April 26, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
We Are Set To Redraw Our Electoral Boundaries, Somali Electoral Officials Say
26 April – Source: AMISOM – 635 Words
Somalia’s National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) officials are now set to embark on the electoral boundary delimitation exercise following intensive three-day training in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The Commission’s chairperson, Halima Ismail Ibrahim, said the exercise will start in earnest next year ahead of the one-person one-vote elections in 2020. The three-day training, facilitated by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and supported by the African Union Commission, brought together 24 participants drawn from NIEC, various ministries, Office of the President and Office of the Prime Minister.
Halima said while they had planned to start the process in 2020, they realized after their training that the exercise was urgent and required a lot of work hence their decision to immediately embark on the process. “When I was coming from Mogadishu, I didn’t have the knowledge that I have now. We thought that it was a simple thing, the delimitation of boundaries for elections, and we were planning to do it around 2019 but before we start we need to take (various) steps, you need a lot of principles to follow, you must have a legal framework whether it’s from parliament or from the NIEC, we have found that we are in a real critical situation. We must start the process as soon as we go back,” the NIEC chairperson said.
During the training, which was carried out by electoral experts from several African countries and the African Union Commission, the Somali electoral commission officials were taken through boundary delimitation experiences from Kenya, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Tunisia among others.
Key Headlines
- We Are Set To Redraw Our Electoral Boundaries Somali Electoral Officials Say (AMISOM)
- Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys Decries Al-Shabaab Killings Of Civilians (Hiiraan Online)
- Military On The Spotlight As Government Declares Illegal Deal With SKA (Goobjoog News)
- AMISOM Holds Humanitarian Training For Uniformed Personnel In Hirshabelle State (AMISOM)
- From Cooperation to Conflict: The UAE’s Deepening Crisis with Somalia and Djibouti (he New Turkey)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys Decries Al-Shabaab Killings Of Civilians
26 April – Source: Hiiraan Online – 216 Words
Former Al-Shabaab leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who has been under government house arrest since 2013, has lashed out at Al-Shabaab’s culture of killing people without valid reasons. In a 53-minute video, Sheikh Hassan termed Al-Shabaab’s relentless killings targeting elders, businesspeople and religious scholars as unfortunate. “Killing of innocent people is intolerable. Where are we headed to? People are so scared of you to an extent they can’t worship in mosques, religious preaching has stopped,” he lamented. He opined that Al-Shabaab’s culture of killing innocent people should stop and accused the group of losing direction.
Speaking on Abu Mansur’s defection, he denounced recent Al-Shabaab’s conviction of Abu Mansur Robow as an apostate. “Abu Mansur was one of the most influential members of the group who made it possible for Al-Shabaab to capture key regions including Bay, Bakool and Hiiraan. You cannot call anyone who differs with you an apostate,” he said.
His message comes less than a week after the militants gunned down a former colleague of Sheikh Hassan in Mogadishu. The Mogadishu lecturer, Ismail Haji Addow who was a former official of the now-defunct Hisul Islam group was killed on April 15. Sheikh Hassan, who once served as one of the public faces of Al-Shabaab did not condemn the deaths of innocent civilians during his time with the group.
Military On The Spotlight As Government Declares Illegal Deal With SKA
26 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 431 Words
The government has declared illegal a military logistics contract between the Dubai based logistics company SKA and the Somali National Army noting the deal was un-procedurally entered into. The Ministry of Information in a statement to newsrooms Thursday said the contract which came to the public domain following a media expose was illegal and would now be subject of investigations. “The agreement reported in the media is illegal. According to the Minister of Finance Abdirahman Beyle, the contract was not done according to the Public Procurement Law,” acting information minister Abdirahman Yonis said.
Chief of Defence Forces Abdiweli Gorod confirmed to VOA Somali the existence of the contract. In the expose aired Wednesday, VOA Somali said SKA had secured a deal with the national army to manage its supply and logistics countrywide which would include delivery of supplies to all the military bases in the country. “Yes the contract is there and has been agreed,” Gen. Gorod said. Yonis said the government will investigate the circumstances under which the tender was disposed of and findings be submitted to the cabinet.
The Dubai based company, SKA which according to information on its website describes itself as a global supplier of fuel, aviation and logistics services operating throughout the Middle East and Africa, has been operating in Somalia since 2010. The company was first contracted by then Transitional Federal Government to manage operations at Aden Adde Airport before the Turkish based company Favori took over. SKA also operates a security company, Somali Risk Management, which it says provides full range of security services including international security management and advisory services, security audits and assessments, vetted guards, convoy support, training, CCTV and armored vehicle transport.
The move to declare the contract illegal once again puts the military on the spotlight over procurement procedures. There have been accusations in the past including by the UN Monitoring Group against the military over what it termed as shady dealings in procurement procedures. The U.N. Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group, observed in its 2015 report the army “hierarchy has systematically inflated their troop numbers in order to secure greater funding for salaries and rations”. “Few cases illustrate the threat posed by financial mismanagement and misappropriation to peace, security and stability in Somalia more than corruption within the Federal Government security institutions,” said the U.N. monitoring group. The US suspended food and fuel aid to the national army last December over corruption concerns. Sources at the US State Department quoted by Reuters said Somali National Army ‘failed to meet the standards for accountability for U.S. assistance.’
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Holds Humanitarian Training For Uniformed Personnel In Hirshabelle State
26 April – Source: AMISOM – 392 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has conducted a two-day training for uniformed personnel in Belet Weyne, Hiiraan region, to familiarize them with the Somalia Country Specific Humanitarian Civil-Military Guidelines and ensure they are acquainted with AMISOM’s engagement with humanitarian actors and the local community. The workshop was attended by AMISOM Police, the Somali National Army (SNA) and Somali Police Force (SPF). Representatives of local humanitarian organizations were also present.
The participants were taken through the contents of the Somalia Country Specific Humanitarian Civil-Military Guidelines document, which specifies how AMISOM and humanitarian partners should relate in conflict areas to ensure assistance is delivered to vulnerable populations in hard-to-access areas in a timely manner. “We are trying to bring them (humanitarian partners) to work together. The environment in which we are working is very dynamic and complex and somehow the military and the humanitarian actors do not understand each other. That has prompted the Mission to enter into an agreement to have a protocol document called the Somalia Country Specific Humanitarian Guidelines,” said Abdul Diabagate, AMISOM Senior Humanitarian Liaisons Officer.
Mr. Diabagate explained that AMISOM was carrying out a countrywide awareness campaign to sensitize both the military and civilian actors about the guidelines to enhance coordination between the two stakeholders. Captain Billy Logwee, an AMISOM CIMIC (Civil-Military Cooperation) Officer, echoed Mr. Diabagate’s sentiments, saying the training is meant to augment relations between the military and the communities in areas where the African Union Mission is present.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“In response to a harsh stance from the Mogadishu leadership, the UAE announced that it halted all military co-operations with Somalia and shut down the Sheikh Zayed hospital that was built by the Emirates. It is expected that the UAE will further retaliate to Somalia with a number of new measures that are to be seen in the coming period.”
From Cooperation to Conflict: The UAE’s Deepening Crisis with Somalia and Djibouti
26 April – Source: The New Turkey – 842 Words
The Horn of Africa region has recently been the stage for a number of international actors that aim to expand their foreign policy reach. This can be seen from Turkey’s increasing relations with Somalia, China and Russia’s decision to establish military bases and the United Arab Emirates’ economic and military activities taking place particularly in Somalia and Djibouti.
These activities, however, receive different reactions by the countries of the region. While humanitarian and development-oriented activities of Turkey have received appreciation by Somalia and Djibouti, the UAE’s aspirations to influence these countries’ political life have faced cold reaction. The Somalia government allowed Turkey to establish its largest military bases in the country and the Djibouti government allocated a vast plot of land close to the Doraleh seaport in order for Turkey to establish a “Free Economic Zone.” On the other hand, both countries soured relations with the UAE, criticising Abu Dhabi for pursuing an interventionist policy. Examples of these strained relations can be seen in the recent political crisis between the Emirates and two important countries of the region, Somalia and Djibouti.
Mogadishu and Abu Dhabi enjoyed close relations during the presidency of Hasan Sheikh Mahmoud of Somalia. However, relations deteriorated in 2017 following the election of Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Fermacu, who was supported by Turkey and Qatar, countries that also have tense relations with the UAE. Following his election to presidency, Abdullahi criticized the Emirati activities in the region and argued that the UAE does not respect the national sovereignty of Somalia. In the following period, Abdulahi took a firm stance against the UAE and prevented some of its activities taking place in the country.
One of the activities of the UAE was the establishment of military bases in Somalia’s semi-autonomous regions, Somaliland and Puntland. President Abdullahi criticized these activities and argued that they were against Somalia’s national sovereignty. The UAE, on the other hand, intensified its activities in these regions and had taken a more aggressive stance against Mogadishu by supporting political actors in Somaliland and Puntland. It was even argued that the UAE encouraged these regions for independence from Somalia. The tension between Mogadishu and Abu Dhabi further deteriorated when the parliament of Somalia passed a bill in March 2018, preventing the UAE’s economic and military activities in the country.
The crisis between the two countries reached its peak in April 2018, when Somali security forces seized a UAE-owned plane illegally carrying 9 million U.S. dollars in cash to the country. The allegations that the money in the plane was planned to be given to the anti-government groups in the country caused the Somali government to take a harder stance against the Emirates.
TOP TWEETS
@Abukar_Arman: The #Somaliland Cognitive Dissonance ‘We deserve recognition because we have a great model of democracy.’ ‘We have zero tolerance for any peaceful expression or dream of unity.” **Handing young poet@NacimaAbwaan 3yr sentence for dreaming unity is simply wrong** @amnesty @hrw
@amb_mahboub: Just begun a Planning Meeting for Somalia with the sole purpose of assisting Somalia in doing it’s 2040 Vision strategy Development. Minister for Planning Amb Gamal Hassan is guest of Honour and Dr Guyo IGAD Special Envoy is in attendance
@HarunMaruf: BREAKING: Somali federal Govt nullifies agreement reached by Ministry of Defense with SKA International following investigation by VOA’s @i_dossier. Acting Information Minister Abdirahman Idan Yonis issues statement saying procurement process has not been followed.
@DrBeileh: I have returned from the Spring Meetings today to continue with our fiscal reform agenda. There is much more to be done to reach our objective of financing Somalia’s future.@TheVillaSomalia @SomaliPM @MofSomalia@mpfsomalia
@M_Farmaajo: Congratulations to our Under 17 for reaching the CECAFA cup final. You have made us proud. I wish you well and bring the cup home.
@mary_harper: Weapons ‘stolen from UAE training ground in#Somalia‘ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
@SBCSomalia: BREAKING: Somaliland court sentences a prominent and well-respected traditional elder named as King Osman Burmadow for five years in jail over he visiting Puntland regional state #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Minister of Finance, Dr. Abdirahman Beileh Duale returned to mogadishu from Spring meeting organized by the World Bank and IMF in Washington.
Photo: @DrBeileh