The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Wednesday lambasted the Critical Infrastructure Protection Bill saying that it did little to address the concerns over the apartheid-era National Key Point Act, which it is meant to replace.

The DA’s spokesperson on police, Zakhele Mbhele said: "Effectively, the bill in its current form can be used by the president, at the behest of the minister, to give effect to another Nkandla-gate scandal."

Mbhele, speaking at a press conference in Durban, said that the DA would be asking police minister Nathi Nhleko to redraft the bill.

"South Africans cannot afford another R240-million scandal, using public money that should be better used to deliver public services and create jobs," he said.

Mbhele said there was no "substantive difference" between the National Key Points Act of 1980 and the current proposal, with areas of the new bill being "very vague" and open to interpretation.

"It leaves a very big space for covering up scandals."

He said that both the current bill and the previous act had been drawn up with people who had "paranoid bureaucratic mindsets" which aimed "to cover up anything that would show up the executive".

He said the current bill needed greater parliamentary oversight and that the list of critical infrastructure needed to be published.

"We know that the president has 246-million good reasons to keep the National Key Points Act, albeit in a bill with a new title. This cannot be allowed to happen. Public money should be spent on our people, not on ensuring President Jacob Zuma’s cattle receive five-star treatment at state expense."

Mbhele expressed concern that because the bill was so vague, ordinary South Africans could unknowingly take pictures of infrastructure not knowing that they were not allowed to do so.

"Of great concern is that the list of critical infrastructure would remain secret. This means, as is the case today, it would not be possible to know what is classified as a critical infrastructure. This list should be made public and available for public scrutiny."