President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed off on the National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment Bill, the Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Bill, 2023, and the Correctional Services Amendment Act.
National Veldfire Act
The revised National Veld and Forest Fire Act, 1998, introduces several important changes:
- Facilitating the creation of fire protection associations by municipalities and traditional councils.
- Compelling municipalities, state-owned enterprises, public entities, or other state organizations that own land to join fire protection associations.
- Extending entry, search, seizure, and arrest powers to peace officers and traditional leaders.
- Changing the title of the Act to the National Veldfire Act.
The Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Act, 2023
This updated Act empowers the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development to designate qualified individuals or entities to inspect commodities for quality control and audit management control systems.
The Correctional Services Amendment Act
This amended Act aligns with the 2020 Sonke judgment of the Constitutional Court by ensuring the independence of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS).
- Informing inmates subjected to solitary confinement of their right to appeal.
- Requiring the Head of Correctional or Remand Detention Facilities to provide appeal-related information to the Inspecting Judge within 24 hours of the request.
- Appointing the Chief Executive Officer of JICS by the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.
- Allocating JICS expenses from Parliament’s budget instead of the Department of Justice and Correctional Services.
- Implementing mandatory reporting obligations by the Department to the Inspecting Judge.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa.