Hon House Chair and hon members, the ANC support the proposed firearms amnesty from 1 December 2009 to 31 may 2020. We have waited long to reach this point in making our country safe.
Hon members, this firearms amnesty will be the third such amnesty in the country's democratic history. We held a very successful amnesty in 2005 and 2010. We did this because we knew that we need to remove firearms from the hands of ruthless criminals who used their stolen firearms to kill our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters as well as our children.
In 2017, the previous Minister Mbalula briefed the Cabinet on 2 March 2017 on his intention to declare an amnesty in terms of the Firearm Control Act.
For a period of six months to maximise the participation of the community, we were not able to process that amnesty and the current Minister, Minister Cele, tabled a new notice to parliament requesting that we support the proposed firearm. Section 139 subsection 2(a) of the Firearm Control Act of 2000 provides that an amnesty can only be declared with the approval of Parliament.
What the hon said when he mentioned that we want to bulldoze, we are not bulldozing. Hence we are bringing it here with the facts that we have. It is so sad that what they are saying today is what they have mentioned and they find clarity in the portfolio committee. Now they come and grandstand as if we never addressed all these questions that they are raising here today. [Applause.]
Hon Chair and members, the SAPS crime statistics report showed that out of 21 022 murders of 2018-19, firearms have been used in 7 157 cases and 4 720 on knives.
I also want to respond to what the hon member of the DA has said. He said that the amnesty is not going to assist at all, but as this committee, we have looked at the statistics and we have known and seen that the last time when there was an amnesty in 2005, there was an improvement on the crime statistics. There have been fighting about the farm killings, and hence we are trying to assist them so that they can work with us to mitigate all those problems that they had in the farms.
There have been those that urge that firearm amnesty is taking the firearms out of the hands of people who use it for self defence. We want to reject this with the attempt that it deserves. [Interjections.] The ANC ... [Interjections ] I am busy. Thanks. [Laughter.]
The ANC ... [Interjections.] You must listen, please. Listen! [Interjections.] Listen! [Interjections.] Yes. [Interjections.] The ANC support our Constitution and wants to see ... [Interjections.]