Panel “Information and Communication Security” discusses the Power of Digital

The speakers of the panel on Information and Communication Technology have raised key issues that affect both growth and security.  The importance of updated and safe databases; understanding the power of ICT from economic and educative perspectives and more importantly, the reach ICTs have in continents such as Africa and how the human element  – the core factor of security – remains the most important factor in a technology filled world.

It is the interdependence of technology, awareness, knowledge that defines ICT and its power and makes it a very powerful tool, especially in Africa, where such technology is not used for entertainment purposes but as means for dissemination of information and education.

Panel “Africa’s Private Security Sector: Perspectives, Problems, and Potential” raises Importance of Regulation and Education

Speakers at the panel were very adamant about the need for regulation and oversight of the private security sector whether as international standards (Daniel Shepherd) or local regulations (Stephen Kirimi, Njeri Kururu). The panel also raised the important issue of proper education for actors of the industry, knowledge that will and must be properly applied by taking the environmental factors into account. The structuring of the private security sector through education and the establishment of regulation would help not only change perceptions but improve the quality and efficiency of the industry.

Opening Session at Africa Forum on Business and Security sets Tone by advocating Partnership

“Working together”. This expression can resume the speeches delivered during the opening session of the Africa Forum on Business and Security. All speakers advocated the need to “come together”, “bridge differences” and reassert awareness of the interactions and interdependence that defines our globalized world.  More importantly, the panel advocated that the relationship between business and security is symbiotic and that only their combined efforts will ensure both development and security not just for Africa, but for every nation in the world.

Major Speech by Kenya’s Defence and Security Minister

Hon Mohamed Yusuf Haji, EGH MP, Kenya’s Minister of Defence and Acting Minister of Internal Security and Provinicial Administration will deliver a major speech on the current security situation at the Africa Forum on Business and Security. Mr Haji assumed the Internal Security portfolio following the death of Minister George Saitoti in a helicopter crash earlier this year. An ethnic Somali and a Muslim, he has led Kenya’s Operation Linda Nchi against Al-Shabaab militants. A member of the KANU Party, he represents the Ijara constituency in the National Assembly.

New Security Foundation Chairman opens Africa Forum on Business and Security

Welcoming participants in the first Africa Forum on Business and Security, Dr Harold Elletson, Chairman of The New Security Foundation, said:

 

” Twenty-five years ago, we lived in a world that was very different. Security was still defined by the Cold War and by the competing interests and ideologies of nation states.

 

The revolution in information and communications technology, which has transformed modern societies and their politics, had not happened. Economic globalisation was still in its infancy. Privatisation was only beginning to spread around the world.

 

Twenty-five years ago, Africa was seen by the rest of the world in a very different light. If they thought about it at all, outsiders still saw this great continent as a place of suffering and misery. It was the object of pity in some, guilt in others. It was a place to be shunned or avoided; for businesses, all too often, it was a focus of exploitation, rather than an opportunity for investment.

 

Now things are very different.

 

Many African economies are enjoying unprecedented economic growth. Whilst European and North American economies continue to battle recession, their African counterparts are seeing growth rates of 6 or 7 per cent. Some estimates show that, over the next 5 years, the average African economy will grow faster than the average Asian economy.

 

At long last, there is a real chance that the people of Africa will be able to enjoy a significant and sustained improvement in their standard of living. That will not only be good news for Africans, but for the rest of us too.

 

Economic growth, however, is closely linked to security. And it is a failure to deal with today’s security challenges that could hold back prosperity tomorrow.

 

Some of these challenges are peculiarly African, others are the same ones that face all of us. Some are connected to persistent problems, others are the result of frightening new threats that have emerged in our age of constant technological innovation and with the development of a wholly new global security environment.

 

The purpose of this forum is to create a platform for dialogue about these new challenges and an opportunity for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience.

 

The nature of security has changed fundamentally and businesses are increasingly a part of the modern security equation. There are new vulnerabilities and new opportunities.

 

We have brought together political leaders, investors, managers, security experts, and academics from many different countries and a variety of different backgrounds to discuss the new security challenges facing Africa and what they mean for business.

I hope that the Africa Forum on Business and Security, which will be an annual event, will make a contribution, however small, to security and prosperity in Africa.”

Kenya Presidential Candidate to Speak at Africa Forum on Business and Security

Kenyan presidential candidate and Deputy Prime Minister, Honourable Uhuru Kenyatta, son of the country’s modern founding father Jomo Kenyatta, will address participants at the Africa Forum on Business and Security during a special session on September 14. The presence of Deputy Prime Minister Kenyatta emphasizes the spirit of dialogue and cooperation that is at the core of the event.  Other speakers at the forum include Kenyan Minister of Defence, the Honourable Mohamed Yusuf Haji, as well as the Vice-President of the Republic of South Sudan, the Honourable Dr Riek Machar, together with representatives of leading African and international companies.

SOUTH SUDAN VICE-PRESIDENT TO ATTEND BUSINESS AND SECURITY FORUM

31 JULY 2012

SOUTH SUDAN VICE-PRESIDENT TO ATTEND BUSINESS AND SECURITY FORUM

The Vice-President of South Sudan, HE Dr Riek Machar, will join senior ministers from Kenya and other African countries at the forthcoming Africa Forum on Business and Security, it was announced on Monday, July 30th.

Dr Machar has been a key figure in developing the fledgling economy of the world’s newest state since it attained independence from Sudan just over a year ago.

At the Africa Forum on Business and Security, which will be held at Nairobi’s Laico Regency Hotel on September 13th and 14th, 2012, Dr Machar and other statesmen will rub shoulders with business leaders, investors, security experts and decision-makers from all over Africa and beyond.

“The Africa Forum on Business and Security is taking place at a very interesting and important time for Africa,” says Peris Wanjiru of conference organisers ICWE. “Many African economies are growing at six or seven per cent a year. The one thing that can hold us back now is a failure to address the security challenges that confront us. This ground breaking, pan-African dialogue between the public and private sectors will make a real difference.”

The conference will focus on dealing with persistent problems, attracting investors, protecting vulnerable sectors and securing growth. It will also consider the immense opportunities for African business in delivering security, investment, skills and jobs.

Businesses wanting to take part in the Forum should contact Anna Shigwedha at anna.shigwedha@newsecurityfoundation.org for more information.

For more information on the Forum, please contact Juliane Walter at juliane.walter@icwe.net or visit the conference website www.usalamaafrica.org.

The Hon. George Saitoti and the Hon. Joshua Orwa Ojode

We offer our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Kenya’s Minister of Internal Security and Provincial Administration, the Hon. George Saitoti, and the Assistant Minister, the Hon. Joshua Orwa Ojode, who both died in a helicopter crash on the 10th June, together with their bodyguards and crew.

The Hon. Ojode was a great supporter of the Africa Forum on Business and Security and a member of the advisory board. He had been working closely with us to ensure the success of the conference. He understood the importance of security for growth and development in Africa. We are grateful for all his help, advice and commitment. He will be greatly missed by us and by his country.

KENYA HELICOPTER CRASH

June 21, 2012

Kenya Helicopter Crash and Africa Forum on Business and Security

Despite the Nairobi helicopter crash that killed Kenya’s security minister, his deputy, two bodyguards and two pilots, the international security conference he planned for Nairobi in September will go ahead.

Internal Security Minister George Saitoti, a mathematics professor and former vice-president of Kenya, was pursuing offensives against the Somali militant group al-Shabab and had planned to stand for the Kenyan presidency.

His assistant Joshua Orwa Ojode also died in the crash. Dr Ojode was working on an initiative to involve African business in tackling new security problems. Both men were prominent supporters of the first African Forum on Business and Security (AFBS) due to open at the Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi from September 13th – 14th, 2012.

Dr Harold Elletson, chairman of the New Security Foundation jointly staging the conference with the Kenyan government, extended condolences to the families of the six men who died in the still unexplained crash. “Dr Ojode understood the importance of security to Africa’s growing economies. He was committed to working with business to develop new solutions.

“He gave the AFBS his full backing and wanted to ensure that the forum in September would be a meeting of the best minds in business, politics, security and academia from all over Africa and beyond. His enthusiasm, skill and dedication will be sorely missed by those of us who had been privileged to know him. We must redouble our efforts to turn his vision into reality and ensure the forum is a success.”

The Office of the President of Kenya announced that “The conference will provide an ideal platform for national and international business leaders, security professionals and providers, NGOs and academics to focus on common problems and exchange ideas with the aim of identifying existing and new opportunities and work together to develop new solutions.”

The forum will focus on improving security to boost investor confidence, protecting key industries and trade routes, how stakeholders can plan for a prosperous future where businesses are profitable, governments are stable and citizens are safe.

Dubbed “Usalama ni Harambee”, Swahili for “Security Through Partnership”, the forum will be a platform bringing together the best international minds from the business, political, international aid and security sectors. The AFBS will be a place for debate, discussion and the sharing of ideas on  long-term security solutions.

For more information, please contact:
The New Security Foundation
Leibnizstrasse 32
10625 Berlin
Germany

Tel.: +49 (0)30 310 18 18-0
Fax: +49 (0)30 324 98 33
Email: anna.shigwedha@newsecurityfoundation.org
Web: http://usalamaafrica.org