Insight type: Legal Alert

On 5 May 2021, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the United States (US) would be supporting a proposal at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to waive intellectual property (IP) protections for COVID-19 vaccines. The proposal in question was tabled by India and South Africa on 2 October 2020. Essentially, these two countries have requested that the WTO allow member states to opt not to grant or enforce patents and other IP rights in COVID-19 health solutions, including vaccines.

 

Tanzania recently issued regulations relating to the beneficial ownership information disclosure requirements which were incorporated into the Companies Act. The Companies (Beneficial Ownership) Regulations, 2021 apply to both private and public companies (including listed public companies) incorporated in Tanzania with no exemptions. In addition, the Regulations do not put in place any quantifiable thresholds which would trigger beneficial owner filings. As such, any shareholding or voting control, no matter the percentage of shares held, or voting control enjoyed, whether in a public or private company, is reportable. Furthermore, beneficial ownership reporting is not limited only to a shareholding interest or voting control.

 

In March 2021, the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology (MoICT) published amendments to the equity participation requirement contained in the National ICT Policy Guidelines, 2020 (ICT Policy) that was gazetted in August 2020 (the Amendment Notice) that are aimed at providing clarity to the initial policy.

 

This legal alert has been necessitated by the enactment of the Insurance Act, number 38 of 2021 (New Insurance Act). The New Insurance Act repeals the current insurance Act, number 27 of 1997 (Repealed Insurance Act). From the onset, it is worth noting that the New Insurance Act will only commence on a date appointed by the Minister of Finance. The Minister has not yet appointed the date on which the New Insurance Act is set to come into operation.

The Finance Act, 2021 (the Act), which was assented into law by the President of Kenya on 29 June 2021, makes a raft of changes to Kenya’s tax regime including the Income Tax Act, the Value Added Tax Act, the Tax Procedures Act, the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act and the Excise Duty Act, among others.

 

Often, leaders at law firms are determined based on their success as legal practitioners. However, what makes a successful legal practitioner might not necessarily be what makes a good leader, especially in terms of change and change management.

 

The Finance Act, 2021, which was assented into law by the President of Kenya on 29 June 2021, makes a raft of changes to Kenya’s tax regime including the Income Tax Act, the Value Added Tax Act, the Tax Procedures Act, the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act and the Excise Duty Act, among others. Most amendments proposed under the Finance Bill, 2021 were approved by Parliament as set out, while others amendments we approved with modifications.

 

Data from the Tanzania Investment Centre has shown that in the past few months from March to June, the country has secured 92 major investments worth USD 2.6 billion.

 

 

The Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning (Lands Ministry) has been spearheading various projects for slightly over a year including: the digitisation of records, geo-referencing of land parcel boundaries, conversion of titles, and national titling amongst other institutional reforms.