Terrorism and violent extremism, illegal circulation of weapons and illicit exploitation of natural resources were some of the issues discussed during the ECCAS summit on January 19, 2022.
The 20th ordinary session of the conference of Heads of State and Government of the ECCAS bloc, which took place in Brazzaville Congo saw the leaders agreeing that despite the persistence of acts of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea amongst others, the situation in the community space remains generally stable.
President Paul Biya was represented by Prime Minister Head of Government Joseph Dion Ngute. The deliberations that were presided at by Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguessou also helped participants to analyze the safety and security in Central Africa, noting the worrisome persistence of armed groups and illegal circulation of weapons, issues particularly plaguing Cameroon, going by the crisis in the Anglophone regions.
It is true that concerted efforts have been made towards stamping out or reducing these scourges as Denis Sassou Nguessou highlighted in his remarks, efforts, which he said were made to improve security, economic growth and regional integration during his tenure at the head of ECCAS. He nonetheless invited his peers to show more commitment towards attaining other goals such as the setting up of a common market for the ECCAS block. Also, strengthening regional integration and adopting common strategies to tackle security, health and development challenges are imperative.
Central Africa is far from being a safe area. Maritime piracy, Boko Haram, armed groups are still posing serious threats to regional security according to political scientist, Dr. Hassan Njoya, interviewed by Cameroon Tribune. Besides, geostrategic struggles in Central Africa and the clash of non-African interests over natural resources are genuine reasons for concern he continues. To him, such measures as improving domestic governance, increasing accountability, enhancing the rule of law and implementing inclusive mechanisms for resource distribution should get the ECCAS community area in better sheets.
The 21st ordinary session of the conference of Head of States of ECCAS, is slated for 21 July 2022 in Kinshasa.
Claudette CHIN
