The Summary Offences (Amendment) Bill 2025 will be sent to the President after it was unanimously passed in the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament.
Before they went on recess for the Christmas period, both Houses of Parliament agreed to regulate the use of fireworks.
In the Lower House, 38 Members of Parliament voted for the Bill, while 30 Members in the Senate supported the Bill. There were no votes against or abstentions.
Attorney General John Jeremie SC quoted a 2021 position paper by the Environmental Management Authority that said while fireworks produce beautiful visual effects, they also release destructive blast waves of compressed air, toxic chemicals, and explosive sounds, which harm the health of humans, animals, and the environment.
“The government is not against fireworks as a whole. But, we recognise that the use of fireworks can be harmful to the well-being of families and to persons, particularly younger persons, older persons, and those with health conditions. The fact is that fireworks are not toys. They are, in terms of their component parts, explosive devices. They contain explosive components which are capable of causing injury.”
AG Jeremie pointed out that the Law Reform Commission reviewed its policy paper done in 2020 and made a number of recommendations based on comments from the public and a Joint Select Committee. Chief among those was regulating the use of fireworks through a permit system.
“We seek simply to provide that a person shall not discharge fireworks unless he holds a permit issued by the Commissioner of Police. The proposed Section 100 then provides for the general provisions for permits to be granted to use fireworks. These provisions would include, inter alia, the type and amount of fireworks, the location, date, and time.”
Amendments made in the Lower House also speak to notifying the Fire Service, the Environmental Management Authority, the Civil Aviation Authority, and Municipal Corporations.
The Bill also mandates the supervision of children when discharging fireworks and restrictions on the use of fireworks in close proximity to hospitals, national parks, registered animal shelters, and the zoo.
The Attorney General stated: “Specified days, public holidays, New Year’s Eve. That being said, there are specific windows of time in which fireworks can be discharged even on those days. For public holidays: between 8 and 9. On the 31st December, from 11:30 to 12:30 on the first of January. We think that that provision strikes a balance. It preserves the interest of those who wish to use fireworks still with the overriding concern that we should use fireworks responsibly.”
The Bill will now go to the President for assent to become law.