SA ‘must take lead against terrorism’

Hosting a conference on terrorism has afforded South Africa a chance to clear its image.

This is the view of criminologists and experts who commended SA for being the first African country to host the International Forum of Terrorism Risk Insurance Pools conference in Cape Town recently.

The event was staged by state-owned South African Special Risks Insurance Association and attended by leaders from sovereign-backed terrorism reinsurance pools, senior policymakers, global reinsurers and risk management experts.

Clearing SA’s name against terrorism allegations

Criminologists said the conference afforded the country a chance to clear its name on allegations of terrorism that some of its citizens were accused of.

Witness Maluleke, head of the department of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Limpopo, said: “Our security systems should be strictly safeguarded against potential terrorist threats and this platform will allow South African representatives to learn more about best proactive and reactive strategies of responding to future events.”

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Willem Els, an expert from the Institute for Security Studies, said it was good that South Africa was allowed to take a lead role by hosting the event.

The country currently has two terrorism cases in court and the country is greylisted because “we were not living up to our mandate in terms of countering terror funding as well as money laundering”, he said.

“We are part of a global system. So, South Africa, as the leader in Africa, has to take the lead in this as well,” said Els.

SA has to take the lead in this

It was essential to host such a conference as the country had recently experienced a situation in which the US Treasury sanctioning various people due to terror funding allegations, he said.

“It is high time South Africa gets its house in order when it comes to countering terrorism because we are not isolated.”

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Speaking at the same event, former international relations and cooperation minister and current chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation Naledi Pandor called for a global collaboration to address political instability.

There were growing risks associated with political instability and said there was a need for the leaders to work together to mitigate the challenges, she said.

Growing risks associated with political instability

“Leaders must take responsibility for fostering a more stable global environment. The world’s political landscape has shifted in alarming ways, with growing instability and uncertainty now taking centre stage.”

Pandor said the private sector must collaborate with governments and multilateral institutions to mitigate the growing risks.