ON THE WATER
SA’s nanny rules on lending seem straight out of Shakespeare
Amendments to credit legislation have not been thought through, writes Neels Blom
Blame Shakespeare for making it seem such a good idea to create regulations to protect citizens against moneylenders’ supposed excesses. Most people probably approve of the National Credit Act and of the greater part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s proposed amendments. Clearly, though, it has not been thought through. The act, as it stands, is considered by the lending industry – that is, the backbone of the economy – to be onerous in that it shifts borrowers’ transactional obligations to lenders. Moreover, it does not take cognisance of SA’s economy by excluding the great number of nonsalaried participants from the pool of borrowers.Yet, it hasn’t worked. Business Day’s Linda Ensor reports that Parliament’s trade and industry committee is to start drafting amendments to the act to deal with consumer overindebtedness. It means the ANC government intends to tackle a failed policy by trying harder — in this instance by getting a bigger stick — to make it work. As always, hub...
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