November 19, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
President Farmajo Jets Off To Rome For Official State Visit
19 November – Source: 252Politics – 186 Words
A delegation led by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo is expected to fly out to the Italian capital of Rome. According to a press release from Villa Somalia sent out to newsrooms today, the President will be in Rome, courtesy of invitation from his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella.
The two leaders will discuss on how to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries and other issues of mutual interest including the economy, security and politics: “Italy and Somalia share historic diplomatic and political ties and Rome remains crucial in the reconstruction process of our country,” the President said.
President Farmaajo is accompanied on the official state visit by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Ahmed Isse Awad and other senior officials including his advisors. During the three-day state visit, the President and his delegation are also expected to meet representatives of the Somali diaspora community in Italy for discussions. Italy, which colonized Somalia before according it independence in 1960s, has since lost influence in the country to Turkey, United States of America and the United Kingdom. However, Italy still helps to train Somali police.
Key Headlines
- President Farmajo Jets Off To Rome For Official State Visit (252Politics)
- Somalia Lacks Legal Framework And Capacity To License Oil Drilling-Petroleum (Goobjoog News)
- Ex-Jubbaland Cop Executed For Murder (Kismaayo.com)
- AMISOM Builds Leadership Capacity Of Young Somali Leaders In Post-conflict Era (AMISOM)
- The Preacher Who Laid The Ground For Violent Jihadi Ideology In Kenya (The Conversation)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Lacks Legal Framework And Capacity To License Oil Drilling-Petroleum
19 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 446 Words
Somalia does not have the capacity and requisite legal framework to engage international oil companies to start oil drilling, a senior government official has claimed warning the anticipated bid rounds slated for February could compromise the country’s interests and drive away potential investors.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Petroleum Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, and seen by Goobjoog News, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Jamal Mursal, claims the announcement of the bid rounds fails to take into consideration the prevailing legal and capacity limitations in the country: “This announcement comes at a time when Somalia is not technically ready nor transparent enough to move in a predictable direction under an accountable leadership,” says Mursal.
Mursal adds that the Ministry’s staff is inadequate to undertake any contract negotiations. “Up to the present, there is no qualified and trained Negotiation Team/Committee that can handle negotiations and protect the interest of Somalia in producing a fair deal/contract with the International Oil Companies.” Ministry of Petroleum’s director general, Eng. Karar Doomey, said last week while attending the Africa Oil Week that Somalia will be launching bid rounds for oil companies in February.
Doomey added the country has at its disposal 206 oil blocks and will be auctioning blocks in southern Somalia. Doomey explained that all the legal frameworks will be ready by February. According to Spectrum Geo, which completed its acquisition of 2D seismic data offshore in Somalia in May 2016, the Ministry of Petroleum will unveil the final block delineation, expected to consist of up to 50 blocks covering a total area of over 173,000 km2.
But in his letter dated November 18, Mursal warns Somalia could be walking into a deal with little understanding of what it entails. According to Mursal, agreements between the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the Federal Member States (FMS) must first be anchored in law, noting the Baidoa pact in June between the two levels of government must be reflected in the Federal Constitution and incorporated in the Petroleum Bill.
According to Mursal, the Ministry of Finance and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is currently developing tax codes which must be incorporated into the Petroleum Bill but that will be feasible as from mid-2019 when the Tax Bill will be tabled in Parliament. “Without a proper Tax Code in place, IOCs (International Oil Companies) will be unwilling to enter into a long-term agreement with Somalia and announcing a bid round is obviously a premature thing to do,” says Mursal. Mursal also questions the tax exemptions in the current Petroleum Bill and the Production Sharing Agreement as incentives for investment noting Somalia cannot afford to grant such exemptions.
Ex-Jubbaland Cop Executed For Murder
19 November – Source: Kismaayo.com – 87 Words
A former member of the Jubbaland armed forces was today executed in Kismaayo for the killing of a prominent elder. Mr Abdirizak Omar Abdullahi’s date with the hangman came after he was found guilty of killing prominent peacemaker Hassan Goolo in Kismaayo on 27th October 2018.
Golo was one of the prominent elders and peacemakers in the Jubbaland state and his killing drew widespread anger. This is not the first time a Jubbaland military court has sentenced to death members of the armed forces for causing murder.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Builds Leadership Capacity Of Young Somali Leaders In Post-conflict Era
18 November – Source: AMISOM – 550 Words
A group of Somali leaders have benefitted from an intensive five-day leadership skills development course, aimed at improving their competencies in leadership. The course, held at the National Farmers Leadership Centre in Mpigi district, in Uganda, familiarized the participants who are members of the Somali National Commission on Mobilization and Sensitization – a statutory agency mandated to mobilize Somali publics to support state programmes and institutions – with the principle aspects of leadership, needed to carry out their duties.
“Somalia requires mobilization for various reasons. It is a country with several internal conflicts, there are several internal conflicts, the relations between the government and the people is characterized by mistrust,” explained the co-convener of the training workshop and AMISOM’s Senior Political Affairs Officer, Mr. Hajji Ssebirumbi.
Over the five-day course participants interacted with various leaders, among them the Rt. Hon. Jacob Oulanyah, the Deputy Speaker of Ugandan Parliament, who delivered a lecture on post-conflict management and reconciliation. Speaker Oulanyah advised the Somali leaders to draw lessons from Uganda’s turbulent past, to enable them achieve their goals. The training was a follow-up to a leadership skills development workshop, held in Mogadishu in August 2018.
“It provided a deeper and broader understanding of the young Somali leaders, of the process of nation building especially in a post-conflict context like Somalia,” noted the chief facilitator Paul Odauk, who added that Uganda bore uniquely similar experiences with Somalia, due to the extended period of conflict both countries experienced, and the process of post conflict reconstruction, reconciliation and re-stabilization.
The training of members of the National Commission on Mobilization and Sensitization, is in line with the AU Mission’s Transition Plan, which emphasizes capacity building of institutions of the Federal Government of Somalia, and is expected to help the officers build rapport with local Somali communities, as they embark on activities to promote reconciliation. Additionally, the training was aimed at equipping the commission’s members with skills to effectively carry out the agency’s mandate, as it supports the objectives of the government.
The deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia, Mr. Simon Mulongo, addressed the participants during the course of the training. He welcomed the objectives of the workshop, saying it would enhance efforts to stabilize and reconstruct Somalia. “Even if we have completed a number of key areas militarily, in terms of capturing and degrading Al-shabaab, there are still critical important elements, particularly political ones, to be able to anchor the achievements made so far,” Mulongo stated.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Their provocative sermons and statements were directed against the state, Christians and anti-jihad Muslim clerics. All were accused of advancing anti-Islamic agenda for allegedly supporting government’s efforts in the war on violent extremism.”
The Preacher Who Laid The Ground For Violent Jihadi Ideology In Kenya
18 November – Source: The Conversation – 882 Words
There are a number of explanations about the genesis of jihadi ideas in Kenya. One is that it could be linked to the emergence of the large and diverse Salafi community. The Salafi are also popularly known as the Wahhabi because of their association with the teachings of 18th century conservative Saudi scholar Muhammad Abd-al-Wahhab. The Salafists first appeared in Kenya in the 1980s under a community of believers known as Ansari Sunnah (the protectors of the tradition of Prophet Muhammad). This heralded the emergence of individuals with extreme religious views among Kenya’s Muslims, who make up 11.2% of the population of 51 million.
Another theory is laid at the door of increasing numbers of Muslims studying in the Middle East particularly Saudi Arabia, exposing them to the Wahhabi way of thinking – the Saudi form of Salafism. The third theory is that the insurgency in Somalia, spearheaded by al-Shabaab brought together Muslims from Somalia, Kenya and other nationalities in a conflict zone. This provided a greater opportunity for Kenyan jihadists to feel part of a global Islamic movement.
But my research traces the intellectual genesis and the ultimate growth of the jihadi ideology back to a prominent Muslim cleric – Sheikh Abdulaziz Rimo. Rimo was born in 1949 at Diani in Kwale County on the Kenyan coastline. Early in his 20s, Rimo secured an eight-year scholarship to study at the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia in 1972. After completing his studies, he returned to Kenya to propagate the Islamic faith among the Digo Muslim community of Kenya’s south coast. This was an undertaking he frequently referred to as jihad – the religious duty of exerting oneself to realise a noble cause.
It’s my view that Rimo’s efforts ushered in a new way of addressing political issues among Kenyan Muslims. His biggest influence included framing the grievance of Muslims along religious lines. By doing so he promoted the idea that religion could be used to solve political problems. Like other African students, the reformist imprint of the Medina University scholars left an indelible mark on Rimo. Certainly, the Medina phase was crucial for him in terms of initiating him into the Wahhabi-Salafi teachings. The period shaped him into a Salafi sheikh, which is evident in his sermons. In both words and action the Sheikh denounced Muslims who, in his interpretation, had deviated from the “true” faith.
As a result, he alienated many, particularly those Muslims who held more tolerant views of their religion. Rimo didn’t confine himself to moral and spiritual issues. In his mosque sermons he also occasionally veered into political matters. And he joined the 1990 pro-reform campaigns, becoming a fiery critic of the leadership of Daniel Arap Moi who ruled Kenya between 1978 and 2002. This led to his imprisonment for six years.
TOP TWEETS
@TheVillaSomalia: H.E President @M_Farmaajo travels to#Rome Italy for a 3 day state visit. #Somalia and #Italymaintained strong friendship based on mutual interests, trust and respect. #Italy is one of #Somalia’s reliable allies.#NabadIyoNolol.
@mocisom: 2nd Day of the PPD forum is going well with absolute representation from the donors, International partners, private sectors and government officials. @somaliappd@KhadarGulaid @SomaliPM.
@XHNews: #BREAKING: Kenyan police on Monday killed several suspected al-Shabab terrorists in Garissa county near the Somali border. Local police chief said the militants were killed by the border patrol special forces.
@SomaliPM: I commend our business community who have held our society together for decades and ask them to also change mindsets and realize that government alone cannot resolve their difficulties rather they should begin to understand that they are part and parcel of the government.
@US2SOMALIA: Please help us celebrate U.S. Ambassador Donald Y. Yamamoto’s presentation of credentials to President of the Federal Republic of #Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo” on November 17, 2018 in #Mogadishu.
@Mogadishu_News: Somalia has held its first boxing competition in over three decades, with young boxers in the conflict-torn nation dreaming of a career on the international stage https://www.nation.co.ke/news/
@wardirelief: WARDI provided emergency safe water through water trucking to 2,600 flood affected households in 5 IDP camps in Marka district lower shabelle region funded by SHF and Implemented WARDI @shf_somalia @OCHASom@JustinTBrady @wardirelief @UNdeClercq
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and Mogadishu Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman at the Public Private Dialogue meeting held in Mogadishu.
@SomaliPM