IMPLEMENTATION OF FIREARMS CONTROL ACT, 2000

IMPLEMENTATION OF FIREARMS CONTROL ACT, 2000

DRAFT REGULATIONS

PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE 2003-11-18

1. The initial target date for the full implementation of the Act, was 30 October 2003. Two processes were in progress simultaneously, namely the amendments to the Firearms Control Act, and the drafting of the Regulations.

2. The Firearms Control Amendment Bill has been approved by the National Assembly, and has also been approved on 18 November 2003, by the National Council of Provinces. It now only need to be signed by the President to become law. Upon signature, by the President, the Act will come immediately into operation and effect the necessary amendments to the Firearms Control Act, 2000.

3. A set of draft Regulations, covering the whole Act, in respect of matters which can, must or may be prescribed in terms of the Act, was published for public comments early this year. From that set of draft Regulations, the Accreditation Regulations were finalized and published, on 30 June 2003, after approval thereof by the Portfolio Committee for Safety and Security. At the same time the sections of the Act, dealing with accreditation have been put into operation by the President. Accreditation in terms of the Act commenced on I July 2003. The process is ongoing and liaison in this regard to promote the process, is also ongoing.

4. Although the set of Draft Regulations, which was published earlier this year, was intended to cover the whole Act, more technical input has been received from the functional side. The forms to the Draft Regulations have also not been previously published for comments, although the drafting thereof has been finalized, pending a final decision from Parliament, whether the forms may be excluded from the regulations. Parliament decided against such exclusion, and the forms are ready to be attached to the Draft Regulations. A copy of the Draft Regulations and forms were made available to the Committee during October 2003. It should, however, be pointed out that further technical drafting input has been received from the State Law Advisers as recent as 11 November 2003. This is now being addressed in the current draft.

5. Due to the differences between the initial draft and the present, which is near complete, with its forms, a huge number of representations were received from individuals and organisations appealing to the Portfolio Committee and the Minister for Safety and Security, for Public Hearings on the draft Regulations and an opportunity to comment on the latest version of the Regulations and the forms.

6. Irrespective of how many times one would consult, after each consultative process one will end up with a new draft. Naturally the process must come to finality at some stage.

7. Furthermore, public hearings were in the past not held in respect of Draft Regulations. The decision on how to deal with the matter lies with the Committee, but the following is being suggested:

- In view of the huge costs involved in the publishing of such a voluminous document, it is proposed that the Draft Regulations, with its forms, be made available for a last time for public comments. The finalized draft can be ready to be placed on the Website of the South African Police Service, and the Parliamentary Monitoring Group on Tuesday 25 November 2003.

- The South African Police Service also has address lists and e-mail addresses of most of the stakeholders and interested parties in respect of firearms issues, and will also e-mail the draft Regulations and forms to those involved. The experience in the past has been that this type of information is quickly distributed and made available amongst the interested groups and persons.

- An opportunity to comment on the documents can be granted until 5 January 2004. The placing of the Draft Regulations on the Website should be accompanied by a press statement by the Committee, inviting public comments. The South African Police Service will also make a press statement to that effect.

- Comments received can be worked through and with the first meeting of the Portfolio Committee in 2004, the final Draft Regulations can be submitted to the Portfolio Committee for consideration.

- This report back to the Committee, must include an account of how the representations were dealt with in finalizing the draft regulations. The National Council of Provinces has indicated that it would also want to consider the Draft Regulations before promulgation. If the Regulations are approved in time, the Act can be put in full operation, and the Regulations published on 1 March 2004. One must ensure that this date is realistic, in that a submission must be made to the President for the commencement of the outstanding sections of the Act, and the Regulations must be published to coincide with the commencement of those section. The commencement of the outstanding sections of the Act will also repeal the existing Arms and Ammunition Act, 1969

8. These are however merely suggestions, for consideration by the Committee. Although the initial target date has not been reached, the draft will be ready for publication on the Internet by 25 November 2003.