This week, several events jointly organised by the EU’s Maritime Security Capacity Building Mission in the Horn of Africa and Western Indian Ocean -EUCAP Nestor- and its Tanzanian Partners from the Maritime Police. The Head of Mission of EUCAP Nestor, Etienne de Poncins, who is based in the Mission’s HQ in Djibouti visited Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar on these occasions.
Maritime safety equipment to the Maritime Police
EUCAP Nestor Head of Country Office Tanzania, Eisso Kronenberg, had ordered maritime safety equipment almost one year ago after discussing the needs with the Maritime Police.
The binoculars and life vests that have arrived and were handed over officially to the Maritime Police on 3 December will help in better controlling the shoreline and in acting against all forms of maritime crime. The life vests the Maritime Police were using so far were of bright orange color and very thick thus hampering the movements of the officers at sea and making them an easy target. The new black vests are much lighter and will not hamper them in their movements when pursuing criminals at sea.
The equipment of a value of 35 thousand Euros was handed over to the Maritime Police by EUCAP Nestor Head of Mission on visit to Tanzania who remembered: “One year ago, EUCAP Nestor first started its work in Tanzania. Before the actual start, we had received a list of equipment and training needs for the Maritime Police. Looking back now, I see that several demands from this list have been satisfied and many tasks accomplished. We have an excellent cooperation with our interlocutors from the Maritime Police and the Public Prosecution Office and we sincerely hope to pursue this good cooperation in the future and to work hand in hand to combat piracy and other maritime crime in the region”.
The ceremony took place at the HQ of the Maritime Police in the presence of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Abdoulrachman Kaniki as well as the Chief of the Maritime Police, Kanga and there were several other ranking police officers present.
“The equipment we just received will make a big difference for the operational capacity of the Maritime Police Office and we will not have to wait long to see the first results” said Kaniki during the handover ceremony.
With regard to the good cooperation between EUCAP Nestor and the Maritime Police that has developed over the past year, he said “The excellent cooperation should act as an example of what can be achieved when partners work together for the same goal, fighting maritime crime.”
Train the Trainer Course ends in Zanzibar
After several courses (Criminal Investigation, First Intervention) held in Tanzania since EUCAP Nestor started its activities, a first “Train the Trainer” course (TtT), that concludes on 5 December in Zanzibar, completes the efforts of the Mission and will guarantee sustainability and continuity on a higher and more professional level.
“Sustainability is one key element of the EUCAP Nestor training programs” said Eisso Kronenberg, Head of EUCAP Nestor Country Office in Tanzania who will soon finish hisassignment. “The education of trainers and the inclusion of training content into the curriculum of the Tanzania Police Force are two key elements to make a training program work.”
The 11 participants of this first TtT course that ends today are Maritime Police Officers from all over Tanzania. Most of them are already involved in training courses or supposed to be deployed to a training unit/academy in the near future. The course will give the participants tools to train other people such as presentation techniques, learning systems, body language and didactical methods, how to use different media and powerpoint, etc…
During the closing ceremony, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Abdoulrachman Kaniki, said “The training courses delivered by EUCAP Nestor in the past year have been extremely valuable to us. It is a duty of Tanzanian Police to make sure that the results of these training activities will not be lost and will be carried through the new generation of trainers, now being trained by EUCAP Nestor in Zanzibar. What our officers and trainers learned will be the base for future generations of Maritime Police Officers.” He concluded saying that “whenever there is a need in the region, we are willing to support and to spread what we learned”.
On 1 December, the Head of Mission of EUCAP Nestor had paid a visit to the training course to commend the efforts and to congratulate the participants to their achievements during this training.
Background
EUCAP Nestor is a civilian EU mission under the Common Security and Defense Policy, which assists host countries in the Horn of Africa and Western Indian Ocean region (Somalia, Djibouti, Seychelles, Tanzania) in strengthening their capacity to ensure maritime security and in particular to fight piracy.
ENDS
