By Prince J Musa in Kenema
Civil Society actors and officials of Sierra Leones Small Arms Commission have called on all local gun manufacturers or Blacksmiths to ensure their products are registered in the Commission’s database.
The actors were speaking during an engagement with the blacksmiths on the 15th of August 2023.
Speaking at the engagement, the Regional Chairman of Civil Society East, Augustine Allieu Sannoh stated that between 2008 and 2010 he worked with ONS in mapping all local blacksmiths who manufacture mostly Shotguns within Kenema district, which revealed that ten chiefdoms house to blacksmiths.
Sannoh said that it’s good to bring the local gun makers on board rather than leaving them out without any form of monitoring. He suggested the need for a new survey and appealed for decentralization of gun licensing.
The Assistant Commissioner at the Small Arms Commission, Rtd. Lieutenant Colonel Mbade Bangura in his statement at the event noted that causes of armed conflict in the sub-region have prompted ECOWAS to review the arrangements on the licensing of arms and ammunition so they can be monitored and regulated.
"We want to make sure the proliferation of arms and ammunition is under control so the society’s safety can be guaranteed’’, Bangura said.
The Coordinator for ECOWAS’ project on Organized Crime for West Africa and Trafficking, Olivia Victoria Davies blamed the numerous coups in the sub-region on the proliferation of guns, adding that legitimate governments are challenged and the peace of states undermined. She added that the issue of guns is serious in Sierra Leone and that it is important that it is regulated, considering the present situation in West Africa.
She said the project is geared towards supporting national commissions on small arms in seven West African countries in a bid to put mechanisms in place for the use of guns, in accordance with local laws. “ECOWAS wants to ensure that this project is implemented in seven West African countries to monitor and regulates arms and against human trafficking’’ Davies said.
She stated that the project is implemented by UNDP, coordinated by GIZ, and funded by the EU.
Deputy Commissioner from Small Arms Commission, Rtd. Lieutenant-Colonel Foday Luke Ndanema cited Sierra Leone’s porous borders with Guinea and Liberia, and the need to find ways of sensitizing the local gun makers to see the essence of getting licenses.
He spoke of an inclusive approach with all sectors involved, considering the present global threat.
Ndanema said the commission will establish an office and recruit personnel for the Eastern Region who will be charged with the responsibility of coordinating and monitoring issues of small arms, in collaboration with traditional leaders who know the blacksmiths that make local guns in their communities.
The engagement attracted stakeholders from the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Traditional leadership, and the regional Security Committees.
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