Act No. 13 of 2023: National Veld and Forest Fire Amendment, Act 2023.

This Act consisting of 10 articles aims to emphasize the importance of proactive measures to mitigate the risks and impacts of wildfires by enhancing fire prevention strategies, promoting collaboration among stakeholders, and empowering enforcement agencies to effectively address the challenges posed by veld and forest fires in South Africa. In particular, it (i) modifies and adds definitions to clarify key terms related to fire prevention and management; (ii) facilitates the establishment of fire protection associations by municipalities and traditional councils to enhance collaborative efforts in combating fires; (iii) mandates municipalities, state-owned enterprises, public entities, and other state bodies that own land to join these fire protection associations to ensure a coordinated approach to fire prevention and response across different entities that own land susceptible to fires; (iv) expands the powers of entry, search, seizure, and arrest to peace officers and traditional leaders to strengthen enforcement measures in preventing and managing veld and forest fires.