1,365 MILLION FIREARM LICENCE APPLICATIONS
The Minister of Police, Mr. Nathi Mthethwa, has confirmed that there has been 1 365 203 applications for the renewal of firearm licences in terms of the new Firearms Control Act (Firearms Act) since the Act coming into force until the end of October of this year. He was replying to a question of Mr. Pieter Groenewald of the Freedom Front Plus in Parliament. Of these applications, 499 043 have been approved, 15 766 denied and 2 009 are on appeal.
"These figures confirm that the backlog in the processing of the applications by the Police is more than 800 000. It is basically impossible that the undertaking of the Minister that the backlog in the renewal of licences of firearms will be completed within nine months will be met. What is also worrying is that there are approximately four million firearms in the country and only 1,3 million applications for re-licensing was received.
More than 2,7 million firearms are therefore still on the old system in terms of the previous Act. It confirms the view and supports the FF Plus' proposal to the Minister that all old licences should remain legal and only new purchases of firearms should be licensed in terms of the new Act," Mr. Pieter Groenewald (MP), the chief spokesperson on Police for the Freedom Front Plus said.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY - FOR WRITTEN REPLY - QUESTION NO 3197
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 5 NOVEMBER 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 36- 2010)