September 22, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somalia’s President Calls To Adhere To Elections Roadmap
22 September – Source : Garowe Online – 171 Words
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, President Hassan Shaikh Mahmoud has urged stakeholders to respect candidates’ rights and elections roadmap, Garowe Online reports. “We are ahead of a critical time as the country will prepare for an inclusive electoral process for the first time in 47 years, its utmost necessity for the Federal and State electoral implementation committees to conform to the elections roadmap,” said Mahmoud.
Mahmoud noted the commitment of Federal government, regional states and designated electoral implementation committees of the timetable set for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. He appealed to the relevant entities to collaborate and push efforts to ensure timely and fair elections.
Somalia will start parliamentary elections of both chambers-Lower and Upper Houses in end of September, which will conclude with the election of Parliament Speaker on 25 October, while the new lawmakers will vote for the new president on 30 October. Mahmoud also stressed on the importance of respecting the rights of candidates and the role of traditional elders, clan delegates and electoral committees.
Key Headlines
- Somalia’s President Calls To Adhere To Elections Roadmap (Garowe Online)
- Mogadishu Airport Off-limits For 60 Days Somalia Warns Journalists Ahead Of Poll (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Presidential elections might be delayed source (Radio Dalsan)
- Go Slow On Refugees’ Return To Somalia Kenya Urged (The Star)
- Migrant Boat Carrying 600 Capsizes Off Egypt At Least 29 Dead (Goobjoog News)
- Obama: Africa Wants Trade Not Aid (VOA)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Mogadishu Airport Off-limits For 60 Days, Somalia Warns Journalists Ahead Of Poll
22September – Source : Goobjoog News – 215 Words
Journalists have been barred from covering any events at Aden Adde Airport in the next 60 days failure to which they will be prosecuted and banned from all airports in the country, airport authorities have warned. In a Press statement Thursday, Airport Security Director Abdi Askir Jama said the decision to bar the media from the facility was informed by security reasons ahead of the elections which are slated to start from this weekend.
“Because of security concerns, the administration of Aden Adde International Airport has banned all media organisations, both private and public from entering the Airport for 60 days,” the statement read. Jama said those who fail to adhere to the decree will face court fines, imprisonment and a total ban from all airports. “Anyone who ignore this ban will face legal punishment, including imprisonment and fine,” the security chief said.
But the National Union of Journalists has condemned the decree as disappointing and regrettable. “Journalists cover elections and the airport is one of the main news sources particularly as candidates arrive into the country,” said Mohamed Moalim, NUSOJ secretary-general. The decision follows an order by Interior Ministry last week banning all political rallies in the city. Elections of the Lower House members is set for September 24 running through to October 10.
Somali Presidential Elections Might Be Delayed, Source
22 September – Source : Radio Dalsan – 115 Words
The Presidential elections scheduled in Somalia for late October might be delayed according to credible sources. Sources close to Electoral Commission have confirmed that due to technical issues the election exercise might be pushed back away from the scheduled timetable earlier.
The source said the delay will be between two to four weeks. Election commission press conference received by the media on Wednesday night also suggested possible delay linked to security, political and budget might halt the significant process.
Members of opposition Presidential candidates have earlier doubted the possibility of conducting Presidential elections on time while questioning President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud legality in power saying his constitutional time in office is up.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Go Slow On Refugees’ Return To Somalia, Kenya Urged
22 September – Source: The Star – 205 Words
Garissa peace advocates have urged the government to slow down repatriation of refugees from the Dadaab camps until transition camps are fully established in Somalia. Led by county peace committee secretary Osman Shurie, they urged the UNHCR, Kenya and Somalia to expedite the establishment of fully fledged transition camps, equipped with social amenities to avoid a situation where refugees run back to the Dadaab camps.
“Our fear is that the refugees might develop an attitude that the Kenyan government is their enemy. The result will be a rebellion against the two regimes,” Shurie said. Shurie spoke to the press in Garissa town. He said the host county may suffer if the issue is not resolved amicably. The camps were set up in 1991 to host families fleeing the conflict that led to the ouster of dictator Siad Barre.
“Al Shabaab might take advantage of the refugees’ desperation to recruit them, hence complicating further the essence of the exercise,” Shurie said. Refugees returning voluntarily ahead of the planned closure in November are resettled in Jubaland and Southwest and Central Somalia. “The timing of the repatriation is wrong,” Shurie said. The peace secretary said Somalia is focused on the upcoming elections and has little time for refugees.
Migrant Boat Carrying 600 Capsizes Off Egypt, At Least 29 Dead
22 September – Source : Goobjoog News – 266 Words
A boat carrying around 600 people capsized off Egypt’s coast, killing at least 29, officials said on Wednesday, in the latest disaster to befall migrants attempting to make the crossing to Europe. The boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Burg Rashid, a village in the northern Beheira province. Of the 29 bodies found so far, 18 were men, 10 were women and one was a child, local officials said.
“Initial information indicates that the boat sank because it was carrying more people than its limit. The boat tilted and the migrants fell into the water,” a senior security official in Beheira told Reuters. Rescue workers have so far saved 150 people, officials said. The boat was carrying Egyptian, Syrian, and African migrants, they added. It was not immediately clear where the boat was headed, though officials said they believed it was going to Italy.
More and more people have been trying to cross to Italy from the African coastline over the summer months, particularly from Libya, where people-traffickers operate with relative impunity, but also from Egypt. Some 320 migrants and refugees drowned off the Greek island of Crete in June. Migrants who survived told authorities their boat set sail from Egypt. Some 206,400 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.
More than 2,800 deaths were recorded between January and June, versus 1,838 during the same period last year. World leaders, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, gathered in New York this week at the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the migrant crisis.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“From Senegal to South Africa, Africans insist they do not just want aid, they want trade. They want partners, not patrons.”
Obama: Africa Wants Trade, Not Aid
22 September – Source: VOA – 319 Words
While there may be conflicts, poverty and disease in Africa, President Barack Obama says the broader trajectory of the continent is unmistakable: “Africa is on the move.” At the U.S.-Africa Business Forum in New York, Obama said Africa is “home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world and a middle class projected to grow to more than a billion customers – an Africa of telecom companies and clean-tech startups and Silicon savannahs, all powered by the youngest population anywhere on the planet.”
Seeking trade partnerships
Obama told the business forum that everywhere he travels in Africa, “from Senegal to South Africa, Africans insist they do not just want aid, they want trade. They want partners, not patrons.” And that is what Wednesday’sforum, hosted by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker was all about – helping investors and entrepreneurs from both continents connect, as Obama explained: “This is a U.S.-Africa business forum. This is not charity. All of you should be wanting to make money, and create great products and great services, and be profitable, and do right by your investors. But the good news is, in Africa right now, if you are doing well, you can also be doing a lot of good.”
Obama said during his eight years as president, he has sought to transform the relationship between the U.S. and Africa to one of equal partners. He said this is his last U.S.-Africa Business Forum as president, but he will likely be back as a private citizen.
Apart from increased private investment, the U.S. government has also expanded its presence and economic engagement in Africa. Since 2008, the Commerce Department has doubled its presence on the continent, opening new offices in Angola, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Mozambique, expanding its presence in Ghana, and re-establishing a presence at the African Development Bank.
TOP TWEETS
@SRSGKeating : Int’l partners want 2 maintain support 2#Somalia, credible electoral process a key step. See NY meeting communique http://bit.ly/2d9ilGv
@Abdelfatahassan: H.E Zahra Samatar have actually played pivotal role in campaigning for women political participation in#Somalia. Great achievement!
@DalsanFM: #Somalia All roads leading to Mogadishu International Airport to welcome Former TFG President and now Presidential candidate Sheikh Sharif.
@OCHASom : In #Somalia, humanitarians are committed to deliver humanitarian assistance to save lives & strengthen resilience
@Atulinda_Allan : The newly voted in Parliament will then elect the next President of #Somalia on 30 October 2016
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia Abdisalam Hadliye addressing a high level meeting on Somalia during the General Assembly.
Photo: @MinisterMOFA