President Uhuru Kenyatta.[Photo/PSCU]
President Uhuru Kenyatta has said Africa must stand ready to provide the required backing be it administrative, military or financial to enable the PSC to carryout out its mandate effectively.
“The Kenya Government continues to appeal to our brothers and sisters on the continent to also collectively address the root cause and development of violent extremism in the different regions in Africa,” President Kenyatta told leaders who attended the Peace and Security Council meeting.
“We must enhance levels of cooperation and collaboration with both regional and international partners through capacity building initiatives in emerging counter-violent extremism concepts and practices,” the President said.
He said the unfortunate timing of the AMISOM troop withdrawal while the level of preparedness of the Somali National forces to take over the security responsibility of their country was still low was a major challenge.
“Indeed, I would like to call on the UN and the AU to ensure a practical and realistic AMISOM exit timelines that should be subjected to regular reviews,” the President said.
President Kenyatta said to prevent the existence of vulnerable groups that could expose Somalia and Kenya to terrorist attacks, there was dire need for policy makers and leaders to focus on resolving conflicts by addressing the root causes to cut out emerging threats.
“Effective counter-terrorism policy interventions must focus on protecting and empowering the communities, investing in peace building, reconciliation and re-construction processes that include the people exposed to terrorism and the larger societies,” President Kenyatta said.
The President emphasized that the interventions should also encourage partnerships between locals and security forces as well as support equitable access to public service.