Thursday, February 17, 2011

Should Africa rethink its strategy on Somali pirates?

Maritime piracy is costing the global economy between $7bn (£4.4bn) and $12bn (£7.6bn) a year, but is enough being done to combat it?

Piracy in the Indian Ocean has taken a turn for the worse recently, with the killings of two seized Fillipino crewmen and the hijacking of an oil tanker with a cargo worth $200m (£125m).

Many of the pirates say they began as fishermen who lost their livelihoods because of foreign trawlers, but without doubt huge profits are being made through piracy.

Is there more that Africa can do to tackle the pirates? Is your country affected by Somali piracy? Does your government have the right strategy to tackle it? What is needed to put an end to piracy?

If you would like to debate this topic LIVE on air on Wednesday 16 February at 1600 GMT, please include a telephone number. It will not be published.

Source: BBC News

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