Brig. Sabiiti was speaking at the closing ceremony of a two-day USALAMA V planning meeting at Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe on Friday.
“There is an old African proverb from Ethiopia which says that, ‘when spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion’. Therefore the concept of uniting as brothers and sisters to fight transnational organized crimes is a correct one and I congratulate you on that. I would like to urge you to maintain this kind of cooperation and take it to another level,” he said.
He added that: “The success of this operation will largely depend on how you continue to coordinate, share information and intelligence gathering.”
These crimes, he said cause a big threat to the population and that it is a hindrance to economic and political development of the people.
He therefore said, it is evident enough that the success of USALAMA operation will directly impact on the positive development of the regions.
“There’s no doubt that the above crime are among the worst affecting the entire region. Therefore, I am happy to learn that you have come up with clear plans on how to operate in a coordinated operation against these issues,” he said.
Since its inception years ago, USALAMA’s objectives have been to address the threats caused by transnational crimes including arms trafficking, human trafficking, drug trafficking, motor vehicle thefts, environmental crimes, terrorism and money laundering among others in the 26 East and Southern African countries.
