November 28, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Anti-motion PMs declare negotiation committee formed to halt rift

28 Nov – Source: Rajonews/AlShahid/Jowhar Online -132 words

Member of Somali MPs who rejected no confidence motion against PM on Thursdayannounced that they met Somali president and consulted with him on how the rift between the top leaders of the country could be resolved. The MPs said that they selected five members from their side so they take part in the negotiation process which they think will lead the country to be stable.

Abdi Bare, who is one of the most prominent MPs who boycotted the no confidence motion against PM confirmed that the president allowed to halt the motion which they recognized as an obstacle which threw the country into chaos. The rift between Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mahmud and Prime minister, Abdiweil Sheikh Ahmed has paralyzed the country’s political development.

Key Headlines

Anti-motion PMs declare negotiation committee formed to halt rift (Rajonews/AlShahid/Jowhar Online)
Local agency takes over Elwak hospital (Radio Ergo)
Somali construction engineer killed in Somalia (Hiiraan Online/Kismayo 24)
Baraawe DC under investigations over charcoal export (Radio Mustaqbal)
Somaliland: Mines Minister & Energy suspends issuance of mining permit (Somaliland Informer)
Meeting to discuss development projects opens in Kismayo (Radio Bar-kulan)
Kenya: crisis as workers flee Mandera (Daily Nation)
Uganda: top officers sold electricity to Somalis – witness (Daily Monitor)
Kenya police allow mosques to reopen in port city (Daily Mail/AFP)
EU Naval Force Operation Commander and IMO Secretary-General warn no room for complacency against Somali piracy (Eunavfor.eu)
The ungoverned seas (The Economist)

SOMALI MEDIA

Anti-motion PMs declare negotiation committee formed to halt rift

28 Nov – Source: Rajonews/AlShahid/Jowhar Online -132 words

Member of Somali MPs who rejected no confidence motion against PM on Thursday announced that they met Somali president and consulted with him on how the rift between the top leaders of the country could be resolved. The MPs said that they selected five members from their side so they take part in the negotiation process which they think will lead the country to be stable.

Local agency takes over Elwak hospital

28 Nov – Source: Radio Ergo – 201 words

Elwak district hospital resumed operations this week after being closed for a year and a half. Human Development Concern (HDC), a local NGO, took over the running of the hospital to fill the gap left by the Italian NGO, Coordinating Committee of the Organisation for Volunteer Services, (COSVI). COSVI pulled out of Elwak in May 2013 due to insecurity.

HDC provides supports for other hospitals in Dollow, Luq, Beled-Hawo and Bardere districts. Ahmed Mohamed Ali, deputy director of the hospital, told Radio Ergo’s local reporter that the facility was now functioning and thanked the local aid agency for its effort. “The facility was renovated and new wards were constructed. We have now started to provide nutritional and maternal health care services,” Ahmed said. Twenty patients suffering from diarrhoea, malaria, malnutrition and respiratory infections were admitted to the hospital for treatment this week.

Acting commissioner of Elwak, Sahal Adan, welcomed the hospital’s re-opening saying he hoped it would help improve the district’s appalling health situation. Locals have had to travel to the Kenyan side of Elwak, 15 km away, to seek medical attention. This has often been complicated for Somali patients by problems such as getting medical documents issued by the local Kenya administration in the area.

Somali construction engineer killed in Mogadishu

Source: Hiiraan Online/Kismayo 24 – 122 words

A Somali-Swedish engineer Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed (Miftah) working with a Turkish company was killedon Thursday in a bomb attack in the capital Mogadishu, police said.

“We don’t know why he was targeted but investigations are going on. They attached an explosive device to his car and remotely detonated it,” said police officer Abdilahi Mohamed. Last week a U.S.-Somali engineer, Abdullahi Ali Anshur, who had left a well-paying job in the U.S. to help the Mogadishu government with urban planning and drainage systems, was also shot dead in Mogadishu.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab has frequently set off bombs or launched gun attacks targeting Somali journalists, international aid workers, bureaucrats, and anyone connected to Somalia’s internationally-backed government.

Baraawe DC under investigations over charcoal export

28 Nov – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 75 words

Deputy Commissioner of Lower Shabelle Province on security affairs Ali Noor Mohamed told Mustaqbal Radio that Baraawe district commissioner Sha’ir Abdi Elmi is under investigation. Sha’ir is accused of exporting charcoal from the recently liberated town of Baraawe in Lower Shabelle region. The Deputy Commissioner said that Mr. Sha’ir will be taken to court if the accusations against him are found factual.

Meeting to discuss development projects opens in Kismayo

27 Nov – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 82 words

A two day meeting to discuss the development of Kismayo has opened in southern Somalia port city. The program is supported by USAID in cooperation with Kismayo local administration. The deputy of the interim Juba administration Suldan Abdulkadir Hajji has said the project is aimed at improving the future planning of the city. Kismayo mayor Ibrahim Mohamed Yussuf who spoke at the opening of the meeting has also thanked the organizers and said the project will have positive impact on the city.

Somaliland: Mines Minister & Energy suspends issuance of mining permit

27 Nov – Source: Somaliland Informer – 108 words
Somaliland has with immediate effect suspended the issuance of new mining licenses. Mines and Natural Resources Minister Husein Abdi Du’ale made the announcement in circular # WT&M/01-493/14. The Ministers stated that the suspension will be put into immediate effect pertaining to review previous licenses. The Minister further noted that the halt of issuing mining licenses to firms in place until the 2015. Mr. Hussein stated that the mining and Energy Ministry issues the following licenses:
1. Dealer License
2. Prospective License
3. Exclusive License
4. Mining License
The Minister has stated that it suspended the issuance of all mining licenses until he reviews and amends licenses.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenya: crisis as workers flee Mandera

28 Nov – Source: Daily Nation – 293 words

There was mass exodus Thursday as people working in the terror-hit Mandera County have decided to flee by road. This spells doom for the county because among those fleeing the county include providers of essential services, including doctors.

They said they decided to take the risk since their pleas to the government to evacuate them by air followingSaturday’s massacre had failed. The professionals, mainly health workers, teachers and other civil servants had demanded that the government to evacuates them from the area after 28 people were executed by suspected Al Shabaab militants.

Uganda: top officers sold electricity to Somalis – witness

27 Nov – Source: Daily Monitor – 321 words

A UPDF major has testified that they experienced power shortages during peacekeeping mission in Somalia which affected some of the equipment they used. The prosecution witness told the General Court Martial on Tuesday that the shortages resulted from some senior officers selling electricity to locals leading to breakdown of their refrigeration system.

Maj James Newman Bua, a former chief instructor under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), said he received reports from the unit investigating officer about illegal electricity connections in places around Al-Jazeera training centre where Somali army troops are trained. Maj Bua said he suspected some of the officers to be selling electricity to locals for financial gains.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenya police allows mosques to reopen in port city

28 Nov- Source: Daily Mail/AFP- 266 words

Authorities in Kenya’s troubled port city of Mombasa said Thursday they were allowing four mosques to reopen following a string of raids to hunt for weapons and supporters of Somalia’s Shebab militants. Last week police said they found grenades, ammunition and petrol bombs and detained scores of people in swoops on the Masjid Musa, Sakina, Swafaa and Minaa mosques. One person was also shot dead as they tried to throw a grenade at police.

“Our intention is not to take over mosques, we are here to help you and your safety,” said Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa, announcing that the mosques could reopen in time for Friday prayers. The raids prompted fresh unrest in Mombasa, an important tourist centre key port city and gateway for trade with east Africa, with four people stabbed to death in apparent revenge attacks.

Somalia’s al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebaab Islamists on Saturday also ambushed a bus in northern Kenya and executed 28 non-Muslim passengers in what they said was revenge for the raids.

EU Naval Force Operation Commander and IMO Secretary-General Warn No Room for Complacency Against Somali Piracy

27 Nov – Source: eunavfor.eu – 276 Words

The Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force, Major General Martin Smith MBE, visited the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr Koji Sekimizu, at the IMO headquarters in London on Wednesday 26 November.

Meeting to discuss the current situation off the Horn of Africa, the two leaders agreed that Somali-based piracy remains a threat to international shipping, and agreed that there was no room for complacency where pirates are concerned. Naval forces are still very much required in the West Indian Ocean, and merchant ships should continue to apply IMO guidance and Best Management Practices with diligence.

To that end, Mr Sekimizu welcomed the extension of the EU’s Operation Atalanta counter-piracy mandate to the end of 2016, which was announced in Brussels at the end of last week. The EU Naval Force’s main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid for the World Food Programme (WFP) and vessels of AMISOM as they transit along the Somali coast, and to deter and disrupt piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. EU Naval Force units also monitor fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

The ungoverned seas

28 Nov – Source: The Economist – 1, 282 Words

Stick-slim and still, Captain Lube sits in Lagos’s commercial fishing harbour, watching his crew clean a rusting shrimp trawler. He used to look forward to guiding them out to the rough Atlantic waters. But nowadays he has grown too afraid to venture far from the coast. Pirates infest west Africa’s seas, and he has seen many fellow captains kidnapped and sometimes killed. He has become jumpy; every approaching vessel might pose a danger. The trawling company for which he works says that attacks last year were “too many to count”.

Just a few years ago the most dangerous waters in the world were off the coast of Somalia. But piracy there has fallen dramatically. It is more than two years since Somali pirates last successfully boarded a ship. At their peak in 2011, attacks were taking place almost daily. The number of attempts has fallen to a handful every month. Now it is the Gulf of Guinea that is the worst piracy hotspot, accounting for 19% of attacks worldwide, as recorded by the International Maritime Bureau. It registers an attack nearly every week (see map). The numbers are probably underestimates. America’s Office of Naval Intelligence reckons the real figure is more than twice as large—and growing.

The nature of piracy is quite different on the two sides of the continent. Around the Horn of Africa in the east, Somali pirates seek to seize ships and crews for ransom, and have ventured deep into the Indian Ocean. In the Gulf of Guinea in the west, attackers are more intent on stealing cash and cargoes of fuel, such as diesel, from ships coming in to port. Crews are sometimes kidnapped. It is a quicker hit than the Somali hostage-taking. It also tends to be more violent because the attackers have little incentive to keep the crews safe. Armed resistance is often met with heavy machine guns and military tactics, says Haakon Svane, of the Norwegian shipowners’ association.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“ My own take is that whereas it is good to hold people accountable, merely sacking the person in question does not solve the underlying problem.”

Somalia strategy has failed to assure Kenya security, so it’s time to rethink it

27 Nov – Source: Daily Nation – 751 Words

President Kenyatta has a crisis on his hands, one which he has inflicted on himself through his poor handling of the country’s security and which could lead to his fall if he does not get smart, rather than angry. There are two ways of looking at the security failures around the attack by Al-Shabaab last week in which 28 people, mainly teachers, were executed.

The first one is the accountability view, where we look for the person who failed and nail him to the wall. This is the typical Kenyan approach, this being a country of vindictive politics and emotion-soaked reaction to failure.

“In effect, Somalia’s international donors/partners who were already demoralized by the frequent corruption allegations at the highest echelons of the government are now irresolute how to tackle this latest political squabbling between the President and his Prime Ministers.”

Déjà Vu with a vengeance

27 Nov – Source: Garowe Online – 1, 292 Words

Every society should get the politicians it deserves, and most Somalis who support the current political dynamics can hardly argue they did not know what they were letting themselves in for. Somalis seems set to reel on indefinitely fighting heads of the state who compete for the support of corrupt legislators.

Still raw from the last political squabble between the incumbent president and his first prime minister, Somalia’s hope to finally turn a corner has rarely appeared more unlikely than in recent history, when the first news appeared that once again the President and his second Prime Minister were at each other’s throat and much worse the theatrical contest was bound to be deliberated by the MPs. President Hassan Sheikh like his predecessors still believes in the virtue of authoritarian control over his government and to pull all strings, but becomes apprehensive whenever his Prime Minister challenges him on such grounds.

Yet in reality the President is merely a titular leader under the provisional federal constitution adopted in August 2012. Ideally, the legislators (MPs) in the parliament should mend and rule the day when all else fails, but tragically that’s where all the political trappings lie. This sounds like a déjà vu with a vengeance. Somalia’s current government has long staked its legitimacy on being able to implement a nationwide reconciliation among its warring factions, but the people are now more aggravated about the chronic infighting of the President and his Prime Ministers, which relentlessly risk the country to slip back into lawlessness and political fragmentation.

“If you’re familiar with old Somali songs and singers, then you will be familiar with Hibo Nuura. Hibo Nuura was part of Waaberi, the legendary Somali group from the 70’s-90’s in Somalia. She continues to make songs here and there, whilst many members of the older generation refer to her as the mother of Somali music. In this song, she encourages people to not be bothered by what others say. Whenever I need some sort of motivation, I always listen to Hibo Nuura.”

My top 10 Somali songs of 2014

27 Nov – Source: Elmimag.com – 139 Words

When I was younger, I use to cringe at the thought of Somali music playing anywhere I was. I would only tolerate it at weddings because, quite frankly, a Somali wedding without Somali music isn’t really a wedding. Although, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to get more in touch with the cultural aspects of my background, and Somali music and traditional dances are probably the main parts of it. Now, I actually enjoy the extra-long introductions of songs and the random use of saxophones in the song to an extent that, Somali music is all I listen to now. Below I’ve ranked my favourite Somali songs of 2014 in no particular order, from love songs, to break up songs, to Wadani (patriotic) songs, and I had to throw in some dhaanto tracks too! I hope you enjoy them.

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@UNSomalia @EUNAVFOR Commander & IMO Secretary-General Warn No Room for Complacency Against #Somali #Piracy: http://bit.ly/1uPKv9q

@UNDP Promoting #climate resilience is necessary to address drivers of conflict in #Somalia. See how we do this with @GEF:http://on.undp.org/EWmNn

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@BBCAfrica Today’s #African #proverb: A camel can tolerate a heavy load, but not a crooked rope. Sent by Ismail Adam, Mogadishu, #Somalia

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Image of the day

UNSOM staff in Garowe, Puntland, show their support for ending violence against women Photo : UNSOM