SADC heads planned onslaught on pirates

Southern African Development Community navies are plotting to defeat Somali pirates before they move southwards.

The bloc's naval heads from 14 countries were locked in high-level discussions in Durban yesterday to formulate their battle plan, which they expect to put into action as soon as the issue of funding is thrashed out.

The naval chiefs, who will deliberate until tomorrow, acknowledged that piracy now threatened the entire continent - as trends show that brazen pirates are moving towards the south sub-Saharan region.

Vice-Admiral Refiloe Johannes Mudimu said though South African waters were safe, the navy had to join the fight.

"The South African navy is currently the strongest in the region and we are trying to utilise our assets to help others in the region. Pirates are ruining SADC's economy as we know that about 80% of the region's economy moves in our waters. No ship must be hijacked in our waters," he said.

He said pirates moved from land to sea and then back to land again, making it imperative for all security authorities to be part of the battle plan.

He added that the fight against piracy could also combat drug smuggling, human trafficking and illegal dumping in the region's waters. Mudimu said piracy cost the continent at least $7-billion (R54-billion) to $12-billion (R92-billion) a year.

Chief of the Tanzania People's Defence Force Navy, Major-General Said Omar, agreed that the world's economy was under threat.

He admitted that capturing pirates was not as challenging as keeping them behind bars.

"It has been a serious challenge to prosecute these pirates because very few courts have dealt with this kind of crime," he said.

Omar said about 10% of arrested pirates have appeared before court while others were released.