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In reply to a parliamentary question the Minister of Police has revealed that one-third or 91 191 SAPS firearms still need to be marked to clearly identify them as SAPS weapons. This means that it is impossible to track where many of the lost and stolen firearms end up. It certainly explains the low recovery rate of 7% when it comes to missing weapons.

In the last five years, 11 935 SAPS firearms have been lost or stolen

I shall be writing to the Independent Complaints Directorate today to request an investigation into the security of firearm storage, handling and identification.

The SAPS inability to keep track of their own weapons is fuelling the illegal firearms trade that they are supposed to be fighting. This is beyond unacceptable.

Levels of negligence, incompetence and outright criminality appear to be on the rise in the SAPS; this growing trend is evidenced by the extraordinarily high figure of R11 billion earmarked to defend civil claims against the SAPS.

The Minister needs to acknowledge this problem, apologise to the South African public, and begin to address it before it spirals completely out of control. The police service exists to stop crime and violence in South Africa, not contribute to it.