Govt trying to hamstring private sector - ZACP
11 June 2019
Minister Bheki Cele’s proposed amendments to the Private Security Industry Regulations (2002) regarding firearms and uniforms used by the security industry are highly ambiguous and incompetently written. And they will effectively neuter and disarm the entire private security industry.
According to the proposals, “semi-automatic” firearms may be used “only for security services aimed at protecting valuables which are being transported”, and uniforms “may not be made from fabric…which are any shade of blue, or which have a camouflage design or pattern.”
Armed response officers will be prohibited from carrying semi-automatic pistols (which is by far the most common armament in this line of work) during the execution of their duties. Tactical intervention, anti-hijacking, close-protection, and anti-poaching units will similarly be deprived of semi-automatic handguns, rifles, and carbines.
This means that anti-poaching operatives will have to face dangerous poaching syndicates, who are armed with fully-automatic AK47s, with nothing more than the equivalent of a bolt-action hunting rifle. To exacerbate matters further, they will also be banned from wearing any form of camouflage-pattern uniform while deployed in the bush.