Multi-Stakeholder Consultative Workshop on the development of the Kingdom of Eswatini’s National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Transnational Organized Crime
Thanks to the SADC Secretariat, supported by INTERPOL Regional Bureau Harare and the Institute of Security Studies, Eswatini held a Multi-stakeholder consultative workshop on the development of the National Strategy to Prevent and Combat Transnational Organised Crime.
The meeting which was held at Ezulwini from 16 to 20 September 2024 was attended by officials from the Royal Eswatini Police Service, customs and immigration, drugs authority and other stakeholders.
Mr. Vusie M. Masanga, National Commissioner of Police, Eswatini Royal Police Service
In his key note address to the meeting, the National Police Commisssioner, Mr. Vusie M. Masanga, acknowledged Mafias and organised crime groups as major threat to our peace, security, and development, in the SADC region, Africa, and beyond, and that these affect every sector of society, creating a heavy burden on our social, economic, and political systems. Their areas of operation across the globe include drug trafficking, trafficking in humans, arms trafficking, migrant smuggling, money laundering, cyber-crime, and many more illicit activities, generating billions of dollars annually.
The Guest of Honour emphasized on the need for deeper and more effective cooperation between the state, private sector, and non-governmental organisations. He further noted that integrated and collective approaches encompassing all stakeholders in the organised crime value chain will ensure a fool proof strategy that will address the threats and challenges posed by organised crime in their entirety, while ensuring that the strategy is future-proofed; and that cooperation and partnership should also look beyond our borders and operate on the international plane to dismantle the complex networks sustaining organised crime.
In conclusion, the National Police Commissioner applauded SADC Secretariat, INTERPOL Regional Bureau Harare and other stakeholders for their resilience in assisting the development process of the national strategy to prevent and combat TOC in Eswatini and beyond.
Ms. Thanyani Gumede, Senior Officer Police/SARPCCO, SADC Secretariat
Mr. Sello Moerane, Head of INTERPOL Regional Bureau Harare
