By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Sierra Leone National Commission on Small Arms (SLeNCSA) in collaboration with the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) is set to demolish 7,769 (seven thousand, seven hundred and sixty nine) unserviceable high explosives and incineration of 622,879 (six hundred and twenty two thousand, eight hundred and seventy nine) small arms ammunition.
A Public notice by the commission stated that the demolition exercise will commence from 13th March to 31st March, 2023 at different Control Demolition Sites (CDS) in Gondama, Daru, Kambia and the Armed Forces Training Centre at Benguema, outskirt of Freetown.
The transportation of the explosives according to the statement has commenced since the 24th of February and will end on the 7th of March, 2023.
The commission therefore encourages residents in the aforementioned locations and their environs to be calm and to go ahead with their normal activities, assuring that their safety is of utmost concern to the commission.
SLeNCSA was established by an Act of Parliament to control the proliferation, illicit possession and use of Small Arms and Light weapons in Sierra Leone. Its establishment was in compliance with the ECOWAS convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, ammunition and other related matters.
The commission started life in 2003 as a National Focal Committee (NFC) on Small Arms within the Ministry of Defence. The NFC was moved over in 2004 to the Office of National Security (ONS) under the Office of the President.
Parliament in 2010 passed into law the Bill to establish the Sierra Leone National Commission on Small Arms that marked the transformation of the Directorate into the present commission.
The commission is mandated to regulate and supervise the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession and use of Small Arms and Light Weapons within the borders of Sierra Leone.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (06/03/23)
