President Jacob Zuma has signed into law the Criminal Matters Amendment Act, which will help to curb infrastructure-related crimes.

The act amends the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977. It will see the introduction of harsher sentences for the destruction of essential infrastructure and more stringent bail conditions and applications for perpetrators.

“The amendments provide for changes to the law pertaining to infrastructure-related offences by making stricter provisions for the granting of bail, the sentencing of offenders and creating a new offence to criminalise damage to, tampering with or destruction of essential infrastructure, which may interfere with the provision of basic services to the public,” the Presidency said on Monday.

The act also aims to create a new offence relating to essential infrastructure, as well as amend the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998, so as to insert a new offence in Schedule 1 to the Act and to provide for matters connected therewith.

Meanwhile, President Zuma also signed into law the Disaster Management Amendment Act, 2015 (Act No.16 of 2015).

The act seeks to, among others, clarify the policy focus on rehabilitation and functioning of disaster management centres, and to align the functions of the National Disaster Management Advisory Forum to accommodate the South African National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The act will also provide for the South African National Defence Force, South African Police Service and any other organ of State to assist the disaster management structures, strengthen the disaster risk reporting system in order to improve the country’s ability to manage potential disasters.