The Minister for Defence, Maj Gen Albert Murasira, has said that the contribution of the private sector and civil society is very critical in addressing security challenges on the African continent.
He said this during the 9th National Security Symposium taking place from May 18 to 20 under the theme: "Contemporary security challenges: The African perspective.”
Organised by Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) in collaboration with the University of Rwanda, the symposium brings together academicians, government officials and subject matter experts including Generals and Senior Military Officers to discuss contemporary security issues.
It is also attended by officers currently undergoing the Senior Command and Staff Course at the Musanze-based RDF Command and Staff College (RDFCSC), who come from 12 different countries.
Murasira said the continent is facing complex challenges ranging from surge of violent extremism, climate change, food insecurity, cyber security, and economic uncertainty among others.
"These threats create uncertainty to the functioning and survival of our nations. No single country alone can address the highlighted challenges.”
The scale of transnational challenges, and the implications of fragmentation, are exceeding the capacity of existing systems and structures.
With an increasing mismatch at all levels between challenges and needs with the systems and organizations to deal with them, he said, "there is likely to be a persistent and growing gap between what people demand and what governments and private sector can deliver.”
Relationships between societies and governments will be under persistent strain as states struggle to meet rising demands from populations, he pointed out.
While attending the meeting, Louise Mushikiwabo, Secretary General of La Francophonie, said that democracy has a lot of things in play including political systems in place, citizen aspirations and security consent.
She emphasized security in terms of physical security, national security and at the same time economic security, as well as climate security.
Mushikiwabo said that democracy involves different aspects linked with fundamental services that citizens are entitled to, and it has to be tailored according to their different needs.
The symposium is held in order to help officers who are undergoing the sommand and staff course interact with high-level policy makers, security practitioners, subject matter experts and scholars in security studies from different countries.
The College is currently running its 10th intake of 48 student officers from Rwanda and allied countries namely; Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Col Frederick Itangayenda, the College Coordinator of RDFCSC, said that this symposium presents the students with an opportunity to learn and make research on contemporary security threats in Africa and later, develop their thesis.
"We research about anything that might threaten the security of the people and make recommendations to put mitigating measures in anticipation. For example, how we can address emergency disasters, in terms of democracy, we study on how we can have democracy with people’s lives secured,” he mentioned.
Itangayenda said that from the past meetings held, they have reported tangible results in terms of assessing the challenges and making recommendations to concerned parties and taking steps forward.
Maj Jacqueline Uwamahoro, a student in the military college, said they have the opportunity to have a wider perspective on how the world responds to African and global security challenges from knowledge shared by local and regional, and international security experts.
"Addressing cross-border security threats requires inter-state collaboration and cooperation. We receive capacity building, through the courses, for solving these national and continental issues,” she added.