Hundreds of
thousands of State weapons missing
Hundreds of
thousands of State weapons missing: parliamentary investigation finds chaotic
conditions at Firearms Registry Office, Pretoria
23:32 Sep 24 2014 Pretoria, South
Africa
Description
South African Firearms Registry Office
in total chaos: hundreds of thousands of State weapons missing
Sept 24 2014 - Reported by the Democratic Alliance parliamentary commission visiting the Firearms Registration Office in Pretoria - http://www.da.co.za
"Hundreds of thousands of #firearms missing in SA: total chaos at weapons registration office in Pretoria: t SAPS has no control over firearms at all: Report by Deaan Vivier:
https://www.facebook.com/boerekrisisaksie/photos/a.178568022169751.48293.116298045063416/964732453553300/?type=1&theater
-- The parliamentary committee for the police investigated the shocking situation at the Firearms Registration Office in Pretoria during their visit.
"Chaotic scenes greeted the committee members, with thousands of new and completed firearms license-application documents stacked up in piles in hallways, on tables, shelves and on office floors..
Committee members, MPs, described this as a fire-hazard. The Firearms Registry also has no permanent head after the previous one was fired for 'alleged' corruption. Personnel complain about the stench of urine and faeces and said they were 'plagued by rates and bird-lice infestations. The MPs were visiting the offices as part of their visit to assess and investigate the police's ability to control crime effectively countrywide. The MPs committee chairman Francois Beukman said there's a strong link between violent crimes and the ability to control firearms. However committee members' jaws dropped in disbelief and shock when gen.maj. Bransby Luke, the acting head of the firearms registration office, and his provincial deputies admitted that they 'did not know what had happened to hundreds of thousands of firearms which had been licensed in the former South African homelands (bantustans) before 1994. And committee members heard that there was not a single database for firearms which would have to include the homelands registry in South Africa.
Beukman slammed this as an unacceptable situation. "We can't allow a situation where crime carried out with illegal and legal weapons is getting out of control. After twenty years of democracy we should be able to account for the weapons from the former homelands. We need to know who owns all the country's weapons,' he said. ( He didn't mention the many hundreds of thousands of illegal firearms which have never been on the registers and are being smuggled in at a huge rate from abroad. Criminals wouldn't ever step into any firearms registration office to have their illegal AK47s registered...).
DA-MP said she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the situation of the police cells at the Sunnyside police station in Pretoria, either. Some MPs actually said they were impressed with that police office however the MPs were shocked when they heard:
■ Of the huge personnel shortage in processing the mounting pile of firearms registration applications; (many white office workers were fired because of the Economic Empowerment laws and posts are being left open rather than filling them with white workers)
■ Things have gotten so far behind that more than 39,000 police officers themselves have no firearm registration permits to handle firearms;
■ Countless police officers at police stations who are handling firearms license registrations themselves are not properly trained to do so;
■ Many thousands of license-applications get lost in the 'problamatic filing system'
■ The same firearm can be licensed in all nine provinces seperately;
■ And one person can own as many as 120 firearms because of the huge holes in the present firearms-laws
The investigating committee of parliamentarians has called on national police chief and her top management to address these matters urgently - by installing a consolidated computer system and a 'clean, corruption-free firarms-registration database for effective firearm control. " The Weapons Registration Office also was ordered to provide an emergency plan to correct this problem before 7 October 2014 and the SAPS secretarat must submit a report to prevent more 'holes' being created in the registration process. The committee said out would provide urgent recommendations to parliament. The situaiton at the building was 'loathsome' said DA spokeswoman for police-affairs Diane Kohler Barnard http://www.da.co.za
Sept 24 2014 - Reported by the Democratic Alliance parliamentary commission visiting the Firearms Registration Office in Pretoria - http://www.da.co.za
"Hundreds of thousands of #firearms missing in SA: total chaos at weapons registration office in Pretoria: t SAPS has no control over firearms at all: Report by Deaan Vivier:
https://www.facebook.com/boerekrisisaksie/photos/a.178568022169751.48293.116298045063416/964732453553300/?type=1&theater
-- The parliamentary committee for the police investigated the shocking situation at the Firearms Registration Office in Pretoria during their visit.
"Chaotic scenes greeted the committee members, with thousands of new and completed firearms license-application documents stacked up in piles in hallways, on tables, shelves and on office floors..
Committee members, MPs, described this as a fire-hazard. The Firearms Registry also has no permanent head after the previous one was fired for 'alleged' corruption. Personnel complain about the stench of urine and faeces and said they were 'plagued by rates and bird-lice infestations. The MPs were visiting the offices as part of their visit to assess and investigate the police's ability to control crime effectively countrywide. The MPs committee chairman Francois Beukman said there's a strong link between violent crimes and the ability to control firearms. However committee members' jaws dropped in disbelief and shock when gen.maj. Bransby Luke, the acting head of the firearms registration office, and his provincial deputies admitted that they 'did not know what had happened to hundreds of thousands of firearms which had been licensed in the former South African homelands (bantustans) before 1994. And committee members heard that there was not a single database for firearms which would have to include the homelands registry in South Africa.
Beukman slammed this as an unacceptable situation. "We can't allow a situation where crime carried out with illegal and legal weapons is getting out of control. After twenty years of democracy we should be able to account for the weapons from the former homelands. We need to know who owns all the country's weapons,' he said. ( He didn't mention the many hundreds of thousands of illegal firearms which have never been on the registers and are being smuggled in at a huge rate from abroad. Criminals wouldn't ever step into any firearms registration office to have their illegal AK47s registered...).
DA-MP said she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the situation of the police cells at the Sunnyside police station in Pretoria, either. Some MPs actually said they were impressed with that police office however the MPs were shocked when they heard:
■ Of the huge personnel shortage in processing the mounting pile of firearms registration applications; (many white office workers were fired because of the Economic Empowerment laws and posts are being left open rather than filling them with white workers)
■ Things have gotten so far behind that more than 39,000 police officers themselves have no firearm registration permits to handle firearms;
■ Countless police officers at police stations who are handling firearms license registrations themselves are not properly trained to do so;
■ Many thousands of license-applications get lost in the 'problamatic filing system'
■ The same firearm can be licensed in all nine provinces seperately;
■ And one person can own as many as 120 firearms because of the huge holes in the present firearms-laws
The investigating committee of parliamentarians has called on national police chief and her top management to address these matters urgently - by installing a consolidated computer system and a 'clean, corruption-free firarms-registration database for effective firearm control. " The Weapons Registration Office also was ordered to provide an emergency plan to correct this problem before 7 October 2014 and the SAPS secretarat must submit a report to prevent more 'holes' being created in the registration process. The committee said out would provide urgent recommendations to parliament. The situaiton at the building was 'loathsome' said DA spokeswoman for police-affairs Diane Kohler Barnard http://www.da.co.za
