Durban — Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) has provided three immediate actions the government can take to stop gun violence.
GFSA said that the government must act decisively to prevent gun massacres.
GFSA was reacting to the latest gun massacres in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
It said that those massacres will not be the last if the government again makes empty promises of action.
GFSA said that the same promises were made in July last year when 21 people were shot and killed and 20 were left injured in three separate shootings in taverns in Gauteng and KZN.
The government responded by deploying Crime Intelligence, forensic experts, tactical and organised crime units to track the perpetrators and hold them responsible.
GFSA said this was not enough.
GFSA said that a gun massacre cannot happen without guns. The increasing flood of guns and ammunition into our society mean more gun violence, including gun massacres. Currently, 30 people are shot and killed every day in South Africa.
GFSA director Adèle Kirsten said: “It is clear that government did not use the 2021 massacres to develop a strategy and plan of action to deal with increasing levels of gun violence and to curb the proliferation of guns.”
GFSA said reports dribble in that SAPS has recovered a gun at a random roadblock here, and another gun at a stop and search there.
It said this was not enough.
“To deal with the scale of the problem right now requires a clear strategy, good intelligence and the focus has to shift from not only arresting the criminals but to also recovering and destroying the guns to stop them being used again and again, as well as to stopping guns leaking into criminal hands in the first place,” Kirsten said.
GFSA said decisive action was needed to stop the epidemic of gun violence in South Africa. Three immediate actions by the government can help stop the slaughter:
- Prioritise the voices of community members living with high levels of gun violence and not a vocal but a small minority of gun owners.
- Table the Firearms Control Amendment Bill in Parliament to limit guns and owners, as licensed guns are the biggest source of illegal guns in the country.
- Establish and resource a specialised firearms unit to:
– Recover and destroy legal and illegal guns and ammunition.
– Tighten controls over legal guns and ammunition to stop leakage into criminal hands.
“Fewer guns mean a safer South Africa, GFSA said.
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