132 Hide and Seek: Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa C O Y U 6 D N U T RY S T SOUTH AFRICA Chandré Gould, Centre for Conflict Resolution Guy Lamb, Centre for Conflict Resolution Gregory Mthembu-Salter, Independent Researcher Steven Nakana, Centre for Conflict Resolution Dennis Rubel, Independent Researcher Introduction Researchers in many southern African countries involved in this study found it difficult, and in most cases impossible, to obtain accurate statistical data about the number of legal small arms in their countries, particularly those belonging to the state. South Africa was an exception as extensive official data is available. South Africa has the highest number of legally owned civilian firearms in the region. In mid-1996 nearly 2 million South African citizens legally owned 3 503 573 firearms. In 2004 there were 3 737 676 firearms licenced to individuals and institutions in the country. With so many civilian owners and a strong pro-gun lobby, it is to the credit of both the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the parliamentary sub- committee on Safety and Security that South Africa began implementing all provisions of its new firearms control legislation during 2004. This legislation introduced more stringent controls over civilian small arms than the Arms and Ammunition Act (No. 75 of 1969 and its subsequent amendments), which it replaced. The new law, known as the Firearms 134 Hide and Seek: Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa Country Study: South Africa 135 Control Act (No. 60 of 2000) was drafted with South Africa’s international For an assessment of the size of the South African National Defence Force and regional commitments to small arms control in mind. This chapter (SANDF) firearm holdings and the number of weapons lost and stolen examines these positive developments and sets out the SAPS firearm since 1994 see the section: “South African National Defence Force control policy which attempts to address small arms proliferation in South Firearms”. Africa and southern Africa.1 The section titled: “Other State-Owned Firearms” provides an overview of While advances are being made to improve the control over both civilian the apartheid homeland system and the extent to which the firearms and state-owned firearms, the huge number of legal firearms which enter previously belonging to homeland security forces have contributed to the the illegal pool through loss and theft remain a matter of concern. A 1995 illegal pool of arms in South Africa. report by the South African Police Service reflects this concern:2 Any discussion about the transfer of legal weapons to an illegal status in “The illegal importation and smuggling of firearms into South Africa, South Africa would be incomplete without reference to the provision of as well as the theft or robbery of firearms in legal possession, and firearms by state security forces to members of political parties in the early legal firearms reported lost, are certainly the most important factors 1990s. All the available information about the provision of weapons to the contributing to the apparent general availability of illegal firearms in Inkatha Freedom Party by the police during the early 1990s is presented. South Africa. The availability and alarming rise in the theft of Researchers did request information from the SANDF about the size and firearms and firearms reported lost, exacerbate the incidence of status of former liberation movement small arms stockpiles, but at the time violent crime”3 of writing that information had not yet been made available. The view that civilian legal small arms have been significant contributors to We consider the burgeoning private security industry in South Africa and the illegal pool of arms in South Africa is contentious. The pro-gun lobby the controls over small arms in the industry in the section titled: “Firearm argues that state-owned firearms contribute the greatest number of firearms Use and Control in the Private Security Industry”. to the illegal pool. This chapter seeks to inform the debate by assessing the size of legal national stockpiles and the extent of loss and theft of firearms The section titled: “Civilian Ownership and Illegal Firearms” considers the from state departments and civilian owners. nature and extent of civilian firearm ownership, as well as loss and theft of Chapter outline firearms from legal owners. An overview of the factors which influence the civilian demand for firearms is presented in the section: “Assessing the In the section titled: “South Africa’s Production and Export of Firearms”, Demand for Firearms”. we present an overview of the manufacturing industry and the controls on the import and export of firearms to and from the country. South Africa is Finally we assess the following: national controls over firearms, South the only county in southern Africa which has a significant arms Africa’s role in regional and international firearms control negotiations, and manufacturing industry. Since 1994 civil society has worked closely with the progress with regard to the implementation of the SADC Protocol on the government to ensure the effective regulation of arms exports and to ensure Control of Firearms, Ammunition and Other Related Materials. that the process is open to public scrutiny. Methodology We provide an overview of the SAPS firearms strategy, assess the size of SAPS firearms holdings and the extent of loss and theft from members of The objective of this chapter was to make available baseline data about the the police force in the section titled: “South African Police Service size and nature of national firearm stockpiles. In seeking to achieve this Firearms”. objective, the following was undertaken: interviews with key government 136 Hide and Seek: Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa Country Study: South Africa 137 officials, members of parliament, gun shop owners, representatives from applications for information within a short period of the introduction of the firearms and ammunition manufacturers, representatives from the security legislation. In response the Defence Force appointed an information officer industry and members of civil society organisations; an analysis of official to process all requests for information, who relays requests to the relevant statistics; an analysis of relevant legislation as well as government policy and officers within the Defence Force for their response. It was our experience other publications; a review of newspaper articles; internet searches; an that these requests, while taking a great deal of time to process, have been assessment of published material; and survey research. sufficiently met.4 Researchers were able to collect detailed information about: Requests for information from the SAPS were extensively delayed for bureaucratic reasons. Unlike the SANDF, the SAPS does not have a system • The number of civilian-owned firearms. to respond to requests in terms of the Act. Not all units understood how • The number and nature of firearms in the military stockpile. the Act operated and consequently did not deal with the requests immediately, or as required by the Act. • Police weapons. While the advantage of the Act was to provide a mechanism to ensure that • The numbers of weapons owned by other state departments. the relevant government department makes the requested information • Small arms owned and used by security companies. available, extensive follow-up was required to ensure that the request received the necessary attention. The fact that South African researchers were able to gain access to detailed data was a reflection of the relative sophistication of the South African Much of the qualitative information reflected in the sections on police and government’s data collection and management systems and the maturity of military stockpiles, losses and thefts was obtained through applications in democracy in the country. It is to the credit of the SANDF and the SAPS terms of this Act. that their representatives acted in the interests of transparency in providing the information contained in this report. Figures for the number of firearms The researchers licenced to civilians had been published over many years, but information Chandré Gould managed the research process and is the main author of about the size and nature of the military and police stockpiles was not this chapter. She undertook the research for the following sections: The widely documented in the public domain. South African Police Service and Firearms Control, South African National Defence Force Firearms, Civilian Ownership and Illegal Firearms, The Promotion of Access to Information Act Assessing the Demand for Firearms and Assessing Control Over Firearms and the Implementation of Regional and International Agreements. Much of the previously unpublished information in this chapter was the result of applications for information to the police and military in terms of Guy Lamb was responsible for the strategic management of the project the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) (No. 2 of 2000). This and undertook the into South Africa’s Production and Export of Firearms Act allows members of the public to gain access to information held by both and contributed to editing this chapter. public and private bodies in South Africa (within certain limits). Steven Nakana conducted telephonic interviews with gun clubs in South Since it was enacted, state structures have responded in varying degrees to Africa to describe the profile of sports shooters (see “Assessing the Demand the Act’s requirements. The Defence Force received large numbers of for Firearms”). He was also responsible for collecting and analysing open 138 Hide and Seek: Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa Country Study: South Africa 139 source information about the transfer of firearms from the police to the result, the industry shrank, with most factories closing down or converting Inkatha Freedom Party in the early 1990s (see The Provision of State- to civilian production.6 Owned Firearms to the IFP: A Case Study).