Chairperson and hon Minister, it is good to be back here, and I thank you for the opportunity to share some thoughts with you.
It is indeed an undeniable fact that the previous limited restraints in the regulated status of the second-hand goods industry have for far too long preserved the breeding ground for active criminality.
The criminal activity in this particular industry was often concealed by the fact that dealers who operate in this industry were not effectively held accountable for the methods that they employed to propagate criminal trends.
Hon Chairperson, I have no doubt that the House is comprehensively knowledgeable and that the second-hand goods industry is responsible for the supply and sale of a wide variety of goods across the board. These goods include motor vehicles, jewellery, household and office equipment, clothing, books, factory equipment, antique goods, agricultural implements, controlled metals and many others.
We do not have to go too far to examine the effects of cable theft, particularly here in the Western Cape, which often negatively affects railway transportation. The House might also have knowledge of the fact that Metrorail, alongside rail commuters, often has to bear the brunt and inconvenience of cable theft while incurring exorbitant expenses.
This Bill provides a mechanism to ensure that traders are obliged not to accept stolen goods by means of checks and balances that are put in place by law.
I therefore believe that this Bill is undoubtedly responding effectively to previous parlous vindictiveness in the trade of second-hand goods, where dealers often escaped the law unscathed for accepting stolen goods without any recourse for the public who had to bear the brunt of their actions.
The legal framework of this Bill will also curb the hardened criminality that ensured stolen goods were easily diffused in the marketplace without being traceable.
I want to emphasise, Chairperson, that I am particularly pleased with the clause pertaining to the policing aspects of this Bill, which allows the police to make this law enforceable.
The police are being granted the correct mandate to monitor dealerships in order to ensure that they, as well as the goods which they accept, are registered. This Bill will also ensure that property crime decreases in some way, by ensuring that the market for stolen goods is somehow reduced.
The police will also be able to conduct at least one comprehensive annual inspection of each registered premises during which the records of the business will be examined.
I believe that these measures and various other clauses will serve as a deterrent to dealers who keep the illegal sale of stolen goods active, when they are not held effectively accountable for their participation in these kinds of criminal activities.
I am therefore firmly of the opinion that the Second-Hand Goods Bill will indeed play a fundamental role in promoting ethical standards in the trade of second-hand goods, with the involvement of the police ensuring adherence and compliance. Therefore, as a province, we support this Bill. Thank you. [Applause.]