August 2, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Attorney General Endorses Supreme Court Verdict to Nullify 8 Disputed Parliamentary Seats
02 August – Source: Somali Update – 243 Words
Somalia’s Attorney General Osman Elmi Guled endorsed the country’s Supreme Court verdict in ordering eight disputed federal parliament seats nullified and instructed new elections to be held. The court decision, issued on 26th May, 2017, was the outcome of a court case filed by so-called defeated candidate who contested for the said positions during the country’s latest poll late last year, but allegedly said they lost because of irregularities and malpractices during the process. The court again issued a second decision on July 22nd, 2017 to order a re-run election for the eight legislative positions.
Further to the court ruling, the Supreme Court Chief Justice Judge Ibrahim Idle canceled the eligibility of the eight lawmakers who are currently attending parliamentary sessions namely; Mohamed Said Abdullahi (Baidoa), Abdullahi Mohamed Adan Shacir (Kismayo), Mohamed Ahmed Abtidoon (Adado), Samra Ibrahim Omar (Baidoa), Abdiasis Salah Armaan (Jowhar), Nadifo Adan Isaaq (Baidoa), Muna Khalif Sheikh Abu (Baidoa) and Sharmarke Garad Salebaan Buraale (Garowe) for winning an unfair election seats which the court said was marred by corruption and irregularities.
In his letter dated July 27th, 2017, the Attorney General informed the Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) to prepare a re-run elections for the eight parliamentary seats and called all candidates to participate the process again. “With reference to the Supreme Court Decision dated on July 22nd, 2017, the Office of the Attorney General hereby informs the officials to which this letter directly addressed to uphold the court decision.”
Key Headlines
- Attorney General Endorses Supreme Court Verdict to Nullify 8 Disputed Parliamentary Seats (Somali Update)
- Somalia Prime Minister Cuts The Ribbon Of The Relaunch Of Faculty Of Journalism (Horn Observer)
- Drought Has Cost Somalia $1.7 Billion In Livestock And Crop Loss-World Bank (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland Is A Good Example For The Rest Of The Country Says PM Khayre (Hiiraan Online)
- WFP Hosts Hand-over Ceremony Welcoming China’s Rice Assistance To Somalia (Xinhua)
- Somalia’s Impossible Fight Against Cholera (IRIN)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Prime Minister Cuts The Ribbon Of The Relaunch Of Faculty Of Journalism
02 August – Source: Horn Observer – 306 Words
Somalia Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheyre on Tuesday cut the ribbon for the reopening of the faculty of Journalism and communication science at National University in the Somali capital city in Mogadishu for the first time since 1991. Somali government believes that the reopening of the faculty will improve the development of Somalia’s Media and contribute to good governance, accountability and the overall checks and balances that is much needed in Somalia. “Journalism encourages development, realizing national vision, inspire good governance and uphold the unity of the nation” Prime Minister Kheyre said in a statement released by the Ministry of Information “The National University has registered up to one thousand and five hundred students thus far. Although that is a new beginning, yet it is nowhere near the old days when the university was graduated by thousands of students”.
Among the dignitaries present at the reopening ceremony were; the PM, the Minister of Information, Deputy Minister of Information, Deputy Minister of Education, former Ministers of Information (Mareye and Jahweyn), the Chairperson of the Sub Committee of the Parliament on Media & Telecom, Chairperson of the National University of Somalia, the Dean of the faculty of Journalism, representatives from the faculty and the National University, Somali media organizations, journalists, and members of parliament etc. “Somali journalists are invited to give time to study and join the faculty” Minister of Information Eng. Abdirahman Yarisow said. He continued “we pledge to provide all necessary trainings to the Somali journalists in order to compete with global journalists”.
In July, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) officially handed over the Somali National University to the Federal Government of Somalia, relinquishing control of the institution, which it had occupied for the last 10 years. AMISOM also handed over assets that will facilitate the administrative operations of the institution, to enable it operate effectively.
Drought Has Cost Somalia $1.7 Billion In Livestock And Crop Loss-World Bank
02 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 418 Words
The ongoing drought in Somalia has cost the country close to $ 2 billion dollars in livestock and crop losses, according to the World Bank, warning the drought is ‘likely to have widespread and lingering impacts across multiple sectors in the country’. In its second Economic Update for Somalia, the World Bank said as a result of the drought, economic growth in the Horn of Africa nation could remain low in 2017 year but with prospects of recovery in 2018. According to preliminary reports assessment from an internal Rapid Drought Assessment, the Bank said, ‘losses related to deceased livestock range between $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion for the period of the drought.
Losses in crop production is up to $60 million during the period of the drought.” Somali livestock keepers exported an estimated 5.3 million live animals netting an average of $384 million according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The World Bank indicators come as humanitarian agencies report a continuing state of drought in the country with more than half of the population still facing acute food shortage.
The UN Humanitarian agency (OCHA) said in its regular bulletin Tuesday the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in most regions of Somalia. “Humanitarian assistance helped reduce gaps for household food consumption and contributed to stabilization of food prices, but the risk of famine still remains high. A combination of food consumption gaps, acute malnutrition, disease and reliance on humanitarian aid contribute to vulnerabilities.” The World Bank notes diversification of the economy and reforms are mandatory to cushion the country from shocks occasioned by external factors and natural factors such as drought. “Somalia’s exports are concentrated in a few commodities (mainly livestock) and exported to a few countries (mainly in the Gulf). With livestock dominating exports, Somalia is highly exposed to exogenous shocks, such as the current export ban due to the disease outbreak.”
Puntland Is A Good Example For The Rest Of The Country, Says PM Khayre
02 August – Source: Hiiraan Online – 124 Words
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre has congratulated the semi-autonomous state of Puntland on its 19th anniversary, 19 years after the regional government was formed. PM Khayre praised the people and government of Puntland for reaching a milestone in terms of security and social development, urging them to remain on the path of development and political stability.
He stated Puntland is a good example for the rest of the country for collectively working in peace and development in their region. While assuring them of his administration’s support, he also asked the northeastern administration to double their efforts of contributing to the overall peace and prosperity of the country. Celebrations to mark the day have been taking place in various cities in the region since yesterday.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
WFP Hosts Hand-over Ceremony Welcoming China’s Rice Assistance To Somalia
02 August – Source: Xinhua – 475 Words
Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Qin Jian speaks during the handover ceremony of rice assistance from China, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Aug. 1, 2017. The World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday held a hand-over ceremony in Mogadishu to welcome the arrival of more than 2,800 tonnes of rice assistance into the drought-hit country from China. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai). The World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday held a hand-over ceremony in Mogadishu to welcome the arrival of more than 2,800 tonnes of rice assistance into the drought-hit country from China. China’s rice contribution will enable WFP to sustain ongoing efforts to save lives and avert famine in Somalia, according to a press release by the WFP, which added that it will be used to provide hot meals to about 96,500 vulnerable people for about three months.
“The rice is one part of the generous 10 million U.S. dollar contribution that WFP received from China in April this year,” WFP Somalia Deputy County Director Edith Heines said. “This contribution towards WFP’s emergency drought response in Somalia was also used to buy and distribute sorghum for families in need of food assistance and to provide special therapeutic food to treat moderate malnutrition in small children,” Heines said.
Qin Jian, Chinese Ambassador to Somalia, said at the ceremony that China has been lending a helping hand to drought-affected Somalia. In addition to the 10 million US dollars food assistance, China has also provided emergency relief materials, including medicine, nutrition, tents and water tanks, to people in need in Somalia, demonstrating the sincere friendship between the two countries.
Maryan Quasim, minister for humanitarian affairs and disaster management of Somalia, said that the government of Somalia was grateful for the generous contribution made by China, adding that this was not the first time for China to send assistance to the country when it was in a difficult time. According to statistics from the WFP, about 3.2 million people in Somalia are in need of emergency food assistance.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Despite the magnitude of the current food crisis and the cholera outbreak, the response of the humanitarian community and the generosity of the Somali diaspora have built a better ability to cope compared to previous disasters. In 2011, drought led to a famine in which 250,000 people died from hunger and related diseases, including cholera.”
Somalia’s Impossible Fight Against Cholera
01 August – Source: IRIN – 885 Words
Propped up on an iron bed, Hussein laughs and says he always was slim. But he is clearly malnourished. Hussein arrived at Mogadishu’s Banadir Hospital a day earlier with his mother and two sisters, all suffering from acute watery diarrhoea: a tell-tale sign of cholera. A nurse at the hospital told IRIN she believed the whole family got sick from the same water source. This is Somalia’s worst cholera outbreak in five years. So far, 71,663 cases have been counted, including more than 1,098 deaths, according to Doctor Ghulam Popal, the World Health Organization representative. In July, when Hussein was admitted, 5,840 cases of acute watery diarrhoea were reported at Banadir Hospital alone.
Cholera is an acute disease that can kill within hours if left untreated. Waterborne, it thrives in unsanitary conditions. After nearly three decades of continuous conflict, Somalia has a barely existent government with no public health system and 800,000 people driven into unsanitary settlements by drought and insecurity perfect conditions for cholera to thrive. “[The] WASH infrastructure in Somalia is totally collapsed due to the absence of the government,” explained Hassan Ahmed Ali, a Water Sanitation and Hygiene expert with the Norwegian Refugee Council, a development agency.
Unknown scale: The extent of Somalia’s cholera crisis is likely to be a good deal worse than the official numbers suggest. There are no health clinics or hospitals for 400,000 displaced people clumped in settlements along the two main arterial roads that feed into Mogadishu. Ali of the NRC believes many people, not counted in the statistics, will have died before they could reach treatment. Neither are the cases counted in the swathe of territory controlled by the jihadist group Al-Shabaab, which is battling the government.
Compounding the effects of the war, three consecutive seasons of drought have served to tip Somalia into an even deeper food crisis. More than 6.2 million people over half the population – need aid. That vulnerability increases their susceptibility to cholera.
Rules and regulations: “Unless the systems are strengthened, we can only save lives. Long-term social well-being cannot be achieved,” said Mahboob Ahmed Bajwa, the head of WASH for the UN’s children’s agency, UNICEF. “Systems” refers both to the federal government’s loose relationship with the decentralised states, and the country’s generally pitiful infrastructure.
National institutions are weak. In the absence of government, all water supply is privatised and unregulated. These profit-driven companies do not overly concern themselves with cleanliness or quality, despite the obvious risks. Doctor Lul Mohamed, head of paediatrics at Banadir Hospital, points to the problem of open defecation, and to the lack of controls that allows what toilets are available to be built right next to wells.
TOP TWEETS
@TheVillaSomalia: President @M_Farmaajo receives credentials from ambassador Karel Hejc of the Czech Republic. Partnership and progress.
@hysperbole: With no water regulation and no salaried doctors,#cholera won’t be leaving #Somalia soon. My latest for@irinnews:
@HassanIstiila: #BREAKING: A car bomb exploded in#Kismayo, about 500 km (310 miles) south of #Mogadishu, the capital of #Somalia.
@MinisterMOFA: Thank you India Minister of State for External Affairs Shri @mjakbar for hosting me & my delegation for a wonderful lunch. #Somalia
@MohamedAAfrica: If @SomaliPM relation with his cabinet was rocky before, this kind of nepotism will only make things worse in could cripple the work @MoIFA01
@LibanAbdiAli: Somali National University Re-opens faculty of journalism & communication science #Somalia
@SagalBihi: Let Somalia have its dignity back, one step at a time! Thanks to @SomaliPM @TheVillaSomalia #NabadiyoNolol
@VOANews: Somalia to Open First Journalism School in 26 Years http://dlvr.it/Pb7c4h
@engyarisow: #Somalia re-launches the Faculty of Journalism of the National University of Somalia, which will greatly help the development of Media
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Yusuf Garaad met with External Affairs Minister of India Sushma Swaraj for bilateral talks and agreement on prisoner transfer.
Photo: @AbdulBillowAli