Voinjama, Liberia- As part of efforts to promote peace and security in Liberia, three additional security structures have been set up in northwestern Liberia.
They were launched on Thursday January 31, 2019 in Lofa County on the border with Guinea.
The three new structures which include Vahun District Security Council, Kolahun District Security Council and the Salayea District Security Council now bring the number of districts security structures in the county to six.
Speaking at the ceremony on January 30 in Voinjama, Kaizen Company program Coordinator Joseph Boima disclosed that phase three of the Mitigating Local Disputes in Liberia (MLDL III) program is being implemented by The Kaizen Company and funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
He said Kaizen supports Liberia’s security structures under the County Security Mechanism (CSM) which aims to resolve disputes at all levels before they mushroom into large-scale conflicts.
“To assist the CSM in mitigating disputes, Kaizen seeks to build the human and institutional capacity of security personnel, local government officials, and citizens while developing and expanding CSM structures, including County Security Councils (CSCs), District Security Councils (DSCs), and Community Forums (CFs). By working to improve CSM structures, MLDL III build citizens’ trust and confidence in the security apparatus’ ability to fairly and rapidly respond to issues,” Mr. Boima disclosed.
According to him, MLDL III builds the capacity of security personnel, local government representatives, and citizens to effectively identify, communicate, and collaborate to resolve disputes and security concerns, which strengthens the rule of law both locally and nationwide.
“In particular, MLDL III supports the Government of Liberia’s Early Warning-Early Response (EWER) mechanism which enables local communities and national security institutions alike to rapidly respond to violent conflicts and health crises, such as Ebola and other disease outbreaks, border security, terrorist threats, and human trafficking, in vulnerable rural and border regions,” Boima emphasized.
They are building on the success of MLDL II. The third iteration of the program will continue to develop and expand CSCs, DSCs, and CFs in Lofa, Bong, Grand Gedeh, and Nimba counties in addition to developing new programs in Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu.
The establishment of the counties, districts and communities security structures is to ensure total reconciliation by inclusion of all Liberians in order to provide security for all following the Liberian civil crisis.
According to him, the security of any society or community cannot be left in the hands of the securities alone but must include everyone within that community or society.
Some key roles and responsibilities of the CSCs, DSCs and FCs include early warning, human security, management of local security concerns, policy recommendations, ensure local participations and escalate security issues, among others.