Africa-Press – South-Africa. Police admitted the transportation of illegal firearms was not only costly, but also high risk, according to a communique sent to the Western Cape government last week.
The communique, which News24 has seen, follows discussions with the provincial government after a ministerial briefing to the National Council of Provinces in February.
The province has been pushing for a dedicated site to be established, where firearms can be destroyed.
In the communique, the provincial police commissioner, Thembisile Patekile, said the province was informed the matter could not be addressed at a provincial level; it would have to be escalated to a national level.
Staring down the barrel: Western Cape wants provincial site for destruction of illegal firearms
“The transportation of firearms to confiscated firearms, supply chain management, Silverton, Pretoria, for destruction purposes, is costly and of high risk,” he stated.
Patekile said there were implications involved in having a dedicated firearm construction site for the Western Cape.
He stated in the communique:
Currently, all illegal firearms confiscated by the police are sent to Gauteng, on a bi-annual basis, to be destroyed.
Patekile said that, although a decentralised process would be less risky, there was currently no destruction facility available in the Western Cape.
Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale responded to questions from the provincial government on whether they would consider a dedicated site to be established for the destruction of firearms.
Mathale told the committee:
The Western Cape legislature’s chairperson on community safety, Gillion Bosman, said: “Now, more than ever, we need to find ways to make this a reality. SAPS even says that a decentralised process would be less risky and more cost effective.
“This admission indicates that SAPS themselves is a stumbling block to the reforms we need to take illegal firearms off our streets. It is time for decentralisation of such mandates to be taken seriously.”
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