Alarm and applause as Mchunu

Police minister has signed off on firearm proposals that could disarm guards at malls, taxi ranks and protests - triggering pushback from the security industry and praise from gun-control advocates. By Caryn Dolley

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South Africa's booming private security sector is about to change.

If proposed draft amendments to Private Security Industry Regulations are enacted, armed officers at malls may become a thing of the past.

And if there’s a violent protest, private security officers may not be able to use weapons in response.

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu signed off on the proposed private security amendments on 28 March. The public still has a chance to comment on them.

Because security companies work with, among others, neighbourhood watch and community policing forums, the eventual confirmed amendments will have a ripple effect. The proposals have already elicited a mixed bag of responses, the majority being negative and alarming, some even alarmist.

Regulation and rogues

The head of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (Psira), Manabela Chauke, reassured the public this week that the proposals are not designed to harm security companies or cut jobs.

The authority cannot issue or revoke gun licences; the South African Police Service (SAPS) does that.

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, Chauke explained that the suggested changes were to regulate and track private security companies’ possession and use of firearms and ammunition.

Chauke said related proposals were first published in 2003, but were not acted on, and the country was now experiencing “the very worst situation ... in terms of the rogueness that has happened”.

As of September last year, according to Mchunu’s response to parliamentary questions, private security companies across South Africa had 126,529 licensed firearms altogether.

For the first semester of the 2024/25 financial year, security companies reported 847 firearms stolen or lost.

“If you ask me to account for the movement of a firearm in the private security industry, I will not be able to tell you.