I am a retired theologian, educator and human rights activist.

On the basis of my theological perspective on how "life is meant to be lived" and of varied experiences in settled and transitional or threatened societies, I have had to make value decisions in respect of safety and security, at personal and wider levels.

I believe that the most durable and reliable safety and security for individuals, communities and wider society is built on justice, mutually caring relationships and the developed practice of non-violent dispute resolution procedures.

I welcome the Firearms Control Bill and urge its passage because:

1. It provides for stricter and more consistent regulation of licensed firearms;
2. It restricts people with track records of anti-social attitudes and behaviour from being licensed to own and use firearms;
3. It promotes or can be used to promote a culture of responsible gun ownership.

The "Story of a Gun" by Jan Hennop ( Sunday Times, July 1999) vividly illustrates the ease with which a licensed firearm can become illegal. It demonstrates the need for a holistic approach to firearms control, addressing both licensed and unlicensed guns.

In the story, licensed gun owner A left his gun with his sister B when going away on a trip. Her boyfriend C found the gun in a cupboard and "borrowed" it. When visiting a restaurant he handed it in for safekeeping. Later that evening, he was involved in a drunken brawl, so the restaurant owner D refused to return it to him.

In fact, D needed a weapon to use in an attempt to assassinate her husband who was in Hermanus with his girlfriend. Unfortunately for her, the hired assassin informed the police. She was arrested, tried and sentenced.

The story said NOTHING about legal action against any of the others:

• A, the owner of the licensed firearm, for not storing it in a safe when not carrying it;
• B, the sister, who accepted care of a weapon she was not licensed to have and negligently stored it in a cupboard; and
• C, the boyfriend who "borrowed" the weapon without any legal right whatsoever.

Clearly, the new legislation must tighten up provisions dealing with licensing and legal firearms, so that the latter do not so easily become illegal -- as in the above story..

Despite this general support, however, I would like to propose two amendments to the Bill, the first involving the creation of an Independent Firearms Authority, and the second the introduction of a restorative justice option for young offenders.

I suggest the amendment of section 126 to create an Independent Firearms Authority, able to work in conjunction with the SAPS and SANDF in all aspects of the control of firearms.

At present,the proposed clause vests total responsibility in the command structures of the SAPS, but there is a lack of clarity as to how this would actually work.

Recently, SAPS job advertisements included one for a Western Cape Provincial Superintendent for the Control of Drugs, Alcohol and Firearms (at the level of station commander). Presumably, the officer would have a network of trained personnel at sector and local levels.

However, I know from participation in the Claremont (Cape) Community Police Forum that the Claremont police area is said to have some ninety liquor outlets. It is clear that liquor licences alone require substantial work. No single officer could cope with liquor, drugs and firearms. Nor is there at present any transparency regarding applications for firearms licences.

Furthermore, I know from personal experience that there are significant problems in the systems whereby work responsibilities are divided and in the skills deficiencies prevailing at Community Service Centre level..

Overall, the proposed legislation lays on government the duty to pay very close attention to these deficiencies in the skills and systems in the police sector. If the process of implementing firearms control leads to such attention, so much the better.

However, there is a further problem. The compromises involved in the political transition have left us with many "grey areas". There have been too many reports on corruption and human rights abuses in the SAPS and too little transparency in how the police deal with "disciplinary" matters.

We therefore need a strong element of civilian involvement in monitoring and control. In fact, the establishment of an independent Firearms Control Authority, which would have to work closely with the SAPS, seems indispensable.

Some will say the whole process is being made impossibly expensive. But at present firearms related violence wastes scarce resources of personnel and material in the public health sector -- a few years ago, of a R500 000 upgrade of the Manenberg primary health care centre R350 000 had to be spent on 'security' and only R150 000 on actual health resources. That story could be repeated a thousand times across the country. And we all know of so many other economic costs of crime fuelled by easy access to lethal weapons -- lost human resources due to firearms-related death, lost person power due to injuries, not to mention lost investment and job-creation opportunities because entrepreneurs look for safer havens. In other words, expenditure on effective and efficient firearms control should be regarded as part of the comprehensive effort to build prosperity, i.e. as investment, not water into a leaky bucket.

At the same time, however, I would like to stress that it is not enough to throw money at a problem. That is blindingly obvious in relation to our educational sector. We have to seek the best possible synergies in the development of management systems and human resources so that there are real productivity gains in curbing crime. In turn, this will generate important savings and economic gains.

Penalties

I would like to propose the insertion of a new section 125, to read:

The penalties in the existing Bill fit in with our current penal and corrective services policies. However, they do not sufficiently acknowledge the problems and limitations in these and the need to develop constructive alternatives/supplements. This is shown in the recently published Juvenile Justice Bill.

Particularly in regard to young offenders, there is a need for the kind of approach illustrated in Kevin's Sentence: A Restorative Justice Story.

Kevin(19), with two friends Joey and Andrew, drove recklessly after a party. The car hit a tree. Joey and Andrew were killed. Kevin was totally shocked and remorseful. The prosecutor wanted Kevin to go to gaol, but Joey's and Andrew's parents pleaded for community service.

Subsequently, the prosecuting sergeant, Joey's mother and Andrew's father teamed up with Kevin and in twelve months they spoke to some 8300 students at 100 schools. A video tape "Kevin's Sentence" was made and circulated to over 1,000 schools.

The prosecuting sergeant later said the programme had done more to deter youngsters from drunk and reckless driving than any other effort made by the authorities - and certainly more than just putting Kevin in gaol would have done. (Summarised from Jim Consedine's Restorative Justice. See Appendix 1).

The proposed legislation offers a timely opportunity for the relevant state departments (SAPS, Justice, Correctional Services, Welfare, Education, etc.) , in cooperation with appropriate CBOs and NGOs ,to invest resources in developing pilot projects in restorative justice for younger offenders in respect of firearms related crimes.

This is particularly important in view of the culture of violence and fascination with/fear of firearms which prevails among children and youth in our society. I refer you to the submission of Soul City: Institute for Health and Development Communication which reported on two research projects. They said inter alia:

"Violence, mostly gun-related violence, was an undeniable part of the experience of all South African children. It is important to note that it was both domestic and community violence that children reported."

"In all instances they showed a sense of powerlessness about gun-related violence"

"(the Wattville study) showed us that children had relatively easy access to guns. The children were given disposable cameras to take home and were instructed to take photos of anything that they saw as hazardous. Numerous photographs of guns were handed in by the children."

I was struck by the fact that Soul City wanted the age of eligibility (for a firearms licence) to be "radically changed to 25 years".

I refer you also to reports of Yizo Yizo and of the Safer Schools Project of the Western Cape Education Department.

We have a violent history as a country. In the past decade we have nonviolently negotiated a transition to political democracy, but are nowhere near socio economic justice for the vast majority. At present, and for many years to come, we are faced with living through an incomplete and difficult process in which there are, inevitably, many fears and frustrations -- which cannot simply be debated away.

Let us acknowledge that we live in a stressed and violent society in which children and youth are in actual fact being socialised into an acceptance of violence and guns as a way to control and get what you want. Restorative justice is an important approach towards re-socialising young offenders so that they learn to value themselves as human beings and their community as the essential context of human fulfilment.

In conclusion I wish to commend the Department of Safety and Security and the staff of this Portfolio Committee for the work they have done so patiently and competently, often under very difficult pressures. I thank you, the members of this committee, for the opportunity to share the concerns of a (re)tired activist.. I trust your work will contribute significantly to our task of building a safe, secure and prosperous nation.

Thank you. Nkosi. Veel en dank.

Appendix 1: Restorative Justice - Healing the Effects of Crime, "Kevin's Sentence"

Appendix 2: Pamphlet "Decade to overcome violence 2001-2010" WCC