December 13, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Somalia’s Battered Economy To Grow 2.5 Percent In 2018, IMF Says
12 December – Source: Reuters – 188 Words
Somalia’s economic growth is expected to pick up next year and in 2019 after drought and security issues cut growth this year, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The fund said the economy was forecast to expand by 2.5 percent in 2018 and 3 percent in 2019, while inflation was seen falling to the range of 2.0 to 2.5 percent in the same period.
IMF projects Somalia’s economy to grow 1.8 percent this year — lower than its February forecast of 2.5 percent — compared with 2.4 percent in 2016. “In 2017, the drought and sporadic terrorist attacks took a toll on economic activity. The drought has hurt the economy and temporarily impacted the Federal Government of Somalia’s tax collection efforts,” IMF said in a statement. “These developments offset a steady recovery in the service sector, including in the telecommunication and transportation sectors.”
Somalia has been in turmoil since 1991, hit by decades of conflict at the hands of clan militias. Over the past several years it has also been hit by an insurgency by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, famine and maritime piracy.
Key Headlines
- Somalia’s Battered Economy To Grow 2.5 Percent In 2018 IMF Says (Reuters)
- Somali Government To Revive Somali Airlines (Hiiraan Online)
- Somali Prisoners Returned Back To The Country (Radio Dalsan)
- Bomb Kills Bomb Disposal Expert In Somalia’s Puntland Al-Shabaab Suspected (Reuters)
- US Airstrike Destroys Vehicle Bomb Outside Mogadishu (Daily Mail)
- Somalia Political Milestone: Registered For First Time In 50 Year (CTGN)
- UN Migration Agency African Development Bank Work To Improve Water And Sanitation Services In Rural Somalia (IOM.int)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Government To Revive Somali Airlines
11 December – Source: Hiiraan Online – 330 Words
The Somali Federal Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Mohamed Abdullahi Salad held a consultative meeting with Somali Airlines employees to discuss the revival of Somalia’s long-defunct flag carrier, Somali Airlines. Somali Airlines was grounded in 1991 when Somalia’s central government collapsed.
The one day, closed-door meeting was to consult with former members of Somali Airlines and gauge their opinion on if and how the airline could resume operations again. It was the first time in years that Somali Airlines employees met to discuss the future of the airline. For over two decades, Somalia’s skies have been dominated by a host of private companies. As the guns began to fall silent, major international airlines such as Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and flydubai have all began to move in and claim a share of the lucrative market.
The consultation group concluded that now is the right time to relaunch the airline, insisting that there is a market for domestic and international flights. A large number of Somali’s fly short distances as short as 90 km within the country because of bad roads and the threat of Al-Shabaab. They argued that this creates a lucrative domestic market. Somalia’s large diaspora, the group says, will be lured by the prestige of the national flag carrier and thus would be able to carve out a niche in the market. Mr. Salad said that his ministry and the government is committed to reviving Somali airlines and would work proactively on initiating the first steps.
The national carrier was formed on March 9, 1964, by the Somali Government and Alitalia, each having a 50% holding. Services began in July of that year with three domestic flights connecting Mogadishu with other parts of the country. At its height, Somali Airlines offered regular flights to Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Frankfurt, Jeddah, Nairobi, Banjul and Rome. The carrier which once dubbed “The White Star Service” was one of fastest growing Airlines in Africa before it ceased its operations in 1991.
Somali Prisoners Returned Back To The Country
12 December – Source: Radio Dalsan – 170 Words
Seven Somali youth who were prisoners held in Seychelles were today returned back to the country and were welcomed at Aden Adde International Airport by the Minister of Justice, Commander of the Prisons forces, the Attorney General and members of the upper house. Six prisoners will finish their remaining jail terms locally while the seventh one was freed as he already finished his term in Seychelles.
Somali Prison Commander Mr Hussein Hassan Osman said that it’s a good step forward to bring Somalis imprisoned in other countries in the world back to the country. The Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Dahir who spoke when receiving the prisoners said that there are other prisoners expected to be brought back to the country next week so that they can finish their remaining jail terms locally.
The Minister of Justice Mr Hassan Hussein Haji pointed out that his Ministry in collaboration with that of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General is looking forward to bringing back all Somali prisoners held in foreign countries.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Bomb Kills Bomb Disposal Expert In Somalia’s Puntland, Al-Shabaab Suspected
12 December – Source: Reuters – 229 Words
An army colonel in the semi-autonomous Puntland region who also headed the region’s bomb disposal unit was killed on Tuesday after a roadside bomb he was defusing exploded, a military official said. The incident occurred on a road that links Bosaso, Puntland’s second biggest city, with Galgala Hills which is controlled by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group.
Colonel Osman Abshir Omar was killed after he started dismantling the bomb on Tuesday, one of his colleagues said. “We were with the Colonel. He stopped the car, got down and started dismantling a bomb but it suddenly went off and killed him on the spot,” Major Abdirizak Mohamed, who was among the soldiers accompanying Omar, told Reuters. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility. “We targeted the Colonel. We exploded the bomb,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabaab’s spokesman for military operations, said.
Militant attacks in Puntland are rare compared to the rest of Somalia mainly because its security forces are relatively regularly paid and receive substantial U.S. assistance. Al-Shabaab, which aims to topple Somalia’s government and impose its strict version of Islam on the Horn of Africa state, has become more active in Puntland after being pushed out of its stronghold further south by African Union peacekeepers and the Somali army, officials say. This year there has been rise in violence in Puntland by a splinter group linked to Islamic State have attacked government troops.
US Airstrike Destroys Vehicle Bomb Outside Mogadishu
13 December – Source: Daily Mail – 205 Words
US forces in Somalia conducted an air strike Tuesday against a bomb-laden vehicle outside Mogadishu that was deemed an “imminent threat” to the capital, officials said. The strike occurred about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Mogadishu and comes after as many as 512 people were killed in a massive truck bombing in October. “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, US forces conducted an air strike against an Al-Shabaab vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in the early morning hours of December 12,” the US military’s Africa Command said in a statement.
“This strike supports our partner forces by removing an imminent threat to the people of Mogadishu.” AFRICOM added that it had assessed that no civilians were killed in the strike. Al-Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow successive internationally backed governments in Mogadishu since 2007 and frequently deploys car and truck bombs against military, government and civilian targets.
The devastating October blast leveled buildings in the capital’s busy Kilometer 5 neighborhood. Since then the United States — which supports Somalia’s fledgling army as well as carrying out its own operations against the Al-Shabaab and a separate self-proclaimed Islamic State group in the north of the country — has increased the frequency of airstrikes targeting jihadist leaders.
Somalia Political Milestone: Registered For First Time In 50 Year
12 December – Source: CGTN – Video: 3:00 Minutes
For the first time in nearly half a century, the nation has registered political parties. They’ll replace the current clan-based power-sharing system. Analysts see the move as a positive development in a country emerging from decades of instability.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“This project endeavours to improve the quality of life for an estimated 175,000 Somalis. As solutions to sustainable water provision and infrastructure are developed, other socio-economic activities will also flourish. This includes the rearing of livestock, which remains the main source of livelihoods for the majority of this project’s beneficiaries.’’
UN Migration Agency, African Development Bank Work To Improve Water And Sanitation Services In Rural Somalia
12 December – Source: IMO.int – 485 Words
IOM, the UN Migration Agency, last week held a technical workshop funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to facilitate the implementation of a new project to improve access to water and sanitation services in rural areas of Somalia. Held in collaboration with the Federal Government of Somalia, the three-year project aims to reduce infant and child mortality caused by water borne diseases.
Nearly 6.2 million people need humanitarian assistance in Somalia, due to the failure of consecutive rainy seasons and an ongoing conflict. The dire humanitarian situation has led to massive displacement and disease outbreaks. Many families have been forced to live in congested settlements for internally displaced persons (IDPs), often without basic services. This project strives to strengthen sustainable water solutions and increase the technical capacity of local administrations to operate and maintain water infrastructure. In line with the New Way of Working, it will address immediate water and sanitation needs while simultaneously building community resilience to withstand future drought and environmental related shocks.
John Sifuma, Water and Sanitation Specialist from AfDB, said: “The Bank is responding to the challenge of supporting inclusive growth, and the transition to green growth, by scaling up investments and implementation of its ten-year strategy by focusing on five priority areas: Light up and power Africa; Feed Africa; Integrate Africa; Industrialize Africa and Improve quality of life for the people of Africa.”
Sifuma added: “The project falls under the fifth priority and is aligned to Somalia’s National Development Plan. The Bank will continue working closely with the Federal Government of Somalia to support implementation of the government’s development agenda.” Acknowledging the strong collaboration between the government, IOM and AfDB, Somalia’s Minister for Energy and Water Resources Salimo Aloi Ibro said: “The ministry has worked closely with IOM and AfDB since the conceptualization of this project. We were involved in developing the concept note, project appraisals, and creation of all the key project documents. In the future, we are hoping that IOM and AfDB can help us scale up activities in Kismayo, Baidoa, Afgoye and Jowhar – places where the needs on the ground far outstretch available resources.”
IOM Somalia Chief of Mission Dyane Epstein noted: “This project endeavours to improve the quality of life for an estimated 175,000 Somalis. As solutions to sustainable water provision and infrastructure are developed, other socio-economic activities will also flourish. This includes the rearing of livestock, which remains the main source of livelihoods for the majority of this project’s beneficiaries.’’
In 2017, IOM has provided conditional and unconditional food and water to drought-affected people in Somalia. Over 200 million litres of clean and safe water have been supplied to approximately 570,000 people in Somalia through a water voucher mechanism. IOM is also conducting intensive hygiene and sanitation promotion activities within at-risk communities, having reached an estimated 563,000 people with behavioural change messages between January and October 2017.”