The Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, notes that the SAPS are reportedly experiencing an ammunitions shortage which impacts on officers’ ability to complete their firearms proficiency tests. Minister Fritz has written to Acting Police Commissioner General Sindile Mfazi seeking clarity on the SAPS ammunition shortages.
In a parliamentary question asked by Mireille Wenger, MPL, to then Community Safety Minister, Dan Plato, on 20 April 2018, it was revealed 4556 officers were not able to complete their firearm proficiency tests in the 2017/18 financial year and were consequently instructed to hand in their firearms.
Minister Fritz said, “I have written to the Acting Provincial Commissioner, General Mfazi, asking:
- Whether there is in fact an ammunitions shortage within the Western Cape SAPS?
- What the causes are for this ammunitions shortage?
- Whether any measures are in place to address the causes of these shortages? and
- What steps are being taken in the interim to ensure that officers are not removed from operations due to not being able to complete firearms proficiency testing?”
Minister Fritz further said, “Despite the Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s comment that the SANDF deployment had been a success, it should be noted that these relative successes are undermined by resource and training constraints within the SAPS. This was previously demonstrated by the state of detectives report and has again been highlighted by the reported ammunitions shortage.”
Under the leadership of Minister Fritz, the Department of Community Safety will continue to use every tool at its disposal, as per Section 206 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, to safeguard the Western Cape.
