Q: Where does the CEP fit into your overall vision for the Ministry of Home Affairs?

A: Well, there is a reason why CEP has been put in place. The ministry has put in a lot of resources and effort, and considers it a key objective.

And when I came in, I was involved in the CEP. It is something I totally believe in. I saw why it was started, formulated and why the Ministry took the lead. MHA took the lead many years ago and has brought in other ministries. And I think that, logically, given the focus, it is something that we should take the lead in, but working with various other ministries.

If you go back and ask yourself, what is it? “CEP” is a big word, but what does it really mean? If you take our small urban context, and you take the fact that it is a very cosmopolitan, multi-religious and multi-racial society, you don't have to look very hard elsewhere in the world. Where are the cleavages when there is pressure and tension, whether it is external or internal? The cleavages are along racial and religious lines, where societies attack each other and turn upon each other.

For recent examples, you can look at Africa. The cleavages occur because of external invasions, internal power struggles, and elections where the people can't agree on who the winners are. And the winners and losers are divided along tribal lines or ethnic lines. There are many examples. You have Rwanda, you have Kenya, and you have a number of other examples, each arising from different causes.

In Rwanda, of course, there was a power struggle, but partly, the unwillingness to seek rapport, and then you have one society turning on the other. In Kenya, it was a disputed election. But then, the violence was along tribal lines.