New law to curb arms proliferation
THE government on Thursday tabled the
Firearms and Ammunition Control Bill, 2014, that intends to repeal the
Arms and Ammunition Act and re-enact it to effectively manage and
control ownership and usage of firearms and ammunitions in the country.
“The uncontrollable ownership of
firearms and ammunitions within the country due to an influx of refugees
fleeing in the country has necessitated the re-enactment of the Act,”
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Pereira Ame Silima told the House, noting
that the current Act is weak.
Ownership of firearms and ammunitions to
licensed people is restricted in the envisaged new Act, which also
proposes strict conditions for one to qualify for such licence from the
registrar of firearms and ammunition.
It further suggests 25 as the minimum
age for a licence holder, with the applicant required to undergo
competency test at an approved government institution. The Bill also
proposes for the maximum age of those owning the firearms.
Mr Silima cited lack of specific age,
special training and existence of two institutions — the police force
and local government authorities — that issue licences to own firearms
as some of the weaknesses of the current Act that the Bill seeks to
address. It also disqualifies drunkards, mentally challenged, violent
and convicts of crime offences from owning firearms.
Mr Silima told the House that the
envisaged Act that intends to have a special clause to regulate private
security companies in the country will also criminalise the importation
of toy guns and clearly identify small arms and light weapons that
members of the public can own.
A national identification mark for every
small and light weapon becomes a legal requirement in the Bill, said Mr
Silima, noting that hitherto, 31,050 weapons of individuals have been
marked, with 85 per cent of weapons under the care of government
institutions having been marked already.
Institutions whose weapons have been
marked are the Police Force, Prisons Department, Wildlife Department,
Tanzania National Parks, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority,
district councils, financial institutions and banks, mining companies
and private security companies.
Debating the Bill, MPs proposed for
harsh penalties against defaulters, opposing the proposed fine as one of
the punishment. “Persons who own firearms illegally are just murderers;
they should be directly condemned to five-year jail term without a fine
option,” said Mr Steven Ngonyani (Korogwe Rural-CCM).
Mr Augustino Maselle (Mbogwe- CCM)
advocated support for individuals with talent in the manufacture of
firearms instead of suppressing their aptitude.
Some MPs decried the indiscriminate sale
of weapons in the country, saying weapons should never be readily
available as other tradable goods.
“I am a bit worried with the system of
selling weapons in the country … firearms are not goods that one could
access anywhere. We should avoid commercialising firearms,” Mr
Deusdelius Mipata (Nkasi South - CCM) charged. The Bill was passed last
evening following a debate by MPs.
