Chairperson, Comrade Deputy Minister and hon colleagues, Comrade Mike says I must just table this speech, and I want to do that because we don't have any objection to the Bill tabled before this House. But I just want to say that in recent years South Africa has emerged as an international player in the arms supply industry, with the revenue generated by the arms trade amounting to R50 billion in the year 2008.
Therefore, it is to be expected that South Africa must assume a responsible role in this regard. Considering the unspeakable harm that can result from certain weapons falling into the wrong hands, the establishment of a predictable arms control system is therefore imperative. South Africa should oblige in this regard in order to maintain credibility.
The current National Conventional Arms Control Act had been in operation since 2003 and has been under review since 2006. Practical and legal challenges have emerged since 2003, and new demands and developments in the industry have necessitated the establishment of ground rules for the continued effective functioning of the industry.
The possession of conventional arms needed to be regulated and it was necessary to adopt a position in respect of dual-use items which could be put to civilian or military use. An example of this is a computer which can be employed to navigate a battleship while still being used in conventional arms. An important objective of the new legislation is to criminalise the possession of military arms except by a legal government security agency.
The delegation from the Department of Defence that presented the National Conventional Arms Control Amendment Bill to the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs gave an extensive overview of the Bill, setting out its key objectives.
The amendments are intended to ensure that the South African arms control mechanism will become more effective, promote responsibility and accountability in South Africa's arms transfer and assist in prohibiting mercenary activities.
The Department of Defence summarised the role of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, NCACC, as follows: The NCACC, which is a government functionary, is instituted to regulate legitimate trade in arms. It performs its functions in collaboration with the SAPS Central Firearms Registry and the Department of Trade and Industry's Non-Proliferation Council.
The NCACC operates within the context of a strong defence industry base and a sensitive arms industry. The department admits that the NCACC faces administrative and legal challenges, but remains confident that it will be able to deliver on all the objectives concerning its new functions as set out in the Bill. The transfer and regulation of arms must be seen in the context of the commitment to the international agenda for disarmament and non- proliferation, although the select committee was not entirely satisfied about the explanation of why the end-user certificates are required for the country.
In other words, what was raised by the committee is that whilst this piece of legislation is important, there was the question as to why the end-user should be required to provide the certificate. The department provided an adequate response to that and it is on that basis that we say this is an important piece of legislation on which the committee agrees.
There were other important questions that were raised by a number of members seeking clarity. Questions were raised on the Wassenaar Arrangement issue just to clarify what that thing means to us as a committee and what the significance of it is. This was clarified as one of the important requirements for international collaboration.
The committee, having listened to the department, agreed there is not much that we can look for in terms of clarity. We agreed that this Bill as presented before the committee provides the necessary tools to ensure that there is proper control of the arms that have to be dealt with as was explained to us, particularly aspects of arms that are invisible, such as the ... [Interjections.]
But with regard to those aspects that were presented to us, the committee actually dealt with them and agreed that all those identified aspects were to be part of the dangerous arms category. The committee agreed that it should be regulated as contained in this Bill. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Bill agreed to in accordance with section 75 of the Constitution.