December 4, 2018 | Morning Headlines
New Somali Ambassador To Kenya Arrives In Nairobi
03 December – Source: Kismaayo.com – 154 Words
Somalia’s new Ambassador to Kenya, Mohamud Ahmed Nur (Tarsan) on Monday arrived in Nairobi where, he was received by acting Ambassador, Ali Mohamed Sheikh Ali Bagadi and other officials, from the Somali diplomatic mission in Nairobi. The new Ambassador is expected to present his letters of accreditation to President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday, December 5th.
Ambassador Nur was the former Mayor of Mogadishu, was approved by Somalia’s Council of Ministers on July 2018. Mr. Nur, who until his appointment was President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed’s Senior Political Advisor, will lead the Somali mission in Nairobi.
For the past two years, the embassy was without an ambassador, since the departure of Ambassador Gamal Mohamed Hassan, who is currently Federal Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development. Mr. Nur begins his role, at a time diplomatic relations between Somalia and Kenya has significantly improved despite the two countries still remain embroiled over the maritime boundary dispute.
Key Headlines
- New Somali Ambassador To Kenya Arrives In Nairobi (Kismaayo.com)
- Puntland President Appoints Vetting Committee For Parliamentary Selection (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Women In Galgadud Help Families Fleeing Ethiopia’s Somali Region (Radio Ergo)
- Somali Telecom Operators Criticise Ministry For Choice Of Regulatory Directors (Telecompaper)
- Somaliland Opens Its Doors To Kenyan Investors (Daily Nation)
- Sayid-Ali Abdullahi Salad: A Champion For The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities (UNSOM)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland President Appoints Vetting Committee For Parliamentary Selection
03 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 113 Words
Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali on Monday announced an eight-member dispute resolution and vetting committee, for the upcoming parliamentary selection. The committee which will be chaired by Mr. Osman Ismail Barre, will be tasked to scrutinize the parliamentary candidates, and address, electoral disputes and complaints during the parliamentary selections, slated for December 10.
The 66 member state assembly is based on a clan nomination system, in which elders from the respective sub-clans submit the names of candidates for the parliamentary seats allocated to the vetting and dispute resolution committee. The committee will vet the candidates in order to approve or disapprove after that, the new parliament will elect a new president on January 8th.
Somali Women In Galgadud Help Families Fleeing Ethiopia’s Somali Region
03 December – Source: Radio Ergo – 329 Words
A local mothers in Somalia’s Galgadud region, is mobilizing small financial contributions from local people and other displaced people already settled in Abudwaq town, to support hundreds of refugees fleeing from violence in neighbouring Ethiopia. With the help of 60 women from the host community and IDP camps, Ms. Anab Abdi Ali from the local community in Abudwaq town has launched a campaign to ensure the new arrivals are given a small amount of cash, and food and utensils.
“We ourselves came to these camps to witness the situation, I know how desperate a person can be, so we came up with this idea to help them,” Anab told Radio Ergo. “We have set no limit, a person can contribute any amount based on their ability.” The initiative launched in September, has so far helped 460 people displaced by from Ethiopia’s Somali region. Anab and other volunteers have distributed utensils and food including flour, rice and sugar.
“We distribute food and other available items based on the size of the family,” said Anab, who is the head of Mahad-Alle camp. Anab noted that the group had collected $1,300 in cash donations. “We spent $400 to buy plastic sheeting for shelters, while the rest was given to men who had left their families behind in Ethiopia to transport them to Abudwaq,” Anab said.
Ms. Muhibo Osman, who lives in Mahad-Alle camp, volunteers with Anab’s team. She approves of the idea of self-reliance. “These displaced people are desperate, I know because I have had a similar experience. The closest people who can help them are their fellow IDPs and people of this town. We receive any items as donations such as shoes, Dira’a [common Somali women’s dress], Ma’awiis [sarong] and everything else. This has helped us to reach everybody including men, women and children,” she explained.
On 26 November, youth from the town gave seven sacks of sugar, rice and flour. Qureisha Fod, a mother of 10, who fled her home in Tuli-Guleid village in Ethiopia after Somali-Oromo conflict erupted in September, is living in Mahad-Alle camp. It took her seven days to reach Abudwaq. She was grateful to receive help from Anab’s group on arrival. “We had nothing to eat when I came but now we can eat twice a day thanks to our fellow sisters and the host community,” she said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Telecom Operators Criticise Ministry For Choice Of Regulatory Directors
03 December – Source: Telecompaper – 152 Words
The Association of Somali Telecommunication Companies (USIS) held its monthly meeting and discussed a number of issues, including a lack of cooperation between the ICT ministry and telecom operators. They accused the minister for post, telecommunication and technology for handpicking directors of the National Communications Agency (NCA) in violation of the law. USIS said it has told the government and ICT stakeholders that it will not participate in the consultative conference to establish NCA governance, which it called an attempt by the ministry to willfully legitimise the NCA board.
The association cautioned against the consequences of abuses in the name of the NCA, such as the formation of governing committees, establishing tariffs, issuing telecommunication licences, and misguided strategies for safeguarding national assets. It called for the appointment of members of the NCA in accordance with the Communications Act articles 10 and 34. The operators reaffirmed their commitment to the rule of law.
Somaliland Opens Its Doors To Kenyan Investors
02 December – Source: Daily Nation – 510 Words
Kenya has a big role to play in Somaliland’s economic development if local investors venture in the Horn of Africa nation. Somaliland’s Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Minister Yasin Mohammed Hiir has encouraged Kenyan investors to take advantage of the investment opportunities in his country. “Come and work with us in building the great nation of Somaliland, we have so many opportunities,” Mr Hiir said as he addressed Somaliland Investment Conference in Nairobi on Friday.
Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice chairman James Mureu said Kenya was ready to do business with Somaliland. Mr Hiir said his country was ready to open its doors to foreign investors. “Kenya and Somaliland share so much in common. We have a historical bond that needs to be nurtured so as to empower our people through trade and investment,” said Mr Hiir. “While Kenya is advanced in many aspects in this region, Somaliland imports nearly everything. It beats logic that we import what it can get from Kenya from as far as South America,” he said.
He said Kenya and Somaliland should reinforce their pursuit for mutual interests on the basis of shared vision and common values. “We need to expand cross-border trade and investments between the two countries for mutual gain,” Mr Hiir said. “The large number of Kenyans who are working and living in Somaliland is a proof of our good hospitality, we can increase prosperity for our citizens through enhanced trade,” said the minister. He said Somaliland government was is interested in trade and investments, financial integration, free movement of goods, education, tourism and hospitality.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“For years, Sayid-Ali endured a life of isolation. Friends deserted him. Acquaintances mocked him and called him ‘lugey’ or ‘jiis’ – pejorative slurs that mean ‘the man who limps’ or ‘the one-legged man’ in the Somali language”
Sayid-Ali Abdullahi Salad: A Champion For The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities
02 December – Source: UNSOM – 792 Words
Sayid-Ali Abdullahi Salad vividly remembers the fateful day at the height of the civil war in Somalia in 1997 when his life was changed forever – a seemingly routine meeting to resolve a dispute erupted into violence that almost cost the volunteer peace mediator his life.
Together with other peace activists, Sayid-Ali, then a student at the Somali National University, had accompanied a traditional elder to Wadajir district in the capital city of Mogadishu to help mediate between two warring clans. They were looking forward to a positive outcome, but in the middle of the negotiations, tensions suddenly escalated. “Things ended up in disarray. One of the groups became hostile and opened fire. The first round of bullets hit my right leg and shattered the bone,” Sayid-Ali, now 41 years of age, recalls.
He was critically wounded in the attack. His colleagues were able to duck the hail of bullets and escape unhurt. “They scampered for safety, but I wasn’t that lucky. When I was hit, I passed out and regained consciousness in hospital, where I had been rushed by my friends,” Sayed-Ali adds. Prompt medical intervention at Benadir Hospital, where Sayid-Ali’s fellow mediators took him for treatment, saved his life. His leg, however, had to be amputated.
Living with disability; “The shooting was a double tragedy to me. I couldn’t continue with my education after the incident,” the former veterinary medicine student says. Soon after his discharge from hospital, Sayid-Ali was confronted with the painful reality of coping with a lifelong disability in a country torn apart by violence. “I experienced first-hand the stigma associated with disability and the ill-treatment meted out by society to physically-challenged persons,” he recalls. For years, Sayid-Ali endured a life of isolation. Friends deserted him. Acquaintances mocked him and called him ‘lugey’ or ‘jiis’ – pejorative slurs that mean ‘the man who limps’ or ‘the one-legged man’ in the Somali language.
Counting only on his family’s support, Sayid-Ali rebuilt his life around a small retail business that kept him busy. He slowly regained his commitment to help others overcome conflict, find common ground and live together peacefully. In the process, he became a dedicated advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. “I started advocating for the rights of people with disabilities by speaking at youth meetings, sport events and other gatherings,” remarks Sayid- Ali.