Proliferation of guns poses a regional threat

LIVES are lost daily because of the irresponsible and criminal handling of lawful and unlawful firearms, Namibian Police Chief Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga told a regional police gathering at the coast this week.

Opening a three-day meeting of the SADC Regional Co-ordinating Committee (RCC) on the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons at Swakopmund, Ndeitunga said the proliferation, circulation and trafficking of firearms aggravated violence, contributed to the displacement of innocent people and stimulated crime and terrorism.’If allowed to go on unchallenged, the proliferation of arms will not only pose a threat to our regional security, peace and political stability, but also hold back our socio-economic development,’ he said.’The RCC must continue to be the regional catalysts in upholding peace and security through promoting and maintaining mutual beneficial relations among member states,’ he said.The Police Inspector General said that new technology to combat weapons trafficking, by detecting gunpowder and drug residues, would be unveiled at the meeting. ‘Technology makes our daily operations easier and manageable. These days new technology is amazing and every day you hear about some new technological wonder,’ he said.However, he said the discussions involving the new technology would be ‘confidential’ and behind closed doors. The three-day meeting was attended by representatives of the Southern African Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation (SARPCCO), of which Namibia’s chief of Police, Lieutenant General Sebastian Ndeitunga, is the chairman.