June 15, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
UN Food Agency Denies Importing Expired Foodstuff To Somalia
15 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 242 Words
The World Food Programme, WFP, has denied it imported expired food stuff to Somalia a day after authorities here seized what it said was expired aid set to be distributed by the UN agency. In response Wednesday, WFP Somalia communications officer, Laila Ali told Goobjoog News the UN body does not believe any of its supplies in Mogadishu had expired but noted investigations were already underway to establish if they may have been damaged or poorly stored.
“We do not believe that any of the food in our Mogadishu facilities is past its expiration date, but are checking whether any of the commodities may have been improperly stored and damaged,” said Ali. The response comes amid investigations by Somali authorities on the consignment which was destined for Bardhere in Gedo region southern Somalia.
Immigration Department Director Abdullahi Gafow told the media Wednesday investigations were already underway on the matter. The food stuff included powder milk, maize, cooking oil among others. WFP has been involved in coordinating and supplying emergency relief aid to conflict and drought affected communities in various parts of Somalia for several years.
Ali said WFP was putting all measures in place to ensure aid supplies meet requisite health standards before they ate distributed to people. “The well-being of the people we assist is our top priority, and we take every possible measure to see that the food we distribute meets the highest standards of quality and safety,” noted Ali.
Key Headlines
- UN Food Agency Denies Importing Expired Foodstuff To Somalia (Goobjoog News)
- Gunmen Shot Dead Darkeynley Deputy District Commissioner (Radio Dalsan)
- Major Blackout In Hargeisa As Heavy Rains Rock Town (Goobjoog News)
- Jubaland New Cabinet Sworn To Office In Kismayo (Radio Dalsan)
- Plans To Convert Amisom Troops Into Peacekeepers In Advanced Stage (Daily Nation)
- Somalia Kenya Ocean Dispute Hearings Set For September (The Star)
- Sent Sealed And To Be Delivered: Minn. Nonprofit Packs Off A Whole Hospital For Somalia (Star Tribune)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Gunmen Shot Dead Darkeynley Deputy District Commissioner
15 June – Source: Radio Dalsan – 93 Words
Gunmen have on Wednesday morning shot and killed Darkeynley Deputy District Commissioner. Terrorist group Al-Shabaab have claimed the responsibility for the killing of Abdullahi Ibrahim Isbiimo who was also Director of Monitoring and Evaluations at Banadir administration. He was targeted by the gunmen at Salam neighbourhood in Darkeynley district. Police have said they are investigating the murderers and will bring those responsible for the killing to justice.
Major Blackout In Hargeisa As Heavy Rains Rock Town
15 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 169 Words
Heavy rains in Hargeisa on Monday caused a power blackout in most parts of the Town. Residents of Ahmed, New Hargeisa said they have not had electricity in their houses for two days. They said crime will increase if they continue to be in darkness. “Most gangs like operating at night and since it is raining and dark, it would be difficult for people to notice when the alarm is raised,” resident Jama Ali said. Many residents make their livelihoods from small businesses that are electricity dependent.
“Electricity is essential in our day to day activities and I have written to the electricity company branch to dispatch their emergency team to monitor the situation around,” Ali said. Ali added that “There are many activities that cannot run without electricity and power companies have to know.” The downpour that lashed Hargeisa town on Monday evening affected the day to day life. Trees were uprooted, electricity poles were damaged, roads were inundated and power supply was disrupted for a long time.
Jubaland New Cabinet Sworn To Office In Kismayo
15 June – Source: Radio Dalsan – 118 Words
The new cabinet of Jubaland regional state of Somalia has been sworn to office on Tuesday. More than 18 new cabinet members recently named by President Ahmed Madobe Islam in the reshuffle took their oath at the port city of Kismayo. The regional state parliament approved the new cabinet on Thursday last week.
Two deputy Presidents namely Mohamud Sayid Adan and Abdikadir Hajji Mohamed were also among new cabinet that were sworn to office. Jubaland regional state President Ahmed Madobe Islam recently dissolved the cabinet after agreement will rival political groups in the area to form new inclusive government. The move was praised by peacemakers saying such concessions is key to peace building and stability in the country.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Plans To Convert Amisom Troops Into Peacekeepers In Advanced Stage
15 June – Source: Daily Nation – 448 Words
Plans to convert the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) troops into a United Nations peacekeeping force are in an advanced stage. The deal is set to be finalised during a meeting this week between President Uhuru Kenyatta and United Nations (UN) secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in Brussels, Belgium. Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union (EU), Johnson Weru, said on Tuesday that the talks to transform Amisom started last year.
President Kenyatta is expected in Brussels on Wednesday at the invitation of EU President Donald Tusk to address a post–United Nations General Assembly meeting on Sustainable Development Goals adopted last year. However, on the sidelines of the meeting, efforts will be made by the UN and the EU to reduce the burden of Amisom forces on the Horn of Africa countries in a last-ditch attempt to convince Kenya to rethink its decision to close Dadaab, the largest refugee camp complex in the world.
There is growing international thinking, that Kenya has denied, that the Jubilee administration decided to close Dadaab in a bid to arm twist Western powers to increase funding for Amisom. This was after the EU, the main financier, cut its contribution by 20 per cent. “The EU decision to cut funding to Amisom reduced its effectiveness because the soldiers’ stipend also went down,” said Mr Weru.
Somalia, Kenya Ocean Dispute Hearings Set For Septembe
15 June – Source: The Star – 281 Words
It is now official that Kenya and Somalia are headed for a legal fight at the International Court of Justice over the maritime delimitation of the Indian Ocean. Somalia wants the ocean’s boundaries redrawn, making Kenya a landlocked state and claiming at least five oil-rich blocks. The court has scheduled the first public hearings on the disputed huge swathe of maritime territory considered to be rich in oil deposits and fish stocks.
In a press release, the court said the preliminary objections raised by Kenya will be presented during the four-day hearings. The public hearings are set for September 19-23 at the Peace Palace in The Hague – the seat of the court. According to the court schedule, Kenya will be the first to make her oral arguments on Monday 19 and again on Thursday while Somalia will present on Tuesday and Friday.
Last year, Kenya filed preliminary objections to the suit and said there exists an agreement between the two countries to progressively solve the matter through negotiations. “Litigating this complex issue before the court is clearly contrary to the 2009 MoU. Somalia’s case is invalid and Kenya is confident that the court will agree with its submissions,” Attorney General Githu Muigai said.
The AG warned the case could jeopardise Kenya’s support for Somalia against al Shabaab. Already, President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed the closure of the Dadaab refugee camp – home to nearly 350,000 Somali refugees. In its application, Somalia contends that both states “disagree about the location of the maritime boundary in the area where their maritime entitlements overlap”. The war-torn country claims diplomatic negotiations have been exhausted and still there is no solution to the deadlock.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“We’re small, but we’re trying to be mighty by going to places that other groups find difficult to work.”
Sent, Sealed And To Be Delivered: Minn. Nonprofit Packs Off A Whole Hospital For Somalia
15 June – Source: Star Tribune – 826 Words
A Minnesota nonprofit has shipped the entire contents of a hospital — from bandages to beds to dialysis machines — to a hospital in Mogadishu in a move to create “the best-equipped hospital in Somalia.” The final shipment to Mogadishu was sent last week by the St. Louis Park-based nonprofit Matter, working with the Minnesota Community of African People With Disabilities. If all goes as planned, the equipment will be moved into the vacant Bahrain Public General Hospital in July.
While Minnesota nonprofit organizations have sent medical supplies to developing countries across the globe, this is one of the first large-scale medical-aid deliveries to Somalia, organizers said. The political instability and violence there has kept local relief groups away. The project is coordinated with the Somali Ministry of Health.
“We’ve done work in about 30 countries, and I’ve never seen a situation like Somalia,” said Jeremy Newhouse, senior vice president of operations for Matter, formerly known as Hope for the City. “You find there are no hospital beds in a room; people are lying on the floor. In an operating theater, there is no operating table, just some table. They are doing surgery without anesthesia. The lab is covered in flies.”
Mahad Hassan, a leader of the Community of African People With Disabilities, said he was shocked by the filthy bandages, the cries of pain and the “lack of dignity” in medical care when he returned to his home country after 26 years away. His organization, formed in 2014, works to support disabled Somali-Americans in Minnesota and also hopes to bring quality medical care to Somali citizens back home. “I almost had tears in my eyes,” said Hassan.
Leaders of the two nonprofits discussed the hospital shipment recently in Matter’s sprawling warehouse. The building is packed with medical supplies big and small, donated by some of Minnesota’s major medical providers such as Allina Health, HealthPartners and the University of Minnesota.
TOP TWEETS
@Daudoo : #Somalia govt official, Abdullahi Isbimo, & his driver, shot dead in #Mogadishu‘s Dharkenley this morning,#AlShabaab claims responsibility.
@EspMaliStrategy : #Somalia starts building rehab center for former Al-Shabaab fighters http://news.xinhuanet.com/
@Khaludiabdalla : #Somalia: WFP will investigate the reports about expired food which Somali Police seized yesterday in Aden-adde Airport in route to Bardhere
@itayron5: #Kenya President to ask #UN to take over #AMISOMin #Somalia. A strong message to the #EU given coming cut funding?http://www.hiiraan.
@itayron5 : Unclear how but 100 bags of expired food imported by @WFP seized at #Mogadishu Airport #Somalia.http://goobjoog.com/english/?
@bandiphillips : @UN @UNRefugeeAgency appeals for funds to facilitate repatriation of Somalia refugeeshttps://horseedmedia.
@ACAPSproject : #Somalia: Three days of #airstrikes against#AlShabaab in #Galgala, #Puntland by unknown #fighterjets. See more at http://bit.ly/1T8Lgdk
@mustafaxaaji : #Puntland president also fires his Intelligence Chief and deputy. This is a few hours after #Somalia national Intel chief was sacked…
IMAGE OF THE DAY
The construction of a rehabilitation center for disengaged combatants in Jubbaland state administration was officially launched on Monday, in Kismaayo. This is the fourth center to be established in Somalia as part of the government’s National Programme for the Treatment and Handling of Disengaged Combatants.
Photo: UNSOM