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.