South Sudan’s National Legislative Assembly on Wednesday deliberated a firearms control bill presented by the head of parliament’s committee of defense and security Hon. Samuel Duar Deng.

While tabling the bill for its second reading, Deng requested the lawmakers to deliberate and pass it into law.

Meanwhile, the Minority Leader Onyoti Adigo described the bill as important but he questioned why cabinet members were not present in the house to discuss the issue.

“Now, everybody has got a gun, which is really getting insecurity in the country as a whole... I think it is very important to deliberate on this bill as it has been presented to us. But it is very unfortunate that the ministers who are supposed to be here connected with security are not here,” said Onyoti.

“We talk of small arms. But there are heavy arms with the people in the villages, in the cattle camps, you have big weapons. Who is giving them these big weapons? That is why I was saying there is a need for our securiy people to be present.”

Onyoti implied that members of the organized forces were giving heavy weapons from official armories into the hands of their tribesmen.

“Because the big weapons they are not found in the market. Something you get in the market are pistols, shotguns... but instead now we get big weapons with the community... like Kalishnikov is not supposed to be licensed to [just] any person.”

Adigo said procession of arms by political leaders cause insecurity in South Sudan. He appealed to security forces to reduce the proliferation of arms in the hands of the citizens.

“It will be the duty for the governmnet to see to it that even the generals who are having heavy [weapons] in their houses needs to be registered.”

Onyoti proposed that the bill not be called 'small arms' control bill but a general arms control bill, because some civilians have heavy weapons. He said that heavy weapons should be kept in stores and not in the houses of military officers.

For his part, Aleu Ayeny Aleu, the former interior minister and MP representing Warrap state, said the government shouldn't give licenses for acquiring small arms because it will lead to proliferation of arms in the hands of citizens

The sitting was chaired by deputy speaker Mark Nyipuoch Obang. The bill was referred to third reading stage for further deliberation.