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East Africa: EAC meet in Tanzania to discuss small arms control
Sat. June 09, 2007 09:01 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. -
(SomaliNet) As part of a bloated effort to begin a study that will focus on small fire arms control strategies, a high-powered delegation from East African member states arrived in Tanzania's city of Dar es Salaam at the beginning of the week.
The 14-man delegation includes the coordinators of control programmes on proliferation of small fire arms in their respective countries, namely Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the host Tanzania.
Dominic Hayuma, Tanzania Small Fire Arms Control Programme executive, SACP said the session would give the opportunity to the member states to devise common strategies to fight cross-border organised crimes.
Hayuma said armed robbery; drug trafficking, illegal immigrants supplying guns and car theft were among other crime committed in the region and suspects escape to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.
`We need to cooperate to fight crime in the region,` Hayuma said.
The establishment of community monitor security committee to stop smuggling of firearms, Hayuma said, has been one of the strategies that Tanzania employed to address the problem of proliferation of small fire arms.
`Such committees have proved effective and useful especially in troubled border regions where immigrants move in with unregistered firearms that end up in wrong hands. The committees operate at village, district, region and national levels,` Hayuma explained.
It was established that hundreds of illegal firearms have been recovered under the arrangement and destroyed in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Mbeya and Kigoma in the recent past.
`Such a record gives clear purpose for the visit by the officials,` Hayuma added.
Earlier, a research officer from a non-governmental organisation involved in small firearms control programme (CEPEDE) Michael Madikenya, sounded confident that the visitors would have the opportunity to learn about practical models for the formation of arms control programmes at the national level to be applied in their respective countries.
Madikenya said community involvement in firearms control, the programme that was officially introduced in the country in 2001 has proved effective as, apart from impounded firearms, some have been voluntarily surrendered.-Guardian
News Category: East Africa
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