MEC Yawa welcomes endorsement of 2010 Firearm Amnesty by the taxi industry. The support that the 2010 Firearm Amnesty campaign has received from the taxi industry in the North West province demonstrates unmatched maturity and a commitment towards a violence free transport industry, North West MEC for Public Safety, Howard Yawa remarked with pride on Tuesday.
The Firearm Arm Amnesty campaign which ends in three weeks time has thus far received endorsement from across all structures of the North West provincial taxi council. The Northern Regional Taxi Council and the Greater Rustenburg Taxi Cooperative which has a total fleet of 4 017 taxis also expressed its support for the call for citizens to surrender illegal and legal firearms at the launch of the provincial outreach programme to intensify the campaign held last month.
“Seventy five percent of economically active citizens who use our fleet to commute to various destinations on a daily basis deserve safety in their homes and the best safety that can be offered is a gun free taxi industry of the rainbow nation” emphasised Patrick Nare, Public Relations Officer for Northern Regional Taxi Council.
Nare said that as responsible public transport service providers, his council fully supports the Firearm Amnesty campaign and condemn illegal usage and possession of firearms “within our rainbow nation”. He said that the Department of Public Safety is there to maintain public order; to protect and secure inhabitants therefore citizens should surrender illegal firearms because “we are protected like kings and queens”.
MEC Yawa had also underlined that the impact of crime perpetuated through guns, legal and illegal have shattered many dreams, crushed many aspirations, aborted high expectations and claimed many innocent lives in homes, along the streets, in schools and in communities.
Yawa said, through the campaign themed: “Awulethe Umshini Wakho: Surrender Your Firearm”, citizens are urged to heed the clarion call to handover illegal firearms and ammunition to any police station in the province within the Amnesty period which ends on the 11 April 2010.
“The aim of the campaign is to promote a safer environment, reduce the high crime rate related to firearms use and contribute towards Crime Prevention initiatives within the province,” said Yawa.
He further urged members of the community who have inherited firearm or are in possession of a firearm that belonged to a deceased person for which they do not have a legal firearm license, permit or authorisation to surrender such firearms and ammunitions or to face the full might of the law.
Support for the campaign has also been echoed by traditional leaders in Moretele, Makapanstad United Taxi Association (Mauta) and Ngobi Taxi Association during the campaign outreach campaign held last week at Makapanstad taxi rank, Mothibistad, Carousel View and Mogegelo.
The campaign is supported by North West Business Against Crime and Gun Free South Africa and the provincial Community Policing Board who are also part of the provincial monitoring team together with the Provincial Department of Public Safety.
Enquiries:
Lesiba Moses Kgwele
Tel: 018 381 9171
Fax: 018 381 9123
Cell: 083 629 1987
E-Mail: LKgwele@nwpg.gov.za
