLJ, SAMLJ V37 I2

The road ahead? Transforming South Africa’s Minibus Taxi Industry through digital technology

Author: Siyabulela Christopher Fobosi

ISSN: 1996-2185
Affiliations: Senior Researcher: Department of Public and Constitutional Law, Faculty of Law, University of Fort Hare
Source: South African Mercantile Law Journal, Volume 37 Issue 2, 2025, p. 182 – 197
https://doi.org/10.47348/SAMLJ/v37/i2a3

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic significantly disrupted businesses across all sectors, including public transportation. In response, the Taxi Association Management Service (TAMS) has been working to revitalise the South African taxi industry through technology. The goal is to reduce transportation costs and increase accessibility by automating the back-office operations of taxi associations, streamlining taxi levy collection, managing demand, and creating databases for stakeholders such as owners, drivers, marshals, and taxis. This technological shift aims to change perceptions of the South African taxi industry. However, the transformation of the sector is hindered by a lack of political will and conflicts of interest, particularly with political leaders allegedly being taxi owners. While the African National Congress (ANC) government has adopted developmental state principles and targeted economic interventions, its efforts to formalise the taxi industry have often been ineffective, marked by frequent policy shifts and dead-ends. A significant policy shift occurred in 1999 when the government moved from an ambitious Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP) to a focus on restructuring the industry. Moreover, the government’s efforts to transform public transport, such as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, have been reactive rather than proactive, often failing to integrate urban planning with transportation. Cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Tshwane introduced BRT systems in response to congestion and taxi inefficiencies, without a long-term vision for a cohesive transport network. Similarly, interventions like TRP have not tackled the industry’s structural issues, such as informality and lack of regulation. The frequent changes in transport policies, often driven by public outcry, highlight the government’s reactive approach. This has resulted in a transport system that leaves the working poor vulnerable to poor service, high fares, and unsafe conditions. Despite these challenges, technological advances in the sector may offer renewed hope for the future.

From Massmart to Mediclinic (with a drive-thru Burger King): The development of the public interest standard in merger regulation

by | Nov 9, 2025 | SAMLJ, SAMLJ V37 I2

From Massmart to Mediclinic (with a drive-thru Burger King): The development of the public interest standard in merger regulation

Author: Thalalolwazi Msutu

ISSN: 1996-2185
Affiliations: Lecturer, Department of Mercantile Law, Stellenbosch University
Source: South African Mercantile Law Journal, Volume 37 Issue 2, 2025, p. 198 – 227
https://doi.org/10.47348/SAMLJ/v37/i2a4

Abstract

One of the distinctive characteristics of South Africa’s merger control regime is the public interest test applied in every merger. The Walmart/Massmart merger of 2012 was the first high-profile test of the public interest standard, and the Competition Appeal Court set out certain parameters for the application of the public interest standard that largely influenced the assessment of the public interest standard in the 2010s. With the Competition Amendment Act of 2019, the public interest test has entered a second phase of development, as competition authorities have been more assertive in their application of the public interest standard. This has led to certain decisions, such as the Burger King merger being the first case in which the Competition Commission has prohibited a merger solely because of the public interest grounds, and the Mediclinic merger, which incorporated the Competition Act’s objectives and the Constitution in interpreting the public interest test. This has culminated in the Competition Commission’s Revised Public Interest Guidelines of 2024 confirming the prominence of the public interest test, the broadening of considerations and the positive obligation for mergers to promote one of the public interest grounds. The implications of this second phase for market participants are investigated in this article.

The abuse of sick leave and the Employer’s right to establish the veracity of medical certificates in South Africa: Woolworths (Pty) Ltd v CCMA and others (JA90/2022) [2024] ZALAC 29 (13 June 2024)

by | Nov 9, 2025 | SAMLJ, SAMLJ V37 I2

The abuse of sick leave and the Employer’s right to establish the veracity of medical certificates in South Africa: Woolworths (Pty) Ltd v CCMA and others (JA90/2022) [2024] ZALAC 29 (13 June 2024)

Author: Bongani Khumalo

ISSN: 1996-2185
Affiliations: Senior Lecturer, Department of Mercantile Law, University of South Africa
Source: South African Mercantile Law Journal, Volume 37 Issue 1, 2025, p. 228 – 242
https://doi.org/10.47348/SAMLJ/v37/i2a5

Abstract

None

The Constitutional Court restores the integrity of the Controlled Foreign Company Legislation: Coronation Investment Management SA (Pty) Limited v Commissioner For The South African Revenue Service [2024] ZACC 11

by | Nov 9, 2025 | SAMLJ, SAMLJ V37 I2

The Constitutional Court restores the integrity of the Controlled Foreign Company Legislation: Coronation Investment Management SA (Pty) Limited v Commissioner For The South African Revenue Service [2024] ZACC 11

Author: Thabo Legwaila

ISSN: 1996-2185
Affiliations: Professor, School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand
Source: South African Mercantile Law Journal, Volume 37 Issue 1, 2025, p. 242 – 255
https://doi.org/10.47348/SAMLJ/v37/i2a6

Abstract

None

Directors’ duty to exercise independent judgement – English experiences and proposals for South Africa

by | Nov 8, 2025 | JCLA, JCLA V12 SE

Directors’ duty to exercise independent judgement – English experiences and proposals for South Africa

Author: Brighton M Mupangavanhu

ISSN: 2521-2605
Affiliations: LLB (UFH), LLM (UKZN), PhD Commercial Law (UCT). Former Programme Coordinator: LLM in Corporate Law programme and Associate Professor of Corporate and Finance Law, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape. Now Associate Professor of Commercial Law, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town.
Source: Journal of Comparative Law in Africa, Volume 12 Special Edition, p. 1-33
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v12/2025-SEa1

Abstract

Directors owe many duties to the company. To discharge these obligations effectively and to contribute to making quality decisions, the law requires directors to exercise independent judgement and unfettered discretion, especially in the collective functioning of the board and during decision-making processes. Situations such as outside board influences (in the case of nominee directors) and the influence of domineering figures are rampant in the collective functioning of the board. The law considers it a breach of duty for a director to allow themselves to be dominated, bamboozled, or manipulated by a dominant fellow director in a manner which disables independent judgement. South Africa recently experienced several corporate crises and collapses in many sectors, blamed on poor decision making caused by domineering persons in decision-making processes. This article considers relevant English law experiences before the Companies Act 2006, the codification of the duty to exercise independent judgement in s 173 of the Companies Act 2006, and the relevant case law principles that have evolved to date. From the analysis of English law, the article draws lessons and makes a solid case for expressing the duty to exercise independent judgement in statute in South Africa.