Africa-Press – South-Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed three bills into law – with 23 more waiting in the wings.
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.
Despite signing the Bills, the President still has 23 Bills on his desk waiting to be signed, which have passed through the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces.
This includes the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill and the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill, both of which have faced massive backlash from businesses and political parties.
With Parliament still rushing through multiple bills ahead of the 29 May election, the President will likely have more on his desk by the end of term.
A breakdown of the three new laws can be found below:
The Correctional Services Amendment Act
The amendment follows a 2020 Constitutional Court judgement in providing the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) an adequate level of independence.
The amendments include changes to section 30(7), allowing inmates subjected to solitary confinement to be informed of their right to appeal.
The amendment also states that the Head of the Correctional or Remand Detention Facility must provide all relevant information relating to an appeal to an Inspecting Judge within 24 hours of receiving said information.
The Act also provides for the following:
The appointment of the Chief Executive Officer of the JICS by the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services instead of the National Commissioner of Correctional Services.
The expenses incurred by the Judicial Inspectorate will be covered by budgets appropriated by Parliament. The Department of Justice and Correctional Services budget previously covered these costs.
Mandatory reporting obligations by the Department to the Inspecting Judge.
The Agricultural Product Standards Amendment Act, 2023
The amended Act will enable the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to designate a person or entity that has particular knowledge of a product or relevant management control systems to inspect a commodity for quality control and audit management control system.
The Act states this inspector must have no direct or indirect personal or financial interest.
National Veldfire Act
According to the Presidency, the amended National Veld and Forest Fire Act of 1998 will do the following:
Provide for the facilitation of the formation of fire protection associations by a municipality and a traditional council;
Compel a municipality, state-owned enterprise, public entity or other organ of the state which owns land to join the fire protection associations;
Extend the powers of entry, search, seizure and arrest to peace officers and traditional leaders;
Amend the title of the Act to the Actional Veldfire Act.
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