Issued by: Ministry for Safety and Security
13 MAY 1999
Subject: Implementation of Amendment to Section 8 (1) of the Arms and Ammunition Act, 1969
Part of Government's commitment and strategy to fight crime and violence is to stem the proliferation of small arms which is one of the major contributing factors to the level of violent crime in South Africa.
One of the areas identified that contributes to the proliferation of small arms was the provisions of Section 8(1) of the Arms and Ammunition Act, 1969. This section of the Act allowed a licenced firearm holder to lend his or her firearm to any person by means of a letter of permission, as long as that person was older than 16 years of age and not someone who had been disqualified to possess a firearm.
This provision was being abused by criminals and other persons whose possession of firearms was not desirable.
As a result an urgent amendment to Section 8(1) was made and subsequently passed by Parliament during its last session.
The amendment will come into operation on 14 May 1999.
In order to ensure smooth implementation of the amendment to Section 8(1) the Department of Safety and Security and the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Bulelani Ngcuka, have agreed that a grace period of 14 days be allowed after the amendment comes into effect.
This is to allow those persons in possession of firearm in terms of the current Section 8(1) to hand back those arms to their rightful owners.
In effect, the amendment will only allow a licenced firearm holder to lend his or her firearm to another person who also has a firearm licence while the borrower is on land belonging to or lawfully occupied by the lender. This will ensure that only people who already have a firearm licence approved by the South African Police Service will be able to borrow a firearm.
Secondly, the amendment allows a licence holder to store the firearm in the safe of another licence holder.
The implementation of these amendments represent a considerable tightening up of the provisions of Section 8(1) of the Arms and Ammunition Act, 1969 and will contribute to a reduction in the number of arms in our society.
A new Firearm Control Act will be tabled in Parliament during August or September 1999. The current amendment will therefore be of short duration.
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