Ghana lauded for initiative to counter terrorism in Africa

Ghana has been lauded for spearheading the initiative to counter terrorism in Africa, Madame Claudia Quintero Torbay, Ambassador of Colombia, has said in Accra.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra, Madame Torbay said, Ghana as a country, takes initiatives at three levels, global, regional and at the national level adding that the formation of the Africa Centre for Security and Counter Terrorism is one of such moves to address terrorists issues that the continent is confronted with.

She said the ideas behind the centre meant that the country had a lot of work to do as far fighting terrorists activities in the region and creation of awareness of terrorist activities were concerned.

Madame Torbay said the formation of the ACSC would serve as an example to other countries to form alliances to share intelligence to enable them counter terrorist attacks.

The operations of terrorist are not known, and so individual countries and the people cannot plan because the strikes of terrorist come as a surprise only after the attack has taken place, therefore coordinating with other countries and sharing information is the best way to learn and receive forehand information on the possible attack.

She said Africa had already received its package of attacks, with Nigeria as an example, and this was wake up call to come together to find ways of curbing such attacks.

The Ambassador noted that Africa was still an emerging continent in terms of development, and at the same time, was confronted with issues of terrorists attacks which was now placing a huge task in the hands of Africans.

She lauded Ghana’s democratic credentials, saying the international community looked up to Ghana because her commitment to the rule of law was an example to other countries in the region to emulate.

It is, therefore, not a surprise that ACSC has emerged from Ghana because it is a country that is peaceful as compared to other countries in the region that are still to commit themselves to the tenets of democracy.

She said, for example, some countries in Africa still had problems with conducting open elections, and accepting the outcomes, adding that Africa had a lot of potentialities and with alliances with countries that wished for such alliances they would address many security issues as well as development ones.

Madame Torbay disclosed that Colombia had signed MOUs with Ghana to deepen and strengthen relationships between the two countries, as well as build strong ties between Colombia and Ghana, West Africa and Africa as a whole.

She said Colombia was third after America and Brazil, to have Afro community, and shared borders with Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador, and so “I already have experienced with Africans and therefore feel very comfortable working with the people of Ghana.”