Luanda - The destruction of transport infrastructure (roads, railways and waterways) could be punishable by between 20 and 25 years in prison, under a new bill currently under discussion in the National Assembly.
This is the proposal for a Law on Crimes of vandalism of Public Asset and Services, a legislative initiative of the government, which will be put to an initial vote on June 19.
On Monday, the parliament’s specialized committees approved the draft Joint Opinion Report, which defines specific penalties for different types of vandalism, with the aim to protect public investment and the sustainability of services.
The law establishes that the destruction of public property or the disruption of a public service is punishable with 5 to 10 years in prison, while promoting vandalism is punishable with 10 to 15 years and in case it involves transport infrastructure, the penalty is increased to 20 to 25 years.
It adds that attacking the security of public goods and services, such as divulging security information or threatening to destroy public property, carries a penalty of 3 to 8 years in prison, however the punishment can be increased by a third if there is an actual danger to life or physical integrity.
The draft stipulates penalties for illegal transformation and export of public goods (10 to 15 years) and for receiving public goods (06 to 12 years) being increased in cases these crimes are committed by political office holders, in criminal association, with violence or slave labor.
According to the justification, vandalizing public goods and services has been increasing exponentially, becoming a frequent form of behavior with inestimable social, economic and financial damage affecting energy, water, gas, fuel and public transport chains.
The proposed law responds to the need to adopt a specialized legal framework to combat vandalism of public property and public services, taking into account the decisive impact of such social phenomena on the preservation of the national economy and sustainable development.DC/VIC/AMP
