Regional countries must work together and avoid the pitfalls caused by conflicting interests and a lack of political will to tackle insecurity, Defence Minister, James Kabarebe, has said

Kabarebe made the remarks while addressing Senior Command and Staff Course participants in Musanze. He was one of the panelists at the symposium on crime, security and justice at the National Police College, Musanze District, yesterday.

Kabarebe, who spoke on the topic: ‘Enhancing Security along the Northern Corridor’, said while Africa has embraced various initiatives based on regional blocs such as East African Community, (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), some bodies pertaining to peace and security have been hampered by conflicts of interest and a lack of political will to act.

He said while a lack of resources is still an issue, it is not the biggest challenge.

"I doubt if it is a problem of resources because when we are faced by challenges of insecurity within our countries, we spend much more than would be required to contribute to a regional force. The issue in this case becomes the lack of political will,” said Kabarebe

He cited the example of the Africa Union (AU). The AU depends on United Nations facilitation when they undertake peacekeeping missions, the minister said, not because African countries lack resources, but because of lack of political will to do differently. "I think that is a greater problem that we have to overcome in order to deal with our security challenges,” he remarked.

"We have other challenges we have to overcome in order to succeed. When you look at the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, how many actors are there? How many forces are there? How many interest groups are there? And, do they all have a common vision to sort out the problem in South Sudan?” he wondered.

Kabarebe warned that unless the region, and Africa as a whole, decided to take ownership of their security issues, conflict would continue to rage in the continent.

"We are running a huge risk if nothing is done. If the region does not come up with a common understanding where security is concerned, then it will be a big problem,” stressed Kabarebe.

Dr. Ludeki Chweya, from the Kenya School of Government, discussed the role of national security in the perspective of law enforcement. 

According to Chweya, terrorism and other organised crimes such as human trafficking and money laundering need to be seen in a regional perspective.

The symposium was organised under the theme: Fighting Crimes: A fundamental Constituent of Sustainable Security and Justice.

The symposium is one of the lessons undergone by senior officers in a one-year course. The course is slated to end next week.