Friday, May 10, 2013
Minister of State for National Security
Sydney Sekeramayi has urged African countries to work closely in
tightening security across the continent to curb the unbridled plunder
of natural resources.
As he officially closed the 10th Conference of the Committee of
Intelligence and Security Services of Africa on Wednesday, Minister
Sekeramayi said the continued discovery of strategic mineral resources
on the continent coupled with the emergence of new security realities
presented Africa with new political, economic and security challenges.
"This imperial competition for our resources has, of late, been
interfaced with the threat of illegal regime change. Africa is at
crossroads; either we allow our erstwhile oppressors unfettered access
to our natural resources and, thus, face the wrath of this great
continent's future generations, or we wrestle the nettle and take full
charge of the exploitation of our natural resources," he said.
He said time was bidding that they evolve the African security
architecture with a view to confronting the belated western forays into
the continent. "In this regard, questions of resource nationalism,
indigenous economic empowerment and the consolidation of human security
are the central themes that should dictate Africa's 21st century
developmental agenda.
"Now is the time that Africa should shun the tag of the curse of
natural resources, and own the process of driving the continent's
economic development by harnessing the potential, the exploration,
extraction, distribution and utilisation of the resources at our
disposal for the amelioration of our people's livelihoods," Minister
Sekeramayi said.
He said the conference was an opportunity to embolden the collective
resolve towards the mitigation of challenges that continue to confront
the continent. These, he said, included illegal regime changes, external
interference, mercenarism, terrorism and narco-terrorism, activities of
armed groups and negative forces, transnational organised crimes,
extremism, cyber crimes, climate change, poverty and underdevelopment
and the impact of HIV and Aids.
"It is indeed proper that we should deploy our collective capacities
against these threats with the sole objective of bringing peace and
stability to our continent.
"I am aware that as intelligence operatives, we may sometimes be
tempted to go it alone. But faced with the shifting nature of these
security threats, coupled with unimaginable advances in technology, our
capacity to overcome these challenges continues to be enhanced by our
common solidarity, history and goals," he said.
Minister Sekeramayi said Cissa as an
institution, had a mandate to help defend and secure Pan-African ideals
and principles by giving prominence to the role of intelligence in
guaranteeing peace and stability.
He said it was also important for Cissa to be seized with
developments in member states such as the Central African Republic,
Somalia, Mali, Guinea Bissau and the DRC.
Minister Sekeramayi said Africa's intelligence and security
architecture should conceptualise the continent's position against
neo-colonialism and other 'alien' predispositions that continue to
impede African development.
"The 10th Cissa Conference also came at a unique time when Zimbabwe is set to co-host, with Zambia, the 20th