October 13, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Less Than Half Of Delegates Lists Submitted Two Days After Deadline Lapse
12 0ctober – Source: Goobjoog News – 299 Words
Clans from Somaliland and Banaadir regions are yet to submit a single list of delegates for the Lower House two days after the deadline lapsed while Jubbaland is remaining with one list according to a break-down released by the Federal electoral body FIEIT late Tuesday. Out of the 14,025 delegates expected to vote for members of the Lower House startingOctober 23 to November 10, less than half or 6,528 names have been submitted to the Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team. Jubbaland, whose clans take up 43 seats in the Lower House has submitted 2,142 names out of the possible 2,193 while South West state clans which command the highest representation in the House with 69 MPs have submitted names for 57 MPs. Puntland on the other hand which has 37 MPs has submitted only names for 6 MPs or 306 names.
Each Member of Parliament is to be elected by 51 delegates. Other regions include Galmudug with 36 MPs having submitted 12 and Hiiraan/Middle Shabelle has submitted names for 11 MPs out of 37. Clans for Somaliland have a total of 46 seats while Banaadiri community in Mogadishu have been reserved 7 seats in the 275 member chamber. The FIEIT also said it will open its books to receive names of candidates for the Lower House starting Wednesday through to October 22 a day before polling stations open. Male candidates will be required to pay $5,000 while their female counterparts will part with $2,500. The electoral body did not however comment on the 30% quota for women which each clan is expected to meet before being cleared for polls. It did not also indicate how long it will wait for clans to submit the lists after the October 10 deadline passed.
Key Headlines
- Less Than Half Of Delegates Lists Submitted Two Days After Deadline Lapse (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland Minister Blamed For Taking Part In Clashes Between Puntland Galmudug (Garowe Online)
- Three Dead And Seven Injured After Galmudug And Ahlusunna Fight Near Cadaado (Goobjoog News)
- U.S. Probes Somalia’s Airstrikes Claims (Xinhua)
- Corruption Investigation Into Michael Howard’s African Oil Firm Soma Dropped (The Telegraph UK)
- Somalia’s Female Presidential Candidate: ‘If Loving My Land Means I Die So Be It’ (The Guardian)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland Minister Blamed For Taking Part In Clashes Between Puntland, Galmudug
12 October – Source: Garowe Online – 292 Words
Last week clashes between Galmudug and Puntland forces in Galkayo city, was flared by dispute over the construction of livestock market in Garsoor neighborhood located near borders dividing the city, the clashes resulted in civilian casualties and displacement of residents from the neighborhood. Close sources told Garowe Online that Puntland Public Works Minister, Abdirashid Mohamed Hirsi, was the mastermind behind plans to build livestock market in Galkayo town and Puntland Vice President’s directive to ban trucks coming from Southern and Central Somalia from crossing into Galkayo. He later wooed support of local resident to back the plans, claiming it was aimed to create employment and business opportunity for the residents. It’s noteworthy, that Minister Hirsi has previously sparked deadly clashes between Puntland and Galmudug regions, following the construction of road near border between the two regions. The fighting was reported it has caused the death of over 50 civilians, destruction of properties and displacement of over 40,000 people from the city.
Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas, who previously was against the ban, has recently lifted the barrier on trucks carrying livestock but Vice President and Minister Hirsi have insisted that the plans to build the market at the border lines in Galkayo will be executed. Following intense weeks and exchange of accusation between warring administrations, recently Puntland government has blamed Federal government of supporting Galmudug militias that is coordinating with Al Shabaab militants to carry out revenge attacks in northern Galkayo. On the other hand, residents and businessmen in Galkayo-Galmudug controlled neighborhood- have slammed Puntland directives to limit trade and further explained it has adversely affected their livelihood and economy. Puntland and neighboring Galmudug administration, had long strained relations due to the frequent clashes over contested territory in Galkayo city.
Three Dead And Seven Injured After Galmudug And Ahlusunna Fight Near Cadaado
12 October -Source: Goobjoog News – 130 Words
At least three people are confirmed dead and seven others injured when Ahlusunna fighters and clan militias attacked Galmudug state forces in Godinllabe locality, 30km south of Adado on Wednesday morning. The allied forces attacked the locality in three directions and then engaged fierce fighting with Galmudug forces and an intelligence Unit of Somali army. After hours of fighting Galmudug forces retreated from Godinllable, which paved the way for Ahlusunna and clan militia to take the locality, Goobjoog correspondent in Cadaado said. Three injured soldiers from Gondonallabe fight were admitted to Cadaado main Hospital. Meanwhile, in Dhusamareb other five injured fighters were also admitted to hospitals, according to eyewitness who spoke to Goobjoog News. Ahlusunna and Galmudug forces have fought many times in the recent years for control of territory.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
U.S. Probes Somalia’s Airstrikes Claims
12 October – Source: Xinhua – 285 Words
The U.S. government said it has launched investigations into claims that its forces mistakenly killed 22 Somalia soldiers and injured 16 others in the outskirt of Galkayo town in central Somalia on Sept. 28. U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Stephen Schwartz said the U.S. government is working closely with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), the Interim Galmudug Administration (IGA), and Puntland Administration officials to address concerns related to the incident.”The United States is aware of reports of casualties in Galkayo and takes such allegations very seriously. The Department of Defense has initiated an assessment of all credible evidence,” Schwartz said in a statement issued in Mogadishu on Wednesday. The airstrikes sparked demonstrations in Galkayo town with angry protesters accusing semi-autonomous Puntland State of giving false information to American Special Forces to kill the soldiers who were in their military base and not the militants who have been fighting to topple the Western-backed government.There was a meeting in the area when the joint forces were conducting the operation.The American envoy held meetings Oct. 6, 7, and 8 in Mogadishu with clan elders, and senior community and political leadership from South Galkayo, including IGA President Guled. He also had conversations with Puntland President Gaas and Somali National Army leadership.
Corruption Investigation Into Michael Howard’s African Oil Firm Soma Dropped
12 October – Source: The Telegraph, UK – 582 Words
Corruption investigators have dropped a probe of allegations that Soma, the oil explorer chaired by the former Tory leader Lord Howard, bribed Somali officials as it sought to open up potentially lucrative new fields off the coast of the war-torn East African country.Yet a cloud still hangs over Soma, as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) also revealed it is investigating other, undisclosed, allegations. The decision to drop the investigation of so-called “capacity building payments” made by the privately held company to the Somali Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources emerged in a High Court judgment.Soma, which says it has spent more than £30m exploring Somali fields, sought a judicial review of the SFO’s investigation amid boardroom concerns it could face a cash crisis if potential investors were deterred by the controversy.The court rejected the application in a hearing in August and today published its findings that investigators were “approaching the matter proportionately, with proper regard to the facts of the case”.
Confirmation that the investigation of the initial allegations has been dropped will nevertheless be seen as a boost for Soma, which was first accused in a leaked report for the UN Security Council by an organisation called the UN Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group.The UN report had claimed that the payments for salaries for technical staff, office equipment and transport was “a likely part of a quid pro quo” in which Soma received preferential treatment and commercial advantages.The company denied any wrongdoing and a Somali investigation concluded that it acted in good faith. In a letter to Soma the day before the High Court hearing, the SFO said there was “insufficient evidence of criminality” in relation to capacity-building payments for there to be any realistic prospect of conviction.The SFO’s other probes of allegations that were described by the court as “serious criminality” are ongoing, however.In another letter to Soma, investigators said they were unable to provide any details on grounds of “heightened security concerns, both for information and individuals, associated with a criminal investigation into its business activities in the Federal Republic of Somalia”.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Dayib is under no illusions; she knows Somalia is still very male-dominated, and that when she announced her bid for the presidency, many people struggled to believe it. I was one, but meeting her has extinguished any doubts. Dayib is fierce and her vision for Somalia is clear,”
Somalia’s Female Presidential Candidate: ‘If Loving My Land Means I Die, So Be It’
12 October – Source: The Guardian – 905 Words
Softly spoken with assertive undertones, Fadumo Dayib is the first woman ever to run for the presidency of Somalia. As a Somali female campaigner, she was a “shero” of mine before I met her. The odds are stacked against Dayib defeating incumbent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud; she isn’t even listed as a candidate in analysis in regional media and has said herself that she has little chance of winning.But Dayib’s courage says something about my home country and how far it’s come. So far, the daily death threats she receives are greatly outweighed by the overwhelming support from fellow Somalis. Dayib believes Somalia is ready for female leaders and the fact that she can run at all is in itself cause for celebration. I ask the most obvious question: “Why do you want to run for the Somali presidency in such a hostile environment to women?”.Living in Finland, she says, gives her many privileges she wouldn’t have had in her own country, and she wants to extend these to women and girls back home. Dayib wasn’t fully literate until the age of 14 but now has several degrees in international public health, including one from Harvard, and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Helsinki. Born in Kenya to Somali parents, as a child Dayib was deported back to Somalia with her family.
When civil war broke out shortly thereafter, the family was forced to leave again, ending up in Finland.“All I want is for my people to reach their full potential and exercise their constitutional rights,” she says, adding that by running for the presidency, she is exercising her rights as a Muslim woman. During our discussion, she frequently expresses sadness at the global wave of Islamophobia and the portrayal of Muslim women as voiceless and weak. Were she to be elected, she would want to ensure Somalia practices the correct Islam, “the religion of peace”. Dayib has seen first hand the violence of extremists al-Shabaab in Somalia, where she worked for six months setting up maternal health clinics before the UN evacuated her over security concerns.However, the everyday hostility she faced was oddly familiar. “It was very similar to what my Finnish colleagues were telling me, ‘you came to our country to take our jobs’. Now I was being told by Somali colleagues, ‘you came back to Somalia to take our jobs’. So where was I to go? I was stuck in the middle. Where did I belong?”