04 Aug 2019

Transnational organised crime has a major impact on stability, security and development of individual countries and regions.

Giving a keynote address at a two-day SADC judicial roundtable on transnational wildlife organised crime in Gaborone recently, the acting Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Mr Bagalatia Arone said research had shown that organised crime in most countries was underpinned by corruption.

He said it was for that reason that the judicial roundtable must interrogate and locate effectiveness of law enforcement agencies and the courts against transnational wildlife organised crime.

Mr Arone, who is also the Minister of Basic Education, said corruption was either a facilitating activity or an organised criminal activity on its own right and said those cartels and networks pounced on weaknesses in the criminal justice sector, limited law enforcement capacity and lethargic political will to execute nefarious activities.

The acting minister challenged participants to debate on how they  could adjudicate over transnational wildlife organised crime offences and emerge with effective judicial strategies of combating this menace.

Minister Arone called on participants to share best practices and challenges on transnational wildlife organised crime in the region and explore the possibilities of creating a platform to facilitate sustainable communication amongst the judiciaries in the region.

For his part, Chief Justice Terence Rannowane said the development of environmental justice was gaining momentum on the African continent and members of the judiciary played a critical role in enhancing access to environmental justice.

He said it was imperative to strengthen the efforts on greening the judicial curricular in the SADC region to ensure continuous capacitation on environmental law for the judiciary.

Justice Rannowane said it was commendable that Africa was defining its own course on capacity building of members of the judiciary.

He stated that it was important to fight organised crime emanating from wildlife trafficking, as proceeds from those crimes were used in various forms and to some extend to destabilise the democracies within the continent and even beyond. ENDS