House Chairperson and hon members, I have the very simple job of asking you to approve the notice on the new declaration of the firearms amnesty for the period 11 January 2010 to 11 April 2010, and doing so in terms of the Firearms Control Act, Act 60 of 2000, and regulations thereof.
The select committee has considered the notice that outlines the process and procedures put in place to implement the declaration and we took note of the following issues contained therein. There will be no anonymity in the voluntary surrendering of firearms. This means that people must declare their identity, that their identities will be registered when they hand over the firearms and that their firearms will be kept.
There will also be ongoing snap audits conducted regularly by the police in keeping with the record. Consideration will also be given to the experiences that emanated from the other amnesty that was announced in 2005. There will also be simplified administrative procedures for the registering of personal details in order to prevent blockages and backlogs in the system.
There will be safekeeping of firearms in the so-called SAPS 13 store, which is like an archive. They will be catalogued in the database so that it will be easy to track them and for the police to conduct these snap audits. Therefore there will also be a total operational register system put in place with this process.
Building on the successes of the 2005 amnesty, during which 98 000 firearms were collected, we believe that this new amnesty will further assist those people who are still in possession of such firearms. This includes, amongst others, those who have knowledge of firearms and ammunition; manufacturers; gunsmiths; private security firms; firearm dealers with surplus, obsolete and redundant firearms; firearm parts storage facilities where firearms and ammunition were stored; and individuals who stored firearms or their parts without legal authorisation to do so.
These are the categories that would be included and are targeted by this declaration, including those who keep the firearms, such as the hon Zulu. As ilifa likababa [a heritage from the father] he must return that, if this House approves! [Laughter.]
The surrendering of the firearms in this amnesty will be voluntary, as it seeks to address the problem of violent crimes that are committed with these illegal firearms that are in circulation. Through the process of the prescribed regulation in the Firearms Control Act, both licensed and unlicensed firearms will be destroyed within six months of collection. There will be regular operations to search and seize illegal firearms.
This will also allow people who have failed to meet the firearm licence application deadline to licence their weapons under certain circumstances, so there would be fair consideration by the police during this period of those people who couldn't submit their applications for the renewal of licences.
Of course, this is not done with any promise or pledge to pay any compensation, so there will be no compensation. You will hand over ilifa [heritage from the father] without payable compensation for surrendering your firearm, whether legal or illegal.
There will also be some exclusions from this declaration. They include explosives, which are not covered by the amnesty, and amnesty will also not be granted for crimes committed with these surrendered firearms, except for the possession of unregistered firearms. Therefore, ballistics tests will be conducted on all surrendered firearms in order to ensure that none of these firearms were used to commit crimes, and where such firearms are discovered the police will be able to link the firearm to the person who handed it in and details of this person will be on record. We therefore urge that the House approves this declaration in terms of the Act of 2000, but I also need to raise this concern and call for communities to work and co-operate with the police. I was saddened by the reports in the media about the incident this morning in which an R5 was used in a meeting, as the media reported.
We need to send out the message that it's deplorable during this time of democracy, when there are platforms for discussion and meetings of engagement, that we still go to meetings with people whom we know carrying such firearms. I think this House and the committee really must express their condemnation of such people conducting such activities and conducting themselves in that fashion.
We therefore say during this period of the amnesty that all South Africans who are committed to a safe society, safe families and safe communities must co-operate in making sure that this amnesty is as successful as the one in 2005 and we therefore recommend its approval. Thank you, Chair. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Order! That concludes the debate. I shall now put the question. The question is that the report be agreed to. As the decision is dealt with in terms of section 65 of the Constitution, I shall first ascertain whether all delegation heads are present in the House. Are all delegation heads present?
In accordance with Rule 71, I shall now allow provinces the opportunity to make their declarations of vote if they so wish. I shall now call upon the provinces to vote.
Chairperson, I just want to make a request that the hon Louis must first hand in his illegal firearm so that all of us can hand in our firearms. He's sitting with an illegal firearm. I know that!
All nine provinces have voted in favour. I therefore declare the report adopted in terms of section 65 of the Constitution.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
consideration of report of select committee on security and constitutional development - provisional suspension of Magistrate N E Ndamase, additional magistrate at Pretoria.
Modulasetulo ke ne ke kopa ho sisinya phetoho tlalehong ya ... [Kena hanong.] [Chairperson, can I please suggest some changes to the report of ... [Interjections.]
Honourable Mofokeng, would you please come to the podium if you want to raise something. [Laughter.]
Ke ne ke kopa feela ho sisinya phetoho tlalehong ya repoto e nyenyane feela ha e qetella, e leng tlaleho ya komiti mabapi le ho fanyehwa ha nakwana mosebetsing ha Mmaseterata N E Ndamase. Komiti kamora ho lekola tlaleho ya ho fanyehwa ha nakwana mosebetsing ha Mmaseterata Ndamase, mmaseterata wa tlatsetso sebakeng sa Pretoria, ho sa emetswe sephetho sa diphuphutso bokgoning ba hae ba ho sebetsa jwalokaha ho hlokeha ho Kgaolo ya 13 ya Magistrate Act.
Komiti e lekotse tlaleho e tekilweng ke Letona la Toka le Ntshetsopele ya Molaotheo hore Khomishene ya boMmaseterata e nkile qeto ka la 29 le 30 mme ya sisinya hore Mmaseterata Ndamase a fanyehwe nakwana mosebetsing. Ka la 9 Khomishene ya boMmaseterata e ile ya tlalehela komiti ka dikateng tsa tlaleho moo e qetileng ka ho qosa Mmaseterata Ndamase ka boitshwaro bo hlephileng ho ya ka Molawana wa 26 wa Tsamaiso ya tsa Toka.
Maikutlo a bona ke hore ho na le bopaki bo felletseng ho tshehetsa diqoso tsa bona, mme ho ya ka Kgaolo ya 13 ya Molao wa Tsamaiso ya boMmaseterata, Palamente e tlamehile hore e fetise ka potlako qeto e tshehetsang kapa e hananang le tshitshinyo eo. Kamora ho sekaseka ditaba, komiti e ile ya hlokomela bothata bo tshebedisong ya puo Makgotleng a Dinyewe e le e nngwe ya ditshita mme ho tlamehile hore ho lekolwe dintlha kaofela phareleng ho ya ka ho rarollwa le ho lokiswa ha Tsamaiso ya Toka hore e be maemong a hantle.
Komiti e hlokomela hore ha ho na tharollo e bobebe qakeng ena empa tharollo e tlamehile hore e fumanehe ka potlako. Jwalokaha e le mosebetsi wa komiti ho lekola tshebetso ya mafapha a mmuso, komiti e tla etela a mang a makgotla a dinyewe ho inwesa ka nkgo ka maemo a ditaba le ho ba le dipuisano tse tebileng le Khomishene ho utlwisisa ka ho phethahala.
Kamora ho lekola tseo tsohle le hore re ntse re tlamehile ho kopana le batho bohle ba nang le lesedi tabeng ena, ha ho qeto eo re e fihlelletseng ntle le hore re kopa ho fuwa nako ho sebetsana le taba ena ho fihlella pheletsong e kgotsofatsang. Ke a leboha. [Mahofi.] (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[Mr T M H MOFOKENG: I would like to suggest some small changes to the last part of the report of the committee in relation to the provisional suspension of Magistrate N E Ndamase. Following the committee's review of the report on the provisional suspension of Magistrate Ndamase, the assistant magistrate in Pretoria, we are still waiting for the conclusion of the investigation into her fitness to perform her duties, as required in terms of section 13 of the Magistrates Act.
The committee reviewed the report tabled by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development in which the Magistrates' Commission took a decision on the 29th and 30th, and recommended that Magistrate Ndamase be provisionally suspended from her duties. On the 9th the Magistrates' Commission informed the committee about the contents of the report, in which it took the decision to charge Magistrate Ndamase with professional misconduct in accordance with the Judicial Service commission Act.
Their opinion was that there was conclusive evidence to support the charges and therefore, in accordance with section 13 of the Magistrates Act, Parliament should, as a matter of urgency, consider the decision that either supports or negates such an opinion. After reviewing the situation, the committee realised that one of the problems within our court system was the language problem and that all issues pertaining to this problem needed to be addressed in the alleviation and solution of such problems for the betterment of the justice system.
The committee realised that there was no easy solution to this problem and yet a solution had to be found as soon as possible. As it is the committee's task to assess the performance of all government departments, it would visit some of the courts in order to have a first-hand experience of the situation and also to have further discussions with the Commission for a full understanding.
After assessing all that, and considering the fact that we should also meet with all the individuals who have information on this matter, no decision has been reached except that we would like to be given more time to deal with this matter in order to come to a satisfactory conclusion. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Debate concluded.
Question put: That the Report be adopted.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, Western Cape.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.