Efforts to curb gun violence in Gauteng

[00:00:00]Community participation is being placed at the center of efforts to curb gun violence in Gauteng. Organizers behind the newly launched gun-free Gauteng campaign say residents have a critical role to play in helping authorities remove illegal firearms from communities by reporting those who possess them unlawfully. Our reporter Katleho Sekhotho is at Y my my and this is a traditional market. Katleho, what conversations are taking place on the ground and what is the message from there?

[00:00:34]>> Thank you very much, Katleho. So, indeed the conversation has been brought right to the Joburg city center where the Gauteng portfolio community safety has brought [music] the message to the residents and saying that look, as community we want you to be involved in the fight against gun violence and play your part. And the officials have really urged residents to report where they know people have possession of unlicensed firearms and to also, you know, disclose their own firearms if they know that they have an illegal firearm that's not licensed to to take it to the nearest police station in order to as a community play their part.

[00:01:16]But I do have with me the CEO of Gun-Free South Africa to give us more, Mr. Maposa. Mr. Maposa, please can you tell us I mean your presence here today, you're working in partnership with the Gauteng provincial government. Just take us why take us through why it was important for you to be involved.

[00:01:34]>> It is important because, you know, the the the the Gauteng provincial legislature is a law-making body. [music] It also has got um oversight capacity and public participation capacity.

[00:01:48]And therefore coming with them here is exactly for that that the public should be aware of uh gun violence and its ramifications or consequences in the country, but also to take a message further as the legislature for laws that can be able to address this particular thing in How Tang. And How Tang is is one of the popular provinces and the economic hub of the country and we believe that whatever happens here would have an influence in other provinces so that we move towards creating a safe and more secure South Africa that has reduced gun violence. Gun violence is a crisis in this country. 30 people about 30 people or so are killed and shot and killed every day and 43 are injured by guns every day and that's not small numbers. Even if they were small, communities are losing their loved ones every day through gun violence and somebody must rise up to address it and we are so glad that the How Tang province through the legislature and the committee have taken this step.

[00:02:55]>> Mr. Maposa, one of the things we were talking about before this interview is that people have normalized, I guess, the possession of unlicensed firearms. How do you break that mold and try to show them that this is wrong?

[00:03:09]>> Normalization is a very very terrible thing because something is normalized, people begin to think it does not need to be addressed. And the where it breaks is when it happens closer to someone. If somebody gets to lose their loved one and they feel that this is because of firearms that have been used, then they wake up. And the we need to be addressing that through these campaigns that we are having here through family discussions. Each family must discuss and say, "Do we really really really need a firearm in this family? Is it going to produce safety or risks?" And there are many risks that are involved, losing the firearm, getting shot before you are prepared because our evidence that we have says if you have a gun, you are four to seven times likely to be shot at than somebody who doesn't have it. So, let's have these discussions from home to school to communities to churches to wherever we are and say can we be able to hold government accountable rather than taking the law into our own hands and trying to arm everybody in the streets?

[00:04:17]>> Yes. Yes. And I guess one of the things we had mentioned as well is that so many people who do perpetrate crimes and violence when they find themselves in a court of law and additional charges are added and it is that of you know possession of unlicensed firearm, there's almost a shock because they didn't count it as part of the crimes that they were committing.

[00:04:41]>> Definitely. Definitely. Through the normalization process when people then get into the court space and they are told this is 15 years to to be in possession of a firearm that's unlicensed. [music] They get to be shocked. Then even members of the public get to be shocked.

[00:04:56]It's so high. It's so much. But that's what the law says and therefore we are calling upon the enforcement and the implementation of the current law that we have. But secondly to really look at it because it's 25 years old. Where are the gaps [music] and what can we amend?

[00:05:11]>> And I guess just a last one Mr. Maposa.

[00:05:14]Are there any consequences for someone who perhaps they know themselves to have an unlicensed firearm and now they want to do things right. They declare it at the police station. Is that kind of a person will they find themselves in trouble?

[00:05:27]>> The the the the the the commander of GP police station said people should come forward and there will be no charge for that. And let people take advantage of that. But time and again the government puts up amnesties and those amnesties are meant exactly [music] for that. But I believe that even before the amnesty happens, if you just go there and say, "I'm tired of this thing. I've been using it. I don't see it being useful anymore. It's causing more stress and risk on me." Police will definitely help you. In every police station, there's somebody called the designated firearms officer, DFO. If you check for that person, they'll definitely help you.

[00:06:07]>> Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Maposa. So, there you've heard it from Mr. Maposa. He's the CEO of Gun Free South Africa. Just explaining there that the encouragement by all police stations, but especially the GP station commander who was saying earlier on that people can actually declare their unlicensed firearms and there will be some level of amnesty there. But even if before that period is presented, people are welcome to do that. And also encouraging community members themselves, if they know someone who has a gun, to declare it. You know, the this conversation, the dialogue today [music] did note the latest crime statistics within the province that were presented earlier on in the week marking 15% decrease of murder rates during that period in Gauteng, but that over about 280 firearms were then you know, confiscated [music] during that time as well. So, as much as there have been some gains, still a lot of work to be done by communities and law enforcement officials as well.

[00:07:10]>> And I suppose Katlehong with the conversations that are happening on the ground, there's also a lot of efforts being put on a global level. I mean, the Gun Free South Africa is just one of those organizations that is calling for the World Health World World Health, pardon me, Organization to classify firearm violence as a health priority and just to take a public health approach.