November 16, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Southwest State Postpones Election After Resignations
16 November – Source: Garowe Online – 267 Words
Somalia’s Southwest State Parliament has postponed the region’s presidential election for two weeks, “due to technical problems”. The deputy chair of the standing committee of the regional assembly, Mr Mohamed Nur announced the decision on Thursday evening during a press conference in Baidoa city, saying the crucial vote will now take place on November 28.
The election was scheduled to take place tomorrow on Saturday, 17th November: “It was largely agreed that we postpone elections by two weeks owing to technical problems. We are now working on ways to fixing the current circumstances,” said Mohamed, giving an assurance that the upcoming election will be free and fair. The postponement comes barely a week after several members of the regional electoral coordinating committee resigned en masse, citing “direct interference and manipulation in the electoral process” from the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS).
According to sources in Baidoa, who confided in Garowe Online, the decision to postpone the elections is attributed to the alleged meddling in the Southwest state affairs by Villa Somalia. Similarly, the Southwest state President, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, stepped down and pulled out of the presidential race on November 7th following alleged pressure from Mogadishu.
The United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) has urged the presidential candidates in the Southwest state race to promote a free, fair and transparent vote. UNSOM’s new head, Nicholas Haysom, made the appeal during his recent visit to Baidoa. Several aspirants, including former Al-Shabab deputy leader, Mukhtar Robow and ex-minister for Energy, Abdulaziz Lafta- Garen, who is backed by the FGS, are among those vying for Southwest state’s top job.
Key Headlines
- Southwest State Postpones Election After Resignations (Garowe Online)
- Kenya Deports Over 150 Somalis From Her Country (Halbeeg News)
- MP Fiqi: Sahafi Hotel Attack Was A Target To Assassinate MPs (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia Struggles To Treat PTSD From War Poverty (VOA)
- IGAD To Discuss Somalia South Sudan Tomorrow (Daily Monitor)
- Solar Powered Irrigation Transforming Farming In Puntland State (Radio Ergo)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Kenya Deports Over 150 Somalis From Her Country
16 November – Source: Halbeeg News – 196 Words
The government of Kenya has deported over 150 Somalis back to their country since August this year, when the East African nation launched an operation against illegal migrants. In an interview with Daily Nation, a newspaper based in Nairobi, Kenya Director for Immigration and Border Control, Alexander Muteshi Imbenzi, said Kenya has so far deported 1,248 people to 27 countries.
The officer accused those expelled from Kenya of being illegal immigrants purporting to be tourists. He said they took the advantage of immigration loopholes to engage in crimes or acquire fake work permits. According to Imbenzi, the deportation forced Kenya to meet unexpected expenses of repatriation.
“We have used something to the tune of Ksh 15 million in the ongoing campaign. It is a very expensive affair. Apart from Tanzanians and Ugandans whom we deported by road, we have had to pay airfare for other nationals,” he said. Among those deported were 151 Somalis, 217 Tanzanians, 210 Ethiopians, 115 South Sudanese, 94 Nigerians and 79 Chinese.
Others are 55 Burundians, 51 Congolese, 38 Egyptians, 31 Indians, and 14 Rwandans: “Most of those deported are from the region including Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda and Somalia,” Imbenzi explained.
MP Fiqi: Sahafi Hotel Attack Was A Target To Assassinate MPs
15 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 108 Words
A member of the Federal Parliament Ahmed Mohamed Fiqi addressed a press conference in the capital, Mogadishu, over the recent car bombing attacks in the city claiming legislators were targeted for assassination. The attack at the Shafi hotel claimed lives of more than 50 people.
Noting that almost 50 Members of Parliament were residing at Sahafi hotel at the time of the attack, the MP pointed out that the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) had not yet carried out any investigation on the attack. The lawmaker expressed shock that those suspected to have carried out the attack were dressed in the latest military uniform, issued by the FGS.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Struggles To Treat PTSD From War, Poverty
16 November – Source: VOA – Video: 2:26 Minutes
Somalia’s 30 years of chronic conflict have left an estimated 1 in 3 people affected by mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there are only three licensed psychiatrists in the entire country. Mohamed Sheikh Nor reports from Mogadishu on Somalia’s huge mental health challenges.
IGAD To Discuss Somalia, South Sudan Tomorrow
15 November – Source: Daily Monitor – 244 Words
Ministers from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional trade block, will meet in Ethiopia today to discuss the implementation of the South Sudan agreement signed by president Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar in Khartoum in August. “On the agenda are the Implementation of the Revitalised Agreement of the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan and progress in Somalia,” a statement issued by IGAD yesterday reads in part.
The ministers are expected to discuss the new security arrangement that has to be implemented before Mr Machar goes back to Juba, where he fled when fighting broke out in July 2016. After signing the agreement mediated by Sudanese president Omar Bashir, the two rivals committed to end the violence. Mr Machar said there “was no option but peace” and Mr Kiir said the deal would not collapse because it was “not forced upon them like previous accords.”
The State Minister for International Relations, Henry Oryem Okello, is expected to represent Uganda at the meeting. Both Somalia and South Sudan have had civil wars that have left thousands dead and millions displaced. Uganda has played key role in bringing peace in both countries.
In Somalia, Uganda has more than 6,000 soldiers deployed to fight the al-Shabaab insurgents, making the biggest troop contributor with African Union mandate. The troops have not carried out any offensive operations against the insurgents for more than two years because they do not have enough boots on ground.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The solar pumps are the solution to farmers because they are less expensive to operate. High cost of diesel was eating into most of their profit but this system saves a lot for them,”
Solar Powered Irrigation Transforming Farming In Puntland State
15 November – Source: Radio Ergo – 433 Words
An irrigation scheme in Puntland is gradually changing the approach to farming after years of reliance on rain-fed agriculture. With no rivers to tap for irrigation and very minimal rainfall, farmers are adopting new technologies through solar-powered generators to pump water from underground wells. The small scale farmers in Jibagale locality near Garowe town have started tapping the sun’s energy to pump water from wells to irrigate their subsistence farms.
Abdikadir Abshir Nur is the chairperson of a small group of farmers with a 14-hectare farm growing fruits, vegetables and cereals. He says the adoption of solar power has helped the group cut the costs of running petrol generators. “Before adopting solar power, during rainy seasons we used to spend $500 on petrol and engine oil every month. We paid a one-off amount of $2,500 to get these solar generators and water pumps. I bought 100 pieces of solar panels. Since installing this we spend nothing else,” Nur said. He said the solar-powered irrigation system introduced in this area has increased yields, saved water, and cut fuel and labour costs.
The system uses solar power to pump water from the well to a tank and then to irrigation pipes. The solar system enables many irrigation pipes to operate at once, with regulated water flows. Abdikadir said the farmers have expanded their cultivation onto many more hectares of land and started to grow new crops.
The equipment is designed to withstand harsh climatic conditions and has a lifespan of 30 years, according to Samatar Omar, the chief executive of Solar Energy Consulting & Construction Company (SECCCO). “The solar pumps are the solution to farmers because they are less expensive to operate. High cost of diesel was eating into most of their profit but this system saves a lot for them,” he said.
Speaking to Radio Ergo, Hassan Yussuf Karshe, the deputy chairman of Jibagale Farmers Association said 14 members had transited to solar-powered irrigation systems. “It is a cost-effective system. The solar-powered pumps generate more water which has resulted in increase in higher crop yields,” Hassan said.
Nadiifo Yussuf Jama, who has been farming for the last 24 years, has planted a variety of new crops using the solar-power irrigation from a newly dug borehole. In 2014, Nadiifo and several of her colleagues secured a loan of spend $36,000 from a local cooperative which they used to dig the well and buy solar panels and water pumps. The drip-irrigation boosted their crop yields and product sales from their farms to enable the women to settle their loan over a four year payback period.
TOP TWEETS
@HarunMaruf: Fighting has been reported between Ahlu Sunna Wal-Jama militias and Al-Shabab fighters in Goola-Goole village about 100kms south of Guri-El on Friday. At least four combatants were killed during the fighting according to journalists in central Somalia.
@mmnjug: How @NPSOfficial_KE officers routinely let Alshaabab fighters into Kenya from Somalia for a paltry Kes2,000.00 http://bit.ly/2OLD6JW says aThe Somalia Report by Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group
@UNSomalia: This week’s #TubtaNabadda: Join the Director of South Central Non-State Actors (@soscensa_com) umbrella organisation and religious scholar Sheikh Ali Wajis to discuss tolerance. http://bit.ly/2B8AyC7
@TheCitizenTZ: EDITORIAL: Carefully consider Somalia case http://bit.ly/2S2HbvJ
@igadsecretariat: The #IGAD Council of Ministers will deliberate on the progress of #SouthSudan peace agreement and also the political situation in Somalia after listening to reports and recommendations from the IGAD Special Envoys.
HarunMaruf: #Somalia: Somali police force commander Gen Bashir Abdi Mohamed says five members of the police have been arrested for using different aliases to collect salaries from the police and army, says that the five will be prosecuted for using false IDs to obtain public funds.
@gabowduale: A maiden track event flagged by the Minister of Youth and Sport @hon_khadija was held at the inauguration of the 2nd Phase of the rehabilitation of the Mogadishu Sports Village. Thnx to @NorwayInSomalia and @EU_in_Somalia for their kind contributions @Adow77 @ahmedvision1
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohamed Gulaid, when he hosted in his office the outgoing Turkish Ambassador to Somalia, Olgan Beker.
Photo: @KhadarGulaid