Hon Deputy Chairperson, the control of firearms has been a contentious issue in South Africa, and with the inception of the Firearms Control Act 2000 in 2003, it promised an effective way of firearm control administered by the South African Police Service, SAPS. The Central Firearm Register, CFR, was established to process and monitor firearm ownership through applications and renewals.
Section 139(1) of the Firearms Control Act provides that the Minister of Police may, by notice in the Gazette, declare an amnesty if the amnesty may result in the reduction of the number of illegally possessed firearms in South Africa and it is in the public interest to do so.
Section 139(2) of the Act also provides that such amnesty will only be valid if it is approved by Parliament. In terms of section 138 of the Firearms Control Act, "amnesty" means an indemnity against prosecution for the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The firearms amnesty is an important process as it has the potential to decrease the number of illegal firearms in South Africa, particularly in light of our fight against crime and our objective of halving crime by 2030 - this amnesty process is important.
However, in order to effectively receive the firearms and to ensure a successful amnesty, the select committee had to ensure that SAPS was ready in respect of their planning, implementation and particularly in ensuring that provincial police stations have received adequate training.
The select committee met on 11 September 2019 and received a briefing from the South African Police Service on the amnesty. The select committee raised a number of concerns related to the safe keeping of surrendered firearms and ammunition, police procedure to destroy surrendered firearms and ammunition as well as concerns with the process for citizens in legal possession of licences that expired.
The committee therefore required the assurance from SAPS that the conditions which affect the success of an amnesty were indeed complied with and that public trust was restored in SAPS.
Deputy Chair, SAPS is required to respond to the select committee on the matters raised, and on the meeting of the select committee on 30 October 2019, a further briefing from SAPS on the outstanding matters was received. The committee noted with concern the infrastructural challenges faced by SAPS in respect of their Central
Firearms Registry and the committee requested that SAPS addresses this challenge as expeditiously as possible.
The committee further reiterated that SAPS should ensure that all provinces are suitably trained and that the designated firearms officers are vetted accordingly. The committee, however, recognises the importance of the recovery of illegal firearms and the potential impact it may have on the reduction of violence and crime in South Africa.
The committee was therefore pleased to note that during the 2010 amnesty which ran for a period of three months, SAPS reported that it had received a total of 11 887 illegal firearms and a total of 139 234 rounds of ammunition. We therefore recognise that the amnesty will play an important role in the recovery and destruction of illegal firearms and that other measures undertaken by SAPS such as roadblocks, searches and raids will assist in reducing violence and fighting crime in South Africa.
The select committee, after satisfying itself on the readiness of SAPS for the amnesty, and after due consideration, approved the Minister's request for an amnesty period from 1 December 2019 to 31
May 2020 and recommends that the National Council of Provinces adopts the report and approves the amnesty.
The committee also requested the Minister of Police to consider declaring a separate process for the renewal of expired licenses that should run concurrently to the amnesty period. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Declaration of vote:
The Western Cape province will, as the only government with a clear project to combat crime actively and decisively, of course support any initiative that will bring down crime.
However, there was no proof put before the committee that firearms amnesty assists in this regard, even after it was asked. We believe the contrary to be true in recent years. Furthermore, South African Police Service doesn't have basic data readily available on firearms in their possession, they make no provision for the separation of renewal firearms from weapons to be destroyed, and 46 stations will
be excluded from this process, but the names of these aren't yet publicly known.
The South African Police Service is under the illusion that trust between them and the public has been restored and it cannot be absolutely guaranteed that these weapons will not, like in the past, end up in criminal hands.
There are also serious concerns about the training of SAPS to be able to enforce this amnesty effectively and correctly. What is more, in a recent reply to Parliament, it was acknowledged that SAPS lost 500 of its own service weapons. They also lost 9 million 9mm rounds of their own ammunition. If they can't even look after their own weapons, how will they be able to ensure that these weapons handed in - of which we have no guarantee about available storage space either - will not also disappear. This is over and above the fact that the actual criminals are usually not inclined to just hand in their firearms.
Deputy Chairperson, the purpose of firearms amnesty should be to reduce crime if it is in the public interest to do so. If the SAPS cannot guarantee its success, and we believe they absolutely cannot at this stage, then it is certainly not in the public interest.
For this reason, the Western Cape cannot support this initiative until such a time as the department and SAPS can give clarity and guarantees on these matters. The safety of the public comes first.
Question put: That the Report be adopted.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West.
AGAINST: Western Cape.
Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.