The Police Ministry says the public participation process of the Firearms Control Amendment Bill has been extended from July 5 to August 2.
Over 100 000 written submissions have been made since the bill was published in the Gazette for comments on May 21 this year. Most of the public comments reject the removal of the self-defence clause in the bill.
The amendment seeks to provide that no firearm licences may be issued for self-defence purposes; to provide for conditions under which a firearm licence for occasional hunting or sports-shooting may be issued; and to provide for the limitation on the number of firearm licences that an occasional hunter or sports-shooter may hold, among others.
Spokesperson Lirandzu Themba said the comments received oppose the repeal of the provisions pertaining to self-defence, the collectors of firearms and ammunition, private collectors, the reloading of ammunition, the restrictions on the number of firearms and ammunition that sport shooters and hunters may possess and the reduction in the licensing period.
Themba said Cele on Monday extended the legislative process that seeks to mould the Firearms Control Bill through public participation for 21 working days. This period will commence from July 5 and end on August 2.
“This decision follows the Civilian Secretariat for Police receiving a number of requests for information with particular interest in the Witwatersrand School of Governance, 2015 and the Firearms Committee 2016 Research reports, which formed the basis of the amendments.
“In the spirit of fairness and transparency, a decision was taken to make these research reports available and afford all members of the public an opportunity to have proper insight into the reports and provide informed comments when contributing to the strengthening of the bill.”