REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY ERASTUS MWENCHA,
DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION
11TH CISSA CONFERENCE, NAIROBI, KENYA,
28 AUGUST 2014.
Your Excellency William Ruto, Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya,
Cabinet Secretaries and Senior Government Officials of the Republic of Kenya,
Commissioner for Peace and Security
Outgoing and Incoming CISSA Chairpersons,
Heads of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa,
Members of the Panel of Experts,
Executive Secretary of CISSA and Staff Members of the Secretariat,
Ambassadors and other members of the diplomatic corps,
Esteemed Guests from Africa’s friends and partners,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me first to convey to President Uhuru KENYATTA and to you, Deputy President, the warm greetings from Dr. Nkosazana DLAMINI-ZUMA, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, as well as the AU’s deep appreciation for Kenya's firm commitment to Pan-Africanism and the cause and objectives of our Union. Chairperson DLAMINI-ZUMA deeply regrets that pressing commitments prevented her from being among us today. She wishes to congratulate CISSA on the achievements recorded since its establishment and encourages your Organization to pursue and deepen cooperation among the members of the African Intelligence Community, in support of the continent’s efforts towards sustained peace, security and stability.
I would like to congratulate the Director General of NIS, Kenya, Incoming Chairperson, first for hosting that meeting and look forward to further strengthen cooperation between CISSA and
AUC, within the framework of relevant AU policies and activities.
I wish to commend the Outgoing Chairperson, Major General (Rtd.) Happyton BONYONGWE, for the visionary and strong leadership he has demonstrated over the past year, including steps taken to strengthen functional collaboration with the AU Commission.
In fact the Chairperson and I, had the pleasure to meet and to confer with him in Addis Ababa in early July on matters of mutual interest.
Mr. Deputy President,
Honorable Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This Conference is taking place amidst continued peace and security challenges on the continent. Africa continues to face the threats emanating from political disputes, poverty and underdevelopment, youth unemployment, terrorism, radicalization and extremism, transnational organized crime, piracy, mercenary activities as well as disease outbreak, to list just some of the threats.
Our capacity to respond to urgent situations on the ground remains limited and in most cases we have to rely on international partners to undertake operations that should have been undertaken by ourselves. The Intelligence Community should continue to advocate for the African solutions to African problems and the need for the African Standby Force to play a pivotal role in this regard.
I am, however, delighted to indicate that the AU Commission is currently looking at ways and means to expedite the operationalisation of the African Standby Force, especially its Rapid Deployment Capability. We are expecting the operationalisation of the African Standby Force to be fully operationalwith by December 31, 2015. The steps towards the operationalisation of the African Standby Force have seen the AU Commission appointing Brig Gen Tijjani Kangbap GOLAU of Nigeria in July 2014 as the new Chief of Staff of the African Standby Force in the Peace and Support Operations Division (PSOD) of the Commission to spearhead the operationalisation of the force.
Mr. Deputy President,
Ladies and Gentlemen
The theme of the Conference - “Enhancing Intelligence Cooperation and Coordination to Address Radicalisation and Extremism in Africa”- is both relevant and timely. The nexus between radicalisation and extremism in Africa has manifested itself in different ways over the past years.
It is pertinent to note that radicalisation and extremism are the precursors and the foundation upon which terrorism thrives.
There is therefore a need for concerted effort to fight this scourge, which is increasingly threatening Africa’s developmental and security agenda as enshrined in current Strategic Plan and in Agenda 2063. The fight against radicalisation and extremism should be considered as the first line of defense against terrorism.
Any attempt to address the scourge of terrorism and extremism should proceed on the basis of a thorough understanding of the phenomenon of radicalisation and all its dimensions. The intelligence community has an important role to play in the fight against radicalisation and extremism. Indeed, it is well positioned to help in detecting and assessing the early stages of the phenomenon, the participants and other related aspects. In this regard, Information sharing and coordination among CISSA members as well as early warning of the AU are very critical.
You must generate authentic data in order to arrive at correct narratives and package it in a suitable manner that can inform targeted beneficiaries. I would like to take this opportunity to commend CISSA on the important work it is doing in exploring and addressing the linkage between radicalization, extremism and terrorism. These threats present huge challenges and call for strong commitment. On its part the AU Commission will continue to extend to CISSA the space it needs to play its role in the context of the African Peace and Security Architecture.
Because terrorism and radicalism are highly portable across borders, the key to success in this regard hinges on mutual trust and information sharing amongst yourselves. And that is the main purpose of this meeting. The Commission will also increase its demands for intelligence products from CISSA so that the political and diplomatic interventions we make in the various hotspots of our continent are informed by intelligence.
In conclusion, I would like to, once again, thank the Government, the Deputy President for gracing this meeting and the people of the Republic of Kenya for hosting this important Conference and for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to all of us.
Your Excellency Deputy President,
Distinguished Delegates,
I thank you for your kind attention
