Barry Streek
Despite pending gun control legislation, more than one million applications for firearm licences have been approved in the democratic South Africa, “but the rate of stolen” firearms is lower this year than the previous two years.
This was revealed by Minister of Safety and Security Steve Tshwete when he replied to a question tabled in the National Assembly by the United Democratic Movement’s Annelize van Wyk.
Between January 1994 and September 1999, 1 104 081 applications for firearm licences were approved, with the highest number in 1994, when 236 033 applications were approved.
By September this year, 18 717 firearms had been “stolen”, an average of 2 080 a month or 70 a day.
In 1998, 30 195 firearms were stolen. This is an average of 2 516 a month or 84 a day, while in 1997, 29 292 firearms were stolen, averaging 2 450 a month or 82 a day.
Tshwete explained that the term “stolen” included firearms reported as lost, stolen or missing.
He told Parliament that in the first nine months of this year, 154 043 applications for firearm licences were received and 142 670 had been approved by the end of September.
ENDS