Peace and security must be seen as a priority for EAC countries
The East African Community (EAC) states have been cautioned not to ignore security threats to the region such as the attacks by the Al- Shabaab militants.An outgoing Defence Liason Officer to the Community from Uganda Col.David-Kasura Kyomukama said in Arusha yesterday that peace and security were an absolute necessity for the region and cannot be taken for granted.
“Peace and security must be seen as a prerequisite for whatever we are doing and we should not romanticize about that,” he said when addressing a meeting of EAC sectoral councils on security matters. Col Kyomukama, whose tour of duty at EAC secretariat ends on January 31, warned that it would be too late for the region to plan for the necessary security measures when problems arise.
He said despite commitment shown by the regional leaders, the peace and security structures at the EAC secretariat in Arusha were still lagging behind apparently because of little financial and logistical support.His remarks were echoed by a senior Kenyan security official who said that the EAC must have a policy guideline on counter-terrorism.
Mr Mulea Iringo from the ministry charged with Internal Security said the EAC partner states must mount joint efforts to address a raft of security concerns such as the Al Shabaab militants from Somalia.
The Islamic zealots from the war-torn Horn of Africa country have increased their attacks in Kenya in recent weeks; killing scores of people especially the security officers, since the latter sent troops inside Somalia to pursue the militants.
The head of Tanzanian delegation to the talks taking place at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), Brigadier General David Matiku, said the security matters should not be left as domain of the military.
He said the non-state actors should be involved because they have a critical role to play and added that the security challenges facing the region were multi-dimensional.
Opening the meeting, the EAC deputy secretary general (Political Federation), Ms Beatrice Kiraso, said potential sources of conflict were still looming in the EA region. These include election-related violence, insecurity and instability at the borders, terrorism and piracy.
According to her, the situation has been compounded by human trafficking, money laundering, cyber crime, illicit drugs and arms proliferation.
She urged the partner states to approve the draft Peace and Security Protocol to pave the way for the signing by the EAC Heads of State during their summit scheduled to take place next April.
She also called on the officials to speed up finalisation of the draft EAC Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Framework (CPMR) whose main features include prevention of conflicts and making early warnings on potential conflicts.
Ms Kiraso said that the regional strategy against piracy in the Indian Ocean and along the eastern Africa coast calls for regional collective efforts to fight the vice.
“By adopting the strategy and its action plan, EAC would join its efforts to the region in the war against piracy,” she pointed out.
The four-day meeting, whose ministerial segment starts on Thursday, would scrutinise the EAC draft Peace and Security Protocol, which has been under preparation for some years.
Source: The Citizen