Firearms Control Amendment Bill [B12B-2006]: briefing

NCOP Security and Justice

18 October 2006
Share this page:

Meeting Summary

A summary of this committee meeting is not yet available.

Meeting report

SECURITY AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE

SECURITY AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE
18 October 2006
FIREARMS CONTROL AMENDMENT BILL [B12B-2006]: BRIEFING

Chairperson: Mr L Mokoena (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Firearms Control Amendment Bill [B12-2006]
Portfolio Committee amendments to Firearms Control Amendment Bill [B12A-2006]
Firearms Control Amendment Bill [B12B-2006] with Portfolio Committee amendments added
Department briefing on Firearms Control Amendment Bill

SUMMARY
The Committee met with the Department of Safety and Security to receive a briefing on the Firearms Control Amendment Bill. The reasons for the amendments and the process that the Department had followed in drafting this Bill were explained. Recent public hearings held by the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee in August 2006 had led to further amendments in answer to concerns from the public. Some of the amendments included: The validity period of certain licences would be amended. Conditions would be imposed on ownership and possession. Temporary import permits for foreigners would be simplified. Admission of guilt fines would be imposed in terms of minor offences. Individuals with pending domestic offence cases would not be eligible for firearm licences.

Members asked numerous questions including the alleged slow pace of the registration application process, the need for security guards to receive semi-automatic weapons to counter the firepower of criminal gangs, the fact that silencers had no serial numbers, adverse consequences of the Act for gunshop owners and hunters, amnesty periods for people unable to register due to valid reasons, the number of licences issued up to this point, the problem of illegal firearms, the need of older people for guns for self-defence purposes and the scourge of home-made devices. 

MINUTES
Department of Safety and Security presentation

Adv Philip Jacobs (Assistant Commissioner: South African Police Services) stated that the reason for the Amendment Bill was to amend the Firearms Control Act of 2000. The Bill had been drafted after consultation with the prosecuting authority and consultative meetings with stakeholders such as the Firearms Appeal Committee. The draft Bill was also published for comment in the Government Gazette in February 2006. Numerous criticisms had been directed at the Act by interested parties such as professional hunters, gunshop owners and law enforcement agencies. He stated that a meeting had been held with the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding admissions of guilt fines for minor offences. 160 submissions had also been received from stakeholders at public hearings arranged by the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security.

He went over the changes that had been made to the Act which had been in operation since 1 July 2004. The Bill would not alter the existing renewal process but it amended the validity period of certain licences. Detail was provided on the various muzzle-loaders in existence. Muzzle-loaders did not require licences. However, the Bill would impose certain conditions on ownership and possession. The Bill made recommendations in respect of collection of firearms. All prohibited and restricted firearms collected would be made inoperable. The Heritage Agency would be involved in the collection process. The requirement for fingerprints would be amended. Temporary import permits for foreigners for hunting and sport-shooting would be simplified. The definition of juristic persons had been amended. Admission of guilt fines would again be imposed in respect of minor offences. The Bill would provide a category of licence for professional hunters. An informal forum for consultation would be created. The implementation of the Act would be streamlined. Any cases of domestic violence would be taken into consideration when evaluating an application for a firearm licence.

Discussion
Mr S Shiceka (ANC) referred to certain topical issues circulating in communities. One criticism was that the new Act had slowed down the licence application process. People needed firearms for self-protection purposes. He asked whether any empirical evidence existed to support the claims of a slow-down in the processing of applications. Another concern related to the recent spate of violent criminal acts such as cash-in-transit heists. Security companies were requesting high-calibre weapons to match those used by criminal gangs. Clarity was sought on the possibility of allowing guards to use semi-automatic weapons.

Mr M Mzizi (IFP) asked whether the licencing of guns for self-defence purposes was included in the Bill. He asked who would determine whether an individual was unfit to possess a firearm. Silencers had no serial numbers and that would hinder any criminal investigation. The presence of silencers in society was problematic as criminal acts and community violence could go undetected.

Mr J Le Roux (DA) noted that a common perception of the Firearms Control legislation was that law-abiding citizens would be disarmed while criminals continued to possess unlimited numbers of unlicenced firearms. The Act had resulted in adverse outcomes for gunshop owners, hunters and gunsmiths in the Eastern Cape as the hunting turnover had dropped. He asked whether the Bill would seek to reduce the administrative burden for the police.

Ms F Nyanda (ANC) asked whether all firearms owners would have to start afresh in terms of licence applications and registration.

Dr F Van Heerden (Freedom Front Plus) asked whether amnesty for those people with valid excuses, such as overseas travel, would be considered to allow for late registration. He asked if another period of amnesty would be considered for those people with home-made devices. The requirement of ordinary hunters to belong to an association seemed unrealistic. He asked whether ordinary hunters were obliged to belong to accredited associations.

Mr L Fielding (DA) noted that firearms were flooding into South Africa from Namibia on a daily basis while people travelling into Namibia had to possess licences. He asked whether steps would be taken to address the influx of weapons.

Mr D Worth (DA) asked for statistics on the number of licences issued up to this point and the number of application rejections since the Act was promulgated. He asked whether compensation would be paid to those who handed in firearms.

Dr Jacobs replied that no empirical evidence existed to support allegations of a slow-down in registrations. Many people tended to wait until the last minute before submitting licence applications. All firearms had to be reregistered irrespective of current status. The first batch was processed before March 2006 for people with birth-dates between January and March. The process would continue until 31 March 2009. Existing licences of people who did not reapply would remain valid until 30 June 2009. The Directorate of Public Prosecutions had agreed with this arrangement. Numerous ways existed to dispose of firearms. Older persons tended to give up firearms when moving into old-age homes. Valid reasons for a failure to register at the required time would be considered. The provision of high-calibre weapons to security guards to achieve parity with the criminal gangs would not be resisted. However, guards should only acquire semi-automatic weapons in the interests of public safety. American soldiers in Vietnam had dramatically reduced friendly-fire casualty figures when automatic weapons had been replaced by semi-automatic rifles. The SAPS would provide firearms training for security guard companies. Security companies had to revisit their operating models to reduce the number of deaths of guards. Back-up vehicles should be in place to support the lead vehicle. Surveillance tactics could be greatly improved.

Occasional hunters would receive a licence valid for ten years. Only persons competent to own firearms would receive licences. The ballistic identification system would still apply to guns with silencers. Cartridges could still be linked to a particular gun. Various types of silencers existed in the country. The use of silencers would be limited to specific purposes such as professional hunting. Operation Rachel continued and it sought to limit the import of illegal firearms into South Africa. Illegal firearms were being destroyed in Mozambique. Other measures were also being applied such as roadblocks to confiscate illegal firearms. The Bill sought to re-licence firearms. Certain firearms could be deactivated and retained as heirlooms if so desired. The Act had resulted in some negative consequences for the hunting fraternity in the first year of implementation. Citizens moving from one country to another with firearms on their person had to possess the necessary licences in accordance with international law. An import licence was necessary to import firearms into South Africa. All legal requirements had to be complied with. Fingerprints were necessary when applications for re-licencing were submitted. Further amnesty for new firearms and home-made devices was at the Minister’s discretion. Transitional provisions existed in the Bill for new firearms. Occasional hunters were not obliged to be members of accredited hunting associations. Such hunters could however join such a body at their own discretion. Statistics in terms of licences issued and the number of rejections would be provided to Members in due course. Compensation would not be contemplated for voluntary termination of ownership of guns.  Compensation would not be paid to those with illegal firearms. The possession of illegal firearms remained an offence and prosecution would follow.

Mr Z Ntuli (ANC) asked whether measures to re-licence firearms would necessarily address the proliferation of illegal firearms. Many licensed firearms became illegal when stolen.

Mr A Moseki (ANC) referred to the public hearings arranged by the Portfolio Committee and requested a sense of the views expressed by stakeholders. For example, many gun-related businesses had expressed displeasure at implications of the Act that had adversely impacted on sales.

Mr Mzizi asked for clarity on the provision that licence-holders could allow other persons to use their firearms under supervision.

The Chairperson provided the example of an old farmer that was declared incompetent to own a firearm but needed one for security purposes. He asked what options were available to such a person to ensure adequate safety. He asked if people had to be in possession of a home-made device before application for a permit was made. Further, why was the Secretary of Safety and Security defined in the Bill?

Dr Jacobs proposed that South Africa could have followed the British example where guns were used at clubs and then locked up on the club premises as one option. However, the Act had opted for the option of responsible firearm ownership. He stated that one objective of the Bill was to reduce the number of firearms in circulation in South Africa. The major problem of legal firearms being stolen and used for criminal purposes, remained. Firearm owners had to be more responsible to reduce the number of thefts. The number of firearms in the country had to be reduced. However, the right to own firearms would not be removed from law-abiding citizens. The Act had resulted in certain negative consequences for gun dealers and hunters but the national interest had to override narrow concerns. The licensed owners of guns had to supervise the use of their guns by others. The definition of the Secretary of Safety and Security had to be included in the Bill as no definition presently existed in the Act. In the case of old farmers, additional household licences could be applied for to ensure some form of security. Elderly farmers could also employ security guards if budget allowed. Such guards would have to acquire licenced firearms. Home-made firearms were illegal to possess unless the Minister declared an amnesty. Therefore, no licences for home-made weapons would be issued. The Department’s comments on all the submissions received would be presented to Members at some point.

The Chairperson concurred that a presentation on the submissions would be arranged in the near future to enable Members to acquire an understanding of the mindset of stakeholders and key issues. Criminal gangs had the technological expertise to change serial numbers of weapons that hindered police investigations.

Other matters: Alberton Magistrate’s Court
Mr Mzizi raised an issue concerning the poor conditions of the Alberton Magistrate’s Court discovered during a recent oversight trip by some committee members. Blocked sewers made it impossible to conduct business in the premises. The Magistrate was unable to attend court. The parties concerned refused to accept responsibility for the problem. The present facilities had to be used until new premises were constructed in 2007.

Mr Shiceka agreed that the problem had to be resolved urgently to allow magistrates to continue hearing cases.

The Chairperson stated that a report would be requested from the stakeholder meeting scheduled for Friday 20 October. A letter would be sent to the parties concerned seeking an explanation for the problem. Members would visit the site soon to gauge the extent of the problem.

The meeting was adjourned.

Audio

No related

Documents

No related documents

Present

  • We don't have attendance info for this committee meeting

Download as PDF

You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.

See detailed instructions for your browser here.

Share this page: