BRONWEN ROBERTS, Johannesburg | Monday 2.35pm.
MORE than 200000 unused small arms and light weapons are going to be destroyed as part of the government’s drive to stamp out illegal weapons, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said on Monday.
Speaking in Algiers at an Organisation for African Unity summit, Pahad said the exercise will be carried out over the next few months.
Proposals on a joint approach to curb the spread of illegal arms on the continent are expected to be adopted at the summit.
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THE government is drafting strict new anti-gun legislation to stem the proliferation of both legal and illegal weapons, the Safety and Security department said.
“Because most illegal guns start life as legal guns, it is necessary to reduce the proliferation of both,” the department said in a statement.
“The draft bill also contains new sections to strengthen the policing and prosecution for illegal possession of guns.”
The department dismissed as “nonsense”, however, reports that the legislation, if passed by parliament, would outlaw nine out of 10 legally owned firearms.
The Johannesburg Sunday Times said the proposed laws would force the country’s 2.5 million licensed gun owners to reapply for their licences and turn the application process into a lengthy, cumbersome bureaucratic process.
The new measures are an attempt to bring down the level of violent crime in the country, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with 20000 killings a year from a population of 42 million.
Licence fees will be increased from R50 to R500, while all applicants will be required to undergo a psychometric test determining whether their “main character traits and behavioural patterns” make them suitable gun owners, the Sunday Times said.
Anyone showing an inclination to violence, and anyone convicted of domestic violence, will be prohibited from owning a gun, the report said.
The legislation will limit handgun licences to one per person, restrict the magazine capacity of firearms and limit the amount of ammunition each licence holder can posssess to 100 rounds.
“The department will not comment further on this Bill until it has been approved by the Minster for Safety and Security and the cabinet.”
Anti-gun lobby group, Gun-Free South Africa, welcomed the legislation. Spokeswoman Sheena Duncan said she was convinced the law would help combat crime in a country where around 31 people die of gunshot wounds every day.
However angry pro-gun lobbyists, led by the South African Gun Owners’ Association, warned that they would campaign against the legislation, which they claimed would be amongst the toughest in the world.
“The association and the firearms industry will be marshalling all their resources to combat this irresponsible legislation,” said the association’s public relations officer, Juan de Greeff.
Greeff said the law could drive the R700-million a year retail arms and manufacturing industry to the wall, placing an estimated 80000 jobs at risk. — AFP