July 25, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Al-Shabaab Withdraws From Jamame Town As SNA Plans Major Onslaught, Official
25 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 240 Words
Al-Shabaab has withdrawn its fighters from Jamame town as Somali National Army (SNA) and African Union (AU) troops plan an onslaught to recapture the town. Since 2012 when the group lost control of Mogadishu and Kismayu, it has been training its fighters and operating fully in the agricultural towns of Jamama and Jilib in southern Somalia.
Somali military force commander of the 43rd Battalion, Osman Haji Adan, who spoke to the media, said Al-Shabaab fled the town after SNA and AU launched a major attack targeting the group’s fighters in Jamame: “They withdrew their fighters from the town and are now on the run towards Jilib town. Information from our sources indicates that Al-Shabaab pulled down their tents last night and and fled from the town,” Adan said.
He vowed to continue offensives against Al-Shabaab until the town is liberated: “Our forces are gearing up to capture of Jamame town and no efforts by the Al-Shabaab will interfere with that mission,” he said. According to Adan, the fleeing fighters were planning to regroup when they were attacked by allied forces destroying their equipment and vehicles.
Neither independent source nor Al-Shabaab have confirmed the withdrawal of the group’s fighters. Al-Shabaab wants to topple the internationally recognised Somali government, and has been fighting the AU and Somalia military soldiers in southern Somalia. The group conducts deadly attacks in the Somali capital and other major towns in the south and central of Somalia.
Key Headlines
- Al-Shabaab Withdraws From Jamame Town As SNA Plans Major Onslaught Official (Halbeeg News)
- President Farmaajo Establishes A National Economic Forum (Jowhar News)
- Somalia Revives Quality Control Agency After Over 28 Year Hiatus (Halbeeg News)
- A New Way To Educate In Somali Schools Starts In August (AMISOM)
- The Importance of Public Spaces In Mogadishu (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
President Farmaajo Establishes A National Economic Forum
25 July – Source: Jowhar.com – 104 Words
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo has announced the establishment of a National Economic Forum, through a presidential decree. The decree, dated at July 12, 2018, stipulates that the forum is created with reference to the 87th and 90th articles of the Constitution, and in accordance with the proposal by the Minister for Planning as well as members of the Cabinet.
The forum comprises of the ministerial subcommittee on the economy, governor of the Central Bank, regional leaders and five advisers from academia and experts. Their work will be to advise and help the government design the strategic economic and financial policies of the country.
Somalia Revives Quality Control Agency After Over 28 Year Hiatus
24 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 222 Words
The Somali government revived its quality control body in a bid to guard against counterfeit and poor quality products from entering the country and verify goods to the applicable standard. Since the collapse of the central government in 1991, markets in Somalia have not been regulated and this has resulted in the country to becoming a dumping ground for poor quality and rejected products including foodstuffs.
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Speaking to the media, the Somali Minister for Trade, Mohamed Hayir Maraye, said the country was reestablishing Somali Quality Control Agency: “We are revving the Quality Control Agency which will check on the hazardous and substandard imported products in the country,” Mareye said.
He said the agency will be charged with the task of inspection of goods — imports and exports — to guard against consumption of harmful products and implement quality assurance standards. Under the new arrangement, goods will also be inspected by the agency prior shipments in the country of export, and upon verifications certificated would be issued for the consignment.
The development is seen as the first sign in enforcing rules and regulations in the Horn of African nation where the absence of a relevant legal and regulatory framework to common standards and quality were missing since the collapse of the central government in 1991 after warlords overthrew the government led by Mohamed Siad Barre
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
A New Way To Educate In Somali Schools Starts In August
25 July – Source: AMISOM – 1,091 Words
Somalia’s civil war wrenched the country in many ways. Families were torn apart, the rule of law faded away, government institutions collapsed, and education came to a standstill, to name but a few of the setbacks the country faced because of the violence.
In the ensuing decades after the war’s end, the area of education slowly regained some structure as the authorities – aware of its importance for the country’s long-term development – tried to get it back on track. However, this led to a laissez faire situation with a mish-mash of systems and structures for primary and secondary schools, which adopted any system their owners deemed fit. Even school terms and school books varied across different parts of the country.
All that will change next month: “For the last 30 years, the country has been craving for a Somali-owned and Somali-prepared education system – we finally have it,” says Mohamed Abdulkadir, an advisor to the Federal Government’s Ministry of Education, and the official charged with overseeing the implementation of a new education system, including a new national curriculum, across Somalia.
In early August, after students finish the usual two-month summer break, the horn of Africa country’s education system will undergo a major transformation with the adoption a new, unified and streamlined system for primary and secondary schools, covering everything from subjects to terms.
Under the new system, commonly referred to the ‘4-4-4 system,’ students will spend four years in lower-primary education, four years in upper-primary and another four years in secondary school before being able to enroll in institutions of higher learning.
In addition, students with talent in different fields, including sports, music and art, will be identified and nurtured to realise their full potential in these areas: “Our aim is to ensure our children access to education as well as opportunities where they can exploit their talents for their benefit and that of the country,” says Mr. Abdulkadir. The school calendar year will be divided into two academic terms, with the first term running between January and May, and the second from August to December.
In preparation for the new system, the federal authorities had put in place a pilot programme in various schools in the capital, Mogadishu, and teachers around the country have been undergoing training since the beginning of June.
One of the major differences in the new curriculum will be the language of instruction. During the civil war, because of a shortage of books in Somali, schools used whatever textbooks they could obtain. These were sourced from more than ten countries, leading to English and Arabic replacing Somali as the language of instruction.
In a departure from the current system, under which students are required to sit for national exams to proceed from primary to secondary school, and, eventually, university, students will now undergo continuous assessment so as to ensure a more holistic approach to education, less centred in passing a few key tests.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“The gates of Beerta Nabada, for example, certainly do not favour social inclusion and contribute at least in part to a greater perception of insecurity where being outside of this oasis of peace, is considered more dangerous than stay inside of it.”
The Importance of Public Spaces In Mogadishu
24 July – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1266 Words
Public spaces have played a key role in urban development over the centuries and have always represented the essence of every city. The ancient Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians knew it well, and their cities made it the symbol of their empires. In ancient Rome, for example, wealthy patricians and young people from the humblest classes mingled in public spaces – such as the famous Roman baths – which offered everyone, without distinction of sex, race or economic status, places of entertainment and relaxation free of charge.
Even today, the main role of the public space is precisely this: reduce the barriers created by deep socio-economic inequalities and to offer community services even to the most disadvantaged social groups. A well-designed public space increases the sense of belonging and equality of citizens, fostering social cohesion and mixité and thus contributing to combating city segregation. Today we often hear about “fragile cities”, that is an urban environment in which the strong urbanisation, often unregulated, increases its vulnerability to risk factors such as poverty, marginalisation, crime, and violence.
This phenomenon, although global, is more likely to occur in cities located in politically unstable countries or affected by wars and civil conflicts in which the social contract between authorities and citizens is compromised and fueled by the lack of basic services. About a third of all cities with a high level of fragility is in similarly fragile states. Many of the realities that have experienced situations of conflict and who have experienced ethnic, religious and cultural violence, have to deal with delicate and complex processes of peace and reconciliation. In these contexts, considering physical spaces as means of cohesion and reconciliation is fundamental because it is there that people live their life every day, meeting and interacting with each other, and there is where the divisions and contrasts that led to the conflict can be solved. Public spaces can play a key role in breaking down barriers and social differences.
Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, continues to hold headlines due to its turbulent past and repeated terrorist attacks. Thinking about Mogadishu and its public spaces thus evokes disturbing images: a destroyed city, bent by years of violence and completely deprive (or almost) of the gardens, the beautiful tree-lined avenues and the squares that gave to the city the title of “White pearl of the Indian Ocean” before the outbreak of the civil war. Somalia, once a peaceful and prosperous state ( called once “the Switzerland of Africa”) is recovering after more than 25 years of political instability that began in 1991.
Today, Somalia has made huge improvements since the 1990s, despite this, the situation still remains a complicated reality. The conflict has brought with it years of discrimination which have increased the level of marginalisation and social inequality, further compromising the dynamics of peaceful interaction between different groups. With a population of over two million people, a population growth of around 7 per cent, and the return of part of the Somali diaspora to their homeland, Mogadishu is particularly vulnerable. Between the chaos and insecurity of the Somali capital, however, there are places – often ignored by the media and the dominant narrative – that characterise the urban fabric of the city and that will represent the relationship between the improvement of life in urban centers and the mitigation of violence:
Lido Beach and the Beerta Nabada (the Peace Garden). Lido Beach is one of those fantastic natural resources that Somalia has, and today is undoubtedly, one of the most experienced places in the city, for the whole community. On Fridays, in particular, the beach is filled with people playing football, swimming, strolling or just chatting under the sun’s rays that embracing Somalia. After years of internal conflict, this beach represents a place of normality and refuge from everyday problems and worries, a place where everyone, regardless of social class, gender or age, finds serenity and peace. The use of the beach is in some ways also encouraged by the hotels and restaurants that make this space usable even at night.
TOP TWEETS
@AJEnglish: This Danish-Somalian boy in Copenhagen fell victim to al-Shabab recruiters. This is his story. http://aje.io/cr24z
@RadioErgo: 10,000 displaced families in Xarxarka, Horseed and Kulmiye camps in the outskirts of Galkayo complain of very cold nights and dusty days. Parents say that their children have been very vulnerable to the strong winds. #Somalia
@MediaRelief: Suggestions about outcomes of Groups of Media Training Academy to ENDFGM in Somalia after understanding writing News, Campaigning for FGM TO END.
#MEDIATOENDFGM @IfrahFoundation @UNFPA_SOMALIA#unicefsomalia @SC_Somalia #MediaToEndFGM #EndFGM
@FAOSWALIM: On 30 & 31 July 2018, SWALIM will be holding a 2 day information sharing workshop at the AMISOM VIP Conference hall, @TC_Mogadishu . Come and learn more about SWALIM’s award-winning work and the impact it has in Somalia. RSVP swalim@fao.org https://bit.ly/2mFDkH3
@shakuur89: How many people know of the thriving date farms in Alula, Somalia.
They are of a higher quality and taste better than the dates grown in SaudiArabia. #somalia
@HarunMaruf: Al-Shabab releases photos purportedly showing their militias in the Somali military camp in Sanguni town following Monday’s morning raid. In one photo three militants got their picture taken at Sanguni’s sphere monument where three Govt soldiers posed for a photo previously.
@28TooMany: ‘No girl should be dying for virginity – as a FGM survivor, I understand the brutality too well’
http://bit.ly/2NClaBm #EndFGM #Somalia #FGMLaw@HiboWardere
@DalsanFM: 2 Killed In a Kenya Military Attack In El-Wak Somalia https://www.radiodalsan.com/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali Deputy Prime Minister Mahadi Mohamed Guled addressing government officials and other participants at the international conference on higher education held in Mogadishu.
Photo: @Somalipressonline