December 30, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali Parliament To Select Parliament Leadership Election Committee
30 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 221 Words
Osman Elmi Boqore who assumed Interim Parliament Speaker of the Lower House has said the house will sit on Saturday to discuss on the preparation of elections of both the speaker and his deputies. Boqore who spoke to Goobjoog News said the electoral committee which will be responsible to organize the election of the speaker will be selected after the house debates on the issue. Though there is no new date set for the election, the Interim Speaker says after tomorrow’s session, elections will be held as soon as possible.
Over 275 Members of Parliament will pick new parliament speaker and deputies. A swearing-in ceremony which saw the inauguration of 284 members of the Upper and Lower Houses was held at the heavily fortified General Kahiye Police Academy. The new parliament includes 73 women lawmakers, following a strong push from the international community and the passing of a Provisional Constitution that guarantees more political rights for women.
The lawmakers will elect the country’s president on a date to be set later. Somalia has not seen a powerful central government since former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled by warlords in 1991. Since 2007, some 22,000 peacekeepers have been deployed in Somalia in the form of the multinational African Union force to aid the government in curbing the militancy.
Key Headlines
- Somali Parliament To Select Parliament Leadership Election Committee (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland President Heads To Bosasso Amid Lax Security (Garowe Online)
- Calm Returns To Afgooye Following Yesterday’s Heavy Fighting (Hiiraan Online)
- UNHCR Says Over 38000 Somali Refugees Repatriated From Kenya (china.org.cn)
- Somalia Inaugurate First Ever Regional Football League (Soka25east.com)
- A Year Of Opportunity And Vulnerability For Somalia (Africa Up Close)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland President Heads To Bosasso Amid Lax Security
30 December – Source: Garowe Online – 156 Words
The President of Somalia’s northeastern region of Puntland, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, is expected to reach Bossaso, commercial city of Puntland region on Friday, amid worsening security situation in the city. Close sources tell Garowe Online that President Ali is set to hold talks with officials from the security agencies and Bari region over the recent series of assassinations that targeted government officials in Bosasso city.
The visit is aimed to reinforce security in Bari region that saw a surge in attacks and proliferation of militant groups in the past months. But lack of government salaries to the security forces is considered major contributor to the security failure in the region, according to pundits. Forces have protested in several occasions over lack of salary for months. So far Puntland government has failed to arrest suspects responsible for killing 3 top officials within two weeks in Bosasso city, despite some of them being assassinated near the Police headquarters.
Calm Returns To Afgooye Following Yesterday’s Heavy Fighting
30 December – Source : Hiiraan Online – 149 Words
The current situation in Afgooye has been reported to be calm following yesterday’s heavy fighting that took place in the town after a fighter from Al-Shabaab attacked a somali security forces base in the town. According to local residents, the Somali National Army are currently conducting house to house security operation specifically on the neighborhoods that the Al-Shabaab fighters used to launch their attacks. A senior security officer who spoke on behalf of the Somali National Army said that they have killed 2 Al-Shabaab militants and lost a soldier on the government forces side. The attack by Al-Shabaab is the second attack carried out in Afgooye this year following another unsuccessful one this october. Afgooye is an agricultural town that is situated approximately 30km west of the capital Mogadishu.
INTERNATIONAL
UNHCR Says Over 38,000 Somali Refugees Repatriated From Kenya
29 December – Source: china.org.cn – 324 Words
The UN refugee agency said it has repatriated some 38,159 Somali refugees in Kenya since the return exercise began in December 2014. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its bi-weekly update received in Nairobi on Thursday that some 1,743 returnees were supported to voluntarily return to Mogadishu, Kismayo and Baidoa by flight between Dec. 1 and 15. “In total, as of Dec. 15, 38,159 Somali refugees had returned home since Dec. 8, 2014, when UNHCR started supporting voluntary return of Somali refugees in Kenya, out of which 32,058 were supported in 2016 alone,” the UNHCR said.
The agency said the number of flights has been significantly increased as it remains the only means of transportation to Somalia. Kenya in collaboration with the UNHCR are working on a program that will ensure a smooth and voluntary repatriation of over 300,000 refugees living in five camps at Dadaab, which Nairobi has planned to close. The UN agency has said it expects the majority of the remaining refugee population to return to Somalia throughout 2017 and possibly into early 2018.
Kenya said it had put solid measures in place to fast-track repatriation of Somalia refugees and their re-integration in their native country. The East African country on Nov. 16 announced that it would delay by six months the closure of the Dadaab camp, the world’s largest. UNHCR has supported people’s returns from Dadaab for years and in June, it worked with Kenya and Somalia to devise an action plan to that effect. A survey between August and October found that 283,558 refugees were living at Dadaab, 58,000 fewer than in the past. The UNHCR has since called on Kenya to be flexible in terms of a return time frame in order to meet the different elements of the plan that was devised earlier this year, citing concerns that rigid time frames would be difficult to meet.
Somalia Inaugurate First Ever Regional Football League
30 December – Source: Soka25east.com – 432 Words
The launch of the first ever regional football league in the country’s football history, has realized one of the long-standing dreams of Somali Football Federation. The first regional soccer league was successfully opened in the key port city of Kismayo, about 500 kilometers south of the capital Mogadishu on Thursday 29th of December 2016. Kismayo is the provincial capital of the semiautonomous Somali State of Jubbaland. The inauguration of the regional football leagues was one of several development initiatives announced by Somali Football Federation president,Abdiqani Said Arab during his post election address on 31st of August 2014.
The inaugural edition of the regional football league is being participated by 8 football teams which are from cities and towns in the three regions that make of the Jubbaland state and will be followed by other leagues to be held in other semi autonomous Somali states. Dowlada Hoose football club took on their Koban FC rivals in the inaugural match which attracted the attention of thousands of spectators including key government officials and football federation leaders. Both teams struggled to secure a win, but the match finally ended in draw 2-2.
Jubbaland State vice president, Abdulkader Haji Mahmoud Lugadheere, Somali FA senior vice president, Ali Abdi Mohamed, regional state minister for youth and sport Mohamed Mahmoud Yusuf, SFF education officer, Ali Mohamed Ahmed and Jubbaland State football Association president, Ahmed Farah Taqal were among several officials who watched Thursday’s inaugural match. Jubbaland State vice president, Abdulkader Haji Mahmoud Lugadheere, said it was a great honor for his state to host the inaugural tournament of regional football leagues in the country. He thanked Somali FA for this major approach adding that his government was committed to helping football development as much as they can.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Unfortunately, there have been multiple setbacks for each gain. Initially, Members of Parliament were to be directly elected no later than August 2016, and the President was to be elected by both Houses of Parliament the following month. This plan amounted to an incredible overshoot.”
A Year Of Opportunity And Vulnerability For Somalia
29 December – Source: Africa Up Close – 751 Words
Somalia’s experience in 2016 highlighted both the opportunities and vulnerabilities at the heart of the country’s ongoing political transition. With the postponement of parliamentary and presidential elections and the inability of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to complete many of the core tasks outlined in its “Vision 2016” political roadmap, the year saw a tempering in the domestic and international optimism that characterized the formative years of the FGS under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (est. 2012). Meanwhile, al-Shabaab’s resilience and resurgence has heightened security concerns, compounding the uncertainty of what 2017 holds for Somalia. The country remains entangled in a web of political hostility and violent conflict, with significant implications not only for Somalia, but also for the region and larger international community.
Analysts diverge in their outlooks for the ongoing political transition and consolidation of a functioning, legitimate Somali government. Positive assessments note that parliamentary elections have progressed, with 281 Parliamentarians set to be inaugurated in Mogadishu on 27 December, and Somaliland and Banaadir the only regions (out of six total) yet to complete their respective regional electoral process. Additionally, initiative undertaken by the Independent Electoral Dispute Resolution Mechanism (IEDRM) to report on instances of fraud and intimidation has led to the annulment of multiple parliamentary results – an encouraging indicator of the integrity, if not timeliness, of the electoral process. Finally, the country has achieved a long-awaited milestone in the establishment of a federal state system with the formation of HirShabelle, the final Federal Member State to be created, which led to the establishment of the new regional government, the election of delegates to the Federal Parliament, and the long-awaited conclusion of the federal state formation process.
TOP TWEETS
@MikaelLindvall: Indeed, Swedish anti-corruption & anti-bribery laws apply to Swedish nationals overseas too. No surprises there.
@faoinsomalia: FSNAU #latest: 40% of IDPs in #Somalia will suffer from Global Acute Malnutrition without urgent humanitarian aid http://ow.ly/SwaN307yc6q
@itayron5: Location of #afgoye is strategic due to vital road that links#Mogadishu. Interesting why attack come in this time there.Diversion?#Somalia
@AbdirahmanCumar: A Year of Opportunity and Vulnerability for Somalia http://disq.us/t/2hmztj3
@Xabiib_: Strengthening Somali Governance @SSG_Somaliaproject promotes effective Governance &Then you see that bunch of corrupted fox ruling #Somalia
@MohamdBile: As long as we accept a president elected with corruption, we are far from nationhood and stability. #Somalia#CORRUPTION.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud officially opens Di Martini Hospital in Mogadishu yesterday.
Photo: Radio Muqdisho