The Home of Representatives, on Tuesday (June 17), handed amendments to the Praedial Larceny Act, aimed toward combatting the theft of agricultural produce, livestock and fish.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Inexperienced, who piloted the laws, said that, upon enactment, the Invoice will strengthen the penalties for offences dedicated below the Act or these outlined in its First Schedule.
“The target of the amendments is to enhance deterrence and reinforce the authorized framework by growing the fines and phrases of imprisonment to successfully deal with the persistent challenges posed by agricultural crimes, thereby safeguarding the sector,” he mentioned.
“As an illustration, this Invoice seeks to increase the powers of the agricultural wardens, enabling them to implement provisions below associated laws, together with the Agricultural Produce Act, and the Animals (Illnesses and Importation) (Marking of Bovine Animals) Laws,” Inexperienced added.
He additional indicated that the Invoice will introduce consequential amendments to crucial enactments within the First Schedule, strengthening weak penalties below particular items of laws, such because the Trespass Act, Malicious Accidents to Property Act, Illegal Possession of Property Act, and Nation Fires Act.
“We are going to embrace extra offences below the Larceny Act, similar to theft and receiving stolen property, and below the Malicious Accidents to Property Act, similar to setting fireplace to crops, to offer wardens broader powers to behave in agricultural-related crimes,” Mr. Inexperienced said.
Concerning amendments to the Principal Act, Inexperienced mentioned Part 12 addresses the forfeiture of property used within the fee of an offence.
The minister famous that below the earlier model of Part 12, “you would solely forfeit property used for the fee of an offence, if the sentence was two years or extra”.
“We’re lowering that timeframe by deleting the phrases ‘two years’ and changing them with the phrases ‘one yr’,” Inexperienced said.
Concerning sufferer affect statements, the minister knowledgeable that, for the primary time, victims of praedial larceny will have the ability to current such statements throughout courtroom proceedings.
“What [Section] 18a says is, the place any individual is convicted of any offence below this Act or any offence listed within the First Schedule, the courtroom could, earlier than the sentencing of the offender, contemplate an announcement from the sufferer,” he defined.
“Our farmers have for lengthy lobbied for this as a result of, oftentimes, when there are going to be sentencings in these issues, our farmers need to have a say to have the ability to point out the type of harm that has been dropped at bear on them,” Inexperienced added.
The Invoice was additionally amended to empower the minister to make rules governing the shape and method through which sufferer affect statements are submitted.
The laws will now go to the Senate for approval.
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