On 15 February, the South African Police Service Central Firearm Registry confirmed in a press release that firearm licence applications have been delayed due to various reasons, with the Covid-19 pandemic being the leading one.
The South African Police Service is affected by the surging Covid-19 pandemic, and this situation has resulted in unexpected consequences on the service delivery front.
According to Police management, it is common knowledge this virus has been the cause for employees to frequently self-isolate after having tested positive or being in contact with persons who tested positive for the virus, and the Police had not been immune to this.
Honeydew Police spokesperson, Captain Balan Muthan confirmed the delays when the Northsider asked him to reflect on the matter, and indicated that the delay is mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As you know, the police working at head office and all over the country are not immune to this Covid-19 and due to such, this virus has caused a delay in all applications throughout the country. Upon management announcing the delay, we ask the community and the public at large to please be patient with us,” said Captain Muthan.
In compliance with the National Disaster Management Act Regulations as well as other safety-related protocols, police members are operating at reduced capacity in order to mitigate the spread of the virus.
According to the Police, applications for licences in respect of surrendered firearms during the amnesty period compounded the situation after the total number of firearm licence applications increased by more than 80 per cent for the duration of amnesty.
Applications for licences in respect of surrendered firearms require an entirely different process to that of a normal renewal of licences, which inevitably prolongs the turn-around time for their finalisation.
In the light of this situation, the turn-around time for a firearm licence application is longer than the normal 90 working days.
After taking all factors into consideration as well as to allow for proper administration of firearm licence applications, the period for the finalisation of these applications has been extended from 90 working days to 120 working days.
Firearm licence applicants are therefore requested to please exercise patience and allow the police to do due diligence in administering these applications.
They have given the assurance that everything possible is being done to process these applications within the new 120 working days turn-around time.
