The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul has cautioned that some organisations are using charity activates as a vehicle of funding for terrorist and extremist activities in parts of the world, specifically in African countries.
The minister made the revelation at the opening ceremony of the two-day West Africa and North Africa Directors of Military Intelligence Conference today, September 18, 2019 at the Kofi Annan Peace keeping Training Centre.
“It is without doubt that some organisations engage in fundraising activities ostensibly for charity but it ends up diverting such benevolent funds to support terrorism and violent activities around the world and particularly Africa
The minister said, the maintenance of peace and security in Africa has become a critical challenge with the continent suffering from transnational and organised crimes including: terrorism, political strife, civil wars, violent extremism and cyber-crime. He added that the situation is exacerbated by poverty, limited economic opportunities, environmental degradation, health pandemics, political and economic interference from within and without.
According to the minister, the threats posed by terrorism among others call for greater collaborations between countries across the continent to resolve.
“The dynamic and complex nature of the threats calls for critical reflections by intelligence and security experts to foster collaborations against those common enemies. Through political and diplomatic discussions, scholarly discourses, and civil society engagements, we could bring legitimacy and relevance to our policies on peace and security.”
Mr. Nitiwul called on the military leaders present at the conference to use the two-day program as an opportunity to make fruitful deliberations which will help create an international framework effective to in tackling terrorism and extremism on the continent.
“I call on all of you here to deliberate on the effectiveness of current mechanisms for fighting violent extremism and come out with an international framework necessary for tackling the menace.”
US ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie Sullivan, who was also present at the ceremony, in a remark intimated that leaders rely on military intelligence professionals as counsellors to ensure peace and preempt national security threats.
She said perpetrators of terrorism and extremism are constantly learning and adapting, seeking ways to exploit the weaknesses of countries. Requiring countries who seek themselves to protect their regions as well. She also called on the military heads to not just coordinate regionally but internally, “As military leaders, you must coordinate daily with your interagency and inter-ministerial partners within your countries to develop a whole government response not only to the threats this region faces, but also to the driving factors underlying those threats.”
The two-day conference is being hosted by the Department of Defence Intelligence of the Ghana Armed Forces in conjunction with the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), on the theme: Intelligence Support to Combating Regional Threats.
The conference is aimed at providing an ideal platform of interactions for Senior Military Intelligence Officials from West Africa and North Africa, and is expected to enhance efforts, create synergy and deepen collaboration in addressing regional security challenges.
