By Jacob Mafume – PDP Spokesperson
One of the world’s biggest victories is that of the abolishment of slave trade, it is sad to see a resurgence of the scourge.
The developments in Libya where migrants are captured and sold in what has developed into an infamous slave market are not welcome in the 21st century as they were not welcome in the 11th century.
The People’s Democratic Party not only condemns the barbaric acts of those who capture desperate migrants but the so called buyers of our African brothers and sisters who are turned into slaves.
We appreciate the efforts by the French government to have an urgent convening of the United Nations Security Council meeting on Libya; the Libyan crisis is demonstrating that it affects not only the Libyans but the region and ultimately the entire globe.
We have always argued as we do now that one crisis in a country can easily spill over to the next one therefore the need for regional bodies to look at developments in member countries with keen interest.
Whenever there is a crisis whether political or economic the region must collectively pay the price during the early stages, failure to do so will result in paying a bigger price in the future, the Libyan crisis validates this point.
In a speech presented at the 2016 Senior Leaders Summit organised by Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, President Biti warned that the failure by African states to grow inclusive economies which absorb the working people is one of the major security threats on the continent.
The PDP associates with the views expressed by our leader at this forum, he stated that as security precautions, evolving states need to manage what happens on the sovereign internal dimension; issues to do with the rule of law, corruption, contested elections, religious radicalisation, kamikaze bombings, inequality, ineffective states, state failure and fragility.
In his speech President Biti addressed the issue around regional challenges emanating from the interconnectedness of the regions where “implosions and explosions affect the interconnected nation states’
“When there is a disturbance in Burkina Faso, it affects the region, when there is a contested election in Ivory Coast it affects the region, so regional developments become part of the multiplier players on the evolving African state.”
The People’s Democratic Party notes with concern that the further the issues happen away from our national boundaries the more the African policy maker has limited capacity to deal with the problem. It is this fact which makes it very important for regional blocs to play the watch dog role on activities in the member states, the world must rely on the blocs as a point of primary resort.
The growing young population of highly connected youths who are however unemployed poses a bigger threat to the security of the continent and globe more than what is manifesting in Libya.
In 2016, more than 50 Zimbabwean young ladies were trafficked to Kuwait where they were abused, the ones who managed to come back home are still struggling with rehabilitation.
The People’s Democratic Party recommends the idea of building fiscal buffers to protect our countries against economic security threats which expose our people. This includes a departure from the extractive economic models in many African states.
We also recommend adherence to democratic practices including the idea of free and fair elections to avoid a temptation by citizens who might seek unconstitutional means of redress, a point which has gotten Libya where it is today.
We also suggest the revival of international law which is now on retreat; the missions of the United Nations deployed on the African continent must be reformed and strengthened.
The slave trade crisis in Libya is reminder to build functional states with strong institutions, anchored on transformational democratic development states. It is also a call to create shared economies which ensure our people do not resort to dangerous ways of migration in search of greener pastures.