SARIPA Chairperson's Message

21 September 2020

Dear SARIPA Members

I trust that Level 1 will return our lives and practices to a semblance of normality. Continued constraints on the economy and the knock-on effect of a 6-month lockdown, has certainly kept all of us busy with continued insolvency, restructuring and business rescue mandates. Please ensure that you continue to take every precaution; wear your masks at all times and observe social distancing. Remaining healthy and active is a priority!

Since my last report on the 18th of May 2020, we have:

1. Strived to continue with the delivery of relevant and pertinent information, including case law updates;
2. Moved towards the development of a focused SARIPA lender group who will work with us in the delivery of meaningful submissions for the improvement of insolvency and business rescue processes to the relevant Regulators and stakeholders;
3. Engaging with the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (AFSA) in an effort to develop dispute resolution mechanisms that can be used seamlessly in business rescue matters;
4. Delivered a suite of excellent (10 in total) webinars with further exciting topics in the pipeline;
5. Excited about our Virtual Conference (coming up on Thursday 12 November – PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU MARK THIS EVENT IN YOUR CALENDAR WITH A PLACEHOLDER – FROM 9 AM);
6. Developing bespoke recorded training sessions for our members, which will deal with highly relevant issues and which will be rolled out shortly;
7. Commenced with our Microsoft D365 project;
8. Moved forward with ongoing contact and communication with the Regulators;
9. Strategizing to increase our members (within South Africa and beyond our borders)
10. Increased interest and participation in our Young Bloods programme – the future is looking bright;
11. Expanded on regional engagement with suggestions and input from members taken forward and progressed.

We are focused on the future, COVID-19 was a comma, not a full stop. All members are requested to provide us with articles and ideas for the continued expansion of our profession. Please submit your contributions to Rene Bekker for consideration.

In closing, we would like to thank all our members for your ongoing and loyal support during these tough economic times.

Warm regards,
Dr Eric Levenstein
(SARIPA Chairperson)