2004 Volume 1

A Training Workshop For The Fustrated

By Edwin Herrendorfer

“By the time this workshop is over, you will be much wiser; maybe unhappy, but definitely wiser.” This was the opening statement of Hennie Richards, CEO of POSLECSETA and facilitator of a workshop held at the University of the Western Cape on 12 December 2003. He went on to urge attendees to keep calm and not let their emotions get the better of them, otherwise things would get out of hand. “To many people, we are already the enemy, even though we are here to help.”

Mr Richards knew what he was doing. He knew that tempers would soon flare, and he and his team would be, literally, in the line of fire. After all, those who attended this workshop were in one way or another, involved in the firearm industry. They were either gun owners, dealers, trainers or interested parties. A dangerous, unhappy and frustrated bunch, ready to lunge at whomever they felt was in some way responsible for their ordeals. Moreover, they outnumbered Hennie Richards and his team by more than 150 to 3. By the time the workshop started, a peaceful yet tense atmosphere prevailed.

This workshop, Richards said, was necessary because there was a dire need for POSLECSETA to consult with community and other interest groups about the sensitive issue surrounding the loathed Firearms Control Act and its implementation. But who is POSLECSETA, and how can they help alleviate the frustrations within the firearms community? In a nutshell, POSLECSETA stands for the Police, Private Security, Legal, Correctional Services and Justice Sector Education and Training Authority. “It is one of 25 established by the Minister of Labour on 20 March 2000….to meet South Africa's skills development needs, and has as its main clients, the Police, Correctional Services, Justice Department, Private Security Industry and the Legal Services.” According to their bi-monthly newsletter, this SETA is “committed to providing a framework and foundation for skills development in its sector, encouraging employers to prioritise training and development, and incentivising them through the mandatory and discretionary grants process.” Thus they ensure that gun owners, dealers, trainers, bodies and other interested parties receive the necessary accreditation, registration, training, and that shooting ranges meet the required standards (safety, size, etc.) - in other words, everything must be done within the framework of the law.

Lucky Lekgotla, Senior Superintendent from the SAPS Central Firearms Control Register, outlined the Firearms Control Act in detail, as well as the need for all involved in the firearm industry to ensure they are properly accredited and registered, whichever applies. The onus is also on these parties to ensure they have received proper training, or are training others the right way.

After his lecture, Lucky opened himself up to questions (and bombardments) from those attending the workshop. “What is going on?” “Why are so many firearm licenses being turned down?” “What is all this training and accreditation?” “I followed procedure, but I am still without a licence” “Do the people who handle our applications know what they are doing?” “What about our businesses, we've invested so much and lost it all because of the government?” There were quite a bit more, some more sticky than others. There were those that even almost pitted one attendee against another. Space would not allow us to print all of them, and their answers. Mr Lekgotla answered to the best of his ability, at times referring to his notes, at times helped out by Hennie Richards, who kept a close eye on proceedings and managed to keep tempers to a minimum.

The final part was taken up by Hennie himself. He breezed through his lecture, giving more info about POSLECSETA. (further information can be found at www.poslecseta.org.za). At the end of it, he was subjected to the bombardments and questioning, basically similar to those meted out to Lucky Lekgotla. And he answered so well, with such confidence and humour that he received a good applause when he signed off with: “Thank you for attending today,” which was displayed from his laptop onto the big auditorium screen. Now, that was a major turn of events, considering that knives were sharpened prior to the opening of the workshop.

What Richards said at the beginning was so true. We walked out of the workshop not really satisfied, but much wiser, confident and better able to take the battle to its next level.

(For further information, please visit the POSLECSETA website www.poslecseta.org.za or phone them on 011-805 0084. The SAPS website is www.saps.org.za.
Lucky Lekgotla can be contacted on 012-353 6010).