Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane wants to make the province home to South Africa’s first cannabis industry – already reading proposals from interested international parties, and working on feasibility studies to register farms.
Speaking to the City Press, Mabuyane said that people had been growing cannabis in the province for years, but now the opportunity exists to formalise it, and turn it into a lucrative industry.
He said that the stigma attached to cannabis is that of smoking and getting high, but in markets in Europe and Canada, there is a large industry built around the plant, which includes medicines, bio-fuels and other products.
“It’s a huge business. We are looking at this cannabis industry as an industry that can definitely turn around [the economy] and it talks directly to our people where they are,” he said.
The premier said that he is working through the legal channels to formalise such an industry, and added that those who had already been growing the plants illegally should “be embraced” and helped to register as legitimate farmers.
In May, the City of Cape Town announced that it will release vacant land for the production of medical cannabis, with the city hoping to get its foot in the door of what’s considered an ‘untapped sector’ in South Africa.
The set-up of the facility will bring with it an investment of R638 million in capital expenditure during the construction of phase one, the city said. Additionally, a further R1.5 billion will be invested during phase two which is expected to commence in 2023.
An indoor cannabis farm.
Regulatory hurdles
To accomplish the goal of building a formal dagga industry, South Africa still needs to overcome a few regulatory hurdles.
The country has already made some headway into decriminalising the plant, with a Constitutional Court ruling from September 2018 stating that it is not a criminal offence for an adult citizen to use, possess or grow cannabis in private for personal consumption.
However, the rules are still unclear. The court gave parliament 24 months from the date of the judgment to bring the ruling in line with South African laws, with a new bill expected to be released soon.
Legislation around cultivation remains unclear.
The government recently de-scheduled some types of cannabis health products, with conditions, making them easier to get hold of.
Cannabis products considered to be health supplements are those containing a daily dose of less than 20mg cannabidiol (CBD), as well as those containing less than 0.001% of THC, or less than 0.0075% CBD.
These products may be bought and sold relatively freely as a result of the exemption published in the Government Gazette on 23 May 2019.
This development has fuelled the false impression among many South Africans that the cannabis market is suddenly opening up to any and all products, said said Julie Oppenheim, a partner at law firm Bowmans.
“However, even this exemption carries limitations,” she said. “It applies only for 12 months and is intended to create an opportunity for the fledgling cannabis industry to engage on a legal framework going forward.
“In the meantime, does this mean that large amounts of cannabis can be freely cultivated in order to manufacture these products? Probably not.
“Remember that the provisions on dealing under the criminal law remain applicable, unless you have a cultivation licence from SAHPRA.”
Until some of the many grey areas in the regulation of cannabis have been clarified, Oppenheim outlined the basic legal position on cannabis in South Africa as follows:
- You may use it for your personal recreational or medicinal use, alone or with friends and family over the age of 18, in spaces not open to groups other than your own.
- Grow only as much as necessary for your personal use; where unsure, rather be conservative.
- Other than in the case of specific health supplements and processed hemp fibre detailed above, buying and selling cannabis or any cannabis-containing product is currently not legally permissible.
For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: Get Budding [1], [2].
South Africa is on The Cusp of Its Own Booming Cannabis Industry
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane wants to make the province home to South Africa’s first cannabis industry – already reading proposals from interested international parties, and working on feasibility studies to register farms.
Speaking to the City Press, Mabuyane said that people had been growing cannabis in the province for years, but now the opportunity exists to formalise it, and turn it into a lucrative industry.
He said that the stigma attached to cannabis is that of smoking and getting high, but in markets in Europe and Canada, there is a large industry built around the plant, which includes medicines, bio-fuels and other products.
“It’s a huge business. We are looking at this cannabis industry as an industry that can definitely turn around [the economy] and it talks directly to our people where they are,” he said.
The premier said that he is working through the legal channels to formalise such an industry, and added that those who had already been growing the plants illegally should “be embraced” and helped to register as legitimate farmers.
In May, the City of Cape Town announced that it will release vacant land for the production of medical cannabis, with the city hoping to get its foot in the door of what’s considered an ‘untapped sector’ in South Africa.
The set-up of the facility will bring with it an investment of R638 million in capital expenditure during the construction of phase one, the city said. Additionally, a further R1.5 billion will be invested during phase two which is expected to commence in 2023.
An indoor cannabis farm.
Regulatory hurdles
To accomplish the goal of building a formal dagga industry, South Africa still needs to overcome a few regulatory hurdles.
The country has already made some headway into decriminalising the plant, with a Constitutional Court ruling from September 2018 stating that it is not a criminal offence for an adult citizen to use, possess or grow cannabis in private for personal consumption.
However, the rules are still unclear. The court gave parliament 24 months from the date of the judgment to bring the ruling in line with South African laws, with a new bill expected to be released soon.
Legislation around cultivation remains unclear.
The government recently de-scheduled some types of cannabis health products, with conditions, making them easier to get hold of.
Cannabis products considered to be health supplements are those containing a daily dose of less than 20mg cannabidiol (CBD), as well as those containing less than 0.001% of THC, or less than 0.0075% CBD.
These products may be bought and sold relatively freely as a result of the exemption published in the Government Gazette on 23 May 2019.
This development has fuelled the false impression among many South Africans that the cannabis market is suddenly opening up to any and all products, said said Julie Oppenheim, a partner at law firm Bowmans.
“However, even this exemption carries limitations,” she said. “It applies only for 12 months and is intended to create an opportunity for the fledgling cannabis industry to engage on a legal framework going forward.
“In the meantime, does this mean that large amounts of cannabis can be freely cultivated in order to manufacture these products? Probably not.
“Remember that the provisions on dealing under the criminal law remain applicable, unless you have a cultivation licence from SAHPRA.”
Until some of the many grey areas in the regulation of cannabis have been clarified, Oppenheim outlined the basic legal position on cannabis in South Africa as follows:
For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: Get Budding [1], [2].
Highlights From South Africa’s Second 2019 State of the Nation Address
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the country’s second State of the Nation Address yesterday evening, keying South Africans into his plans going forward, now that the country’s new Parliament is settling in, after the recent general election.
Below are 10 highlights from his speech.
To watch the full Address, click here.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers the country’s second State of the Nation Address on Thursday, 20 June 2019.
For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2], [3], [4]. Image sources: [1], [2].
54 Hours of Low Water Pressure Scheduled During Maintenance in Joburg Next Week
Johannesburg will shut off its water supply for more than two days from Monday June 24, the city said on Tuesday.
“Rand Water, which is our main bulk water supplier, is planning a major shutdown that will affect all our reservoirs and towers in terms of water supply for 54 hours from June 24.”
“The shutdown is on the B11 pipeline to install a 2,500mm butterfly valve from Lethabo to Vereeniging pumping station. This will result in limited water supply to all Rand Water customers,” it said.
Officials said this does not mean that there would be no water during that period. “However, due to the extremely long hours, some of the areas may experience a shortage of water or low pressure,” said the city.
“Johannesburg Water appeals to all residents of Johannesburg to use water sparingly during the shutdown in order to avoid a complete no-water situation and reminds all that level-1 water restrictions are still in place.
“The shutdown will also affect a number of municipalities across Gauteng. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].
Foreign Investment Secured to Build Zero-2-One Tower, the New Tallest Building in Cape Town
Despite delays due to city approvals and funding hurdles, construction on the Zero-2-One Tower – which will become the tallest building in Cape Town – is expected to launch soon.
The Zero-2-One Tower first made headlines in 2016, when plans to construct the R1.3 billion city centre project on the corner of Adderley and Strand Streets in Cape Town were unveiled, led by developers FWJK.
During the course of the planning for the tower, the project was hit by several delays, mostly related to the approval processes of the City of Cape Town, which included stipulations that new developments include ‘affordable housing’ – an incredibly difficult task in a city with some of the highest house and apartment prices in the country.
More recently, on the tail of the worst quarterly economic data in a decade, it was speculated that the project had been cancelled due to a lack of funding.
Speaking to BusinessTech, FWJK CEO, David Williams-Jones said that this was not the case.
Williams-Jones acknowledged that procuring funds locally proved difficult because of the economic downturn – however, he said the development was able to secure funding through foreign direct investment.
“The procurement of project funding has faced headwinds and has had to be secured through foreign direct investment,” he said.
“Raising property development finance of R1 billion to undertake the project through conventional SA banking sources has proved impossible due to the current state of the economy and cautious bank appetite at the present time to lend on projects of this scale.”
New timeline
In terms of new timelines, Williams-Jones said that the project is targeting a construction launch within the next few months, pending approvals from the Reserve Bank.
“Once the SA Reserve Bank approval of the foreign funding has been processed, we are targeting to commence construction works on site within the next three to four months, bringing with it the added benefit of 3,000 new on and off site jobs being created,” he said.
Zero 2 One Tower, at 44 storeys, will become the tallest building in Cape Town and will comprise 570 apartments and 7,000 sqm of retail shops on ground level and station concourse level, he said.
The current tallest building in Cape Town is Portside Tower, at 32 floors, which is jointly owned by FirstRand Bank and Accelerate Property Fund. At the time of its completion in 2014 (at a cost of R1.6 billion), Portside was Cape Town CBD’s first new skyscraper in 15 years.
More info about the building can be found here. Below (left) is a render of the intended final building, (center) the location in the CBD where it will be constructed, and (right) Portside Tower.
For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2], Discott [3].