Ticking time bombs: Ineffective weapons stockpile management in Africa

This paper identifies explosions in Mozambique and Tanzania and assesses the need for governments to implement and promote more effective management

Weapons and ammunition explosions at government depots, in particular at military stockpiles across the world, highlight the risks posed by inadequately managed and poorly stored weapons stockpiles. In Africa, the physical risks posed by these stockpiles, and the explosions that occur as a result of them, have left many communities suffering injury and death. While there have been a number of legal and political initiatives adopted to assist African governments in better managing and securing their stockpiles, there are still a range of challenges that contribute to continued explosions occurring on the continent.

This paper identifies explosions that have occurred in both Mozambique and Tanzania and assesses the need for African governments to implement and promote more effective stockpile management systems, so as to prevent the occurrence of future risks and explosions. 

About the author

Lauren Tracey is a consultant in the Arms Management Programme (AMP) at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria. Her research focus is on Small Arms Light Weapons (SALW) issues in Southern Africa, and she takes particular interest in the developmental implications of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and efforts to mitigate such threats or their actual use in Africa.