Prof Oliver Fuo
The elusive pursuit of the transformative constitutional mandate of social justice by South African cities ...read more
Prof Oliver Fuo
The legal background to financial integrated reporting
In South Africa, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 mandates all three spheres of government to work together through a system of cooperative governance to establish a society based on social justice. Despite this, the Constitution does not define what this commitment entails. In basic terms, this commitment primarily requires government to eradicate poverty and extreme inequalities in access to material resources in order to ensure that all citizens command the resources needed to participate equally in socio-political life. My research argues that given their legal mandate and a number of key features of developmental local government, South African cities are well positioned to contribute towards advancing this constitutional ideal. However, academic literature and government reports tell a familiar story: one of failing service delivery, poor financial management, widespread corruption in procurement, weak institutional capacity, insufficient accountability and widespread political instability. Without addressing these challenges and ensuring that there is accountability for procurement corruption, the pursuit of social justice will remain an elusive ideal for millions of South Africans who remain frustrated and deeply disappointed with the current state of affairs.
Prof Neels Kilian
The legal background to financial integrated reporting ...read more
Prof Neels Kilian
The legal background to financial integrated reporting
In South Africa, listed companies are in the process of complying with environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. However, the compliance process is a work in progress and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is currently in the process of implementing ESG requirements for listed companies, that is, JSE ESG metrics. This inaugural briefly focuses on the background to ESG and its development in South Africa, as well as the most recent developments in this regard with reference to international law principles, for example United Nations Global Compact. The inaugural also briefly examines the environmental, social and corporate governance legs of the JSE ESG metrics and the greenwashing of company business activities.