Security Contracts in Africa

Finally, just like in Iraq and Afghanistan, the contractors also provide basic operations and survival services for U.S. military bases and operations in Africa. In some cases, these contracts are awarded through established channels such as the U.S. Department of Defense`s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP). Private military and security companies are an integral part of conflicts around the world. For Africa, these companies have become increasingly visible with their role in the civil wars in Angola and Sierra Leone. For governments, the growing list of services in an increasingly globalized market offers greater opportunities to fill real or perceived security gaps. In some cases, private military and security companies can be used to protect a regime from collapse. For many governments, private military and security companies can become an attractive resource. This is especially true in cases where the capacity of the national armed forces is weak and the government is exposed to strong threats.

Our analysis shows that at no point in the conflict did competing private military and security companies operate simultaneously in the country. For example, the Gurkha Security Guards were signed in early 1994. But he left quickly when the rebels attacked and killed their leader. After the company`s departure, Executive Outcomes was tasked with thwarting the threat of the Revolutionary United Front. In the data, attendance in the same year is wrongly treated as a contest. In other cases, one-off tenders or contracts without a bid are used. due to the small size of the base, the temporary duration of operations or difficulties in identifying qualified suppliers. In June 2015, for example, the Marine Corps requested to provide basic support services for up to four months to twenty-four soldiers conducting training exercises with the Ugandan army at Camp Singo in Uganda during the fall. The U.S. frequently uses Camp Singo — located about seventy kilometers northwest of Kampala — for training exercises with Ugandan and African military contingents, and has even built a small fenced area with buildings, tents, water tanks, and generators. But instead of stationing troops there permanently, he rotates them at will and relies on short-term contracts for basic and life support. In other words, ad hoc logistics contracts facilitate AFRICOM`s stated goal of organizing troop posture “to maximize operational flexibility and agility.” And a Russian entrepreneur, the Wagner Group, is actively involved in Sudan and the Central African Republic.

His holdings included signing contracts giving him access to potential diamond and gold deposits. Such agreements were typical of private military and security companies, especially in Africa. This was the case with the executive results agreement with the government of Sierra Leone in the early 1990s. ZELA also issued an injunction requiring the government to provide situation reports to the public on the $3 billion Sengwa power plant, which is currently being built by China Gezhouba Group, whose security is coordinated by China Security Technology Group. Similar initiatives have been launched in other countries, including Ghana and Guinea. Litigants understood that targeting large state-owned enterprises can be an effective way to make public the activities of the security companies they hire. Internal private security in Africa, which targets criminal activity, is widespread. But there are also a number of large transnational PMSCs that, together with their subsidiaries, guard mining sites, train national military and police, and provide security for development or humanitarian organizations. Even United Nations international development or peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations sometimes contract with PMSCs for various logistics support services. The African Union Convention on the Elimination of Mercenaries is technically silent on foreign security companies, as it entered into force in 1985 before foreign security actors became a common feature of the African security landscape. Civil society groups have urged African governments to update the convention as foreign and military security firms have become ubiquitous, especially in unstable countries. The proliferation of foreign security companies has important political implications for Africa, as it undermines the government`s role as the primary security provider in a country and increases the risk of human rights violations.

A more robust regulatory process in Africa will be essential to prioritize and protect the interests of African citizens. For example, Executive Outcomes owned and operated a number of subsidiaries, including groups such as LifeGuard Management and Ibis Air. It has used these groups to provide specialized services such as mine safety and air transport. These were crucial to give the executive results the best opportunity to return from the territory of the Revolutionary United Front, while the army was trained by Sierra Leone. But ordinary Africans will also increasingly see the negative effects of China`s growing footprint, especially as controversial investments in state-owned enterprises and dubious activities of Chinese security firms make headlines. While they are largely silent about the expansion of Chinese security companies on the continent, African governments can hardly afford to ignore the feelings triggered by these companies. From a national security perspective, African governments and the African Union must assess the role and sustainability of foreign security companies within the African security architecture. Given their growth rate, the problem of foreign security companies in Africa will not go away anytime soon. This raises fundamental questions about the oversight, role and ability of the African security sector to protect African interests – and foreign investment – on the continent. The Chinese government is therefore increasingly relying on Chinese security companies as part of its security mix. In China, 5,000 security enterprises are registered, employing 4.3 million former members of the People`s Liberation Army and the People`s Armed Police.

Twenty of them are allowed to deploy abroad and employ 3,200 individual contractors, more than the size of the People`s Liberation Army peacekeeping operations, which include about 2,500 troops. The actual number of Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa is undoubtedly significantly higher. Beijing DeWe Security Service and Huaxin Zhong An Security Group employ 35,000 entrepreneurs in 50 African countries, South Asia, the Middle East and China. Overseas Security Guardians and China Security Technology Group employ 62,000 people in the same regions. In Kenya, DeWe employs about 2,000 security companies to protect the $3.6 billion Mombasa-Nairobi-Naivasha standard gauge railway alone. Given current developments, the presence of Chinese security companies in Africa is expected to increase over the next decade. These companies are likely to be scrutinized, as public demand for more accountability to China`s state-owned enterprises – which hold the portfolio of security companies – is also growing. Strategic litigants understand that the demand for more transparency regarding Chinese state-owned enterprises will also shed light on the activities of Chinese security companies. African reformers also understand that China is sensitive to its image, especially since its investments in Africa are widely praised. It is also in China`s interest to impose standards on its state-owned enterprises and security companies or risk undermining its influence on soft power in Africa. The deployment of Chinese security companies in Africa is spreading without a solid regulatory framework. This poses increased risks to African citizens and raises fundamental questions about the responsibility for security in Africa.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences notes that 84 percent of China`s investments in the Belt and Road are made in medium- to high-risk countries. Three hundred and fifty serious security incidents involving Chinese companies occurred between 2015 and 2017, ranging from kidnappings and terrorist attacks to anti-China violence, according to China`s Ministry of State Security. This has given a high priority to security to protect these investments, and a growing demand from Chinese state leaders for a more robust Chinese security presence on the ground. While the People`s Liberation Army (PLA) has been reluctant to maintain a strong presence in Africa due to a variety of reputational and logistical factors, China is not convinced that African security forces can accomplish this task. African governments share the desire to create peace and security throughout the region and need training and mentorship from foreign allies to help them achieve this. We are not suggesting avoiding private military and security companies. They have proven to be useful alternatives for organizations such as the UN and the World Food Programme. Rather, our analysis highlights the need to fully understand the intricacies of their interactions – not only with the entities they contract, but also with each other.

“Strategic litigation has quickly become an effective tool to raise awareness and increase transparency about the opaque nature of security contracts.” Members of the Maritime Protection Service of the Chinese Security Company Hua Xin Zhong An. . . .