US-Africa summit deals will benefit Kenya

Macharia Gaitho, among other critics of the recent Africa-US Leaders Summit, was recently sceptical in the press of the benefits the summit could be said to have brought.

His claim was apparently that little, other than Stetson hats, would be left to show for the effort that the government had put into preparing and attending the summit.

Other cynics had even more hardened views, but we need not trouble ourselves to look too closely at them.

The fact of the matter is that there were a wide range of substantial and important contacts, agreements, and discussions that resulted from the summit. Critics should also remember that this was the first meeting of its kind between African leaders and the American Government.

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Here, I wish to review some of the main security-related outcomes of the trip. Perhaps the most important one was the security and governance initiative agreed at the summit.

The US Government committed to a partnership with six African countries, Kenya included. Over the next three to five years, the US and the six African countries will work together in a strategic partnership to strengthen their security sectors.

Under the terms of the agreement, the US and Kenya will conduct a joint assessment of the security threats and opportunities; before developing a strategic plan with priorities and specific goals to guide investments in the area; and then apply US technical expertise and other resources to advance the plan.

The initiative is a clear example of the full commitment of both the US and its African partners to genuine partnership in security matters for the common good.

CUSTOMS AGREEMENT

In addition, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement with the US Government. The agreement is especially timely given the challenges Kenya faces in managing its borders.

Illicit trade (in wildlife products, among others), illegal immigration, and revenue evasion are a grave danger to our nation’s economy, cohesion and security.

The agreement allows Kenya to benefit from American and other expertise by providing a framework for information sharing and co-operation between the two countries’ customs administrations as they fight transnational crime, customs offences, and terrorism. In brief, it makes it easier for both countries to defend their borders.

It also gives customs administrations, in both Kenya and the US, the legal framework we need for the exchange of information to assist in the prevention, detection and investigation of customs offences and crimes associated with goods crossing international borders.

Importantly, it also serves as a foundation for deeper engagement between the two customs administrations for many years to come.

TECHNICAL HELP

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku also met with senior figures in the hierarchy of IBM. In the recent past, the firm has installed a command and control centre for the National Police Service. It was resolved at the meeting that this technical help would be deepened.

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IBM will now develop a targeted curriculum in intelligence and law enforcement, information management, big-data analytics, and cyber security as well as mobile computing.

In the first instance, the curriculum will be rolled out for new recruits at the Kiganjo Police College. The curriculum is expected to equip new recruits with the knowledge and skills that modern police officers must have if they are to deal with today’s crime.

IBM committed to supply security-related software for training in the curriculum, and to supply the curriculum at no cost to Kenya.

At another meeting with the chair of the Board of Visitors of the College of Computing, Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland, the Cabinet Secretary explored the need to step up the use of technology in the fight against crime.

It emerged, during the briefing, that useful results had been achieved once Unmanned Aerial Vehicles were combined with mathematical data and pattern analysis.

It was agreed the parties would meet in Kenya in September to discuss an implementation plan.

The writer is the chair of the National Assembly’s Security Committee.

Ahmednasir Abdullahi resumes next week