Book on firearms control launched

WINDHOEK – The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has launched a book that examines the trade, use and control of firearms in nine Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states.

Hide and Seek:Taking Account of Small Arms in Southern Africa is based on a comprehensive study initiated by the University of Cape Town. It was conducted from 1994 to 2003 in South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana.Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could not be included at the time because of the civil wars in the two countries.Speaking at the launch last week, the Manager of South Africa’s Programme on Peace and Security, Guy Lamp, said it could contribute significantly to the formulation of firearms legislation by SADC members and other African countries.Lamp suggested that research should be conducted in Angola and the DRC to set up appropriate strategies to control weapons left over from the war.”We have discovered that there are many illegal and unregistered firearms and people claim to keep these weapons for self-protection and hunting,” he said.IPPR’s Martin Boer said firearms caused more deaths in South Africa than in Namibia.He further said Namibia had the best firearms legislation in the SADC region, which enabled the Police to confiscate unregistered firearms.”Some countries do not have proper strategies to enable them to collect illegal weapons and this is dangerous,” he said.Boer is optimistic that the book can help solve Africa’s firearms problems.Members of the public can obtain the book free of charge at the IPPR office.- NampaIt was conducted from 1994 to 2003 in South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana.Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could not be included at the time because of the civil wars in the two countries.Speaking at the launch last week, the Manager of South Africa’s Programme on Peace and Security, Guy Lamp, said it could contribute significantly to the formulation of firearms legislation by SADC members and other African countries.Lamp suggested that research should be conducted in Angola and the DRC to set up appropriate strategies to control weapons left over from the war.”We have discovered that there are many illegal and unregistered firearms and people claim to keep these weapons for self-protection and hunting,” he said.IPPR’s Martin Boer said firearms caused more deaths in South Africa than in Namibia.He further said Namibia had the best firearms legislation in the SADC region, which enabled the Police to confiscate unregistered firearms.”Some countries do not have proper strategies to enable them to collect illegal weapons and this is dangerous,” he said.Boer is optimistic that the book can help solve Africa’s firearms problems.Members of the public can obtain the book free of charge at the IPPR office.- Nampa