December 7, 2018 | Morning Headlines

President Farmaajo Condoles Families Of SNA Commanders Killed In IED Attack

06 December – Source: Kismaayo.com –  178 Words

President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has sent a message of condolences to the families of senior military commanders, who were killed in a deadly Al-Shabaab IED attack in Lower Shabelle region on Thursday.

Commander of the 12th April Division, General Omar Adan Dhabbad “Omar Dheere” and his Deputy, General Abdi Ali Jama, died in the landmine explosion near Dhanane area. Several of the slain commanders’ bodyguards were also killed in the attack. President Farmaajo said he was saddened by the loss of the lives of the military commanders who sacrificed their lives for the country.

“The generals and the soldiers that were killed are martyred giving their lives for restoring peace in their country. They have immensely contributed in the efforts to eradicate the terrorists from Somalia,” President Farmaajo said in a statement send to the media. “These gallant patriots will be remembered for their role in liberating many areas that fall under the jurisdiction of Lower Shabelle from the terrorists,” added the President. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack saying they killed ten officers including the two commanders.

Key Headlines

• President Farmaajo Condoles Families Of SNA Commanders Killed In IED Attack (Kismaayo.com)
• Senate Speaker Lands In Kismayo For Talks (Garowe Online)
• Human Rights Affairs Minister Pleads The Senate To Approve Disability Bill (Halbeeg News)
• Military Chiefs Approve Framework For Exit Of AU Troops From Somalia (Vanguard)
• The Economic Contribution Of ICT And Its Regulation To Somalia’s National Economic Development (Hiiraan Online)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Senate Speaker Lands In Kismayo For Talks

06 December – Source: Garowe Online – 202 Words

A delegation from Senate on Thursday arrived in Kismayo, the capital of Jubbaland for  mediation dialogue. The delegation led by the speaker of the Upper House, Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, was warmly received by the president and other state officials at the airport.

Mr. Abdullahi and delegation will hold talks aimed at ending the current political crisis in the country with the president – a fierce critic of President Farmaajo’s administration. The trip is part of the Senate mediation efforts seeking a homegrown solution to the worst-ever standoff between the Federal Government  of Somalia (FGS) and Federal Member States, that has been deepening since early this year.

Last September, the leaders of Puntland, Galmudug, HirShabelle, Southwest, and Jubbaland cut off ties with the central government, due to lack of political and security progress. The conflict resolution committee of the Senate, presented last month a report listing the grievances of federal member states.

On October 22, Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire had unveiled a four-member ministerial committee to jointly cooperate with the Senate to end the stalemate. This comes at a time that  regional states in particular, Southwest and Puntland are heading to the polls December 19 and January 8 respectively to vote for new leaders.

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Human Rights Affairs Minister Pleads The Senate To Approve Disability Bill

06 December – Source: Halbeeg News – 243 Words

Minister of women and Human Rights Affairs, Deeqa Yasin Haji, has called the Upper House of the Federal Parliament to pass the disability bill. The bill which was unanimously approved by the Lower House last month is to establish a national disability agency, to advocate for the rights people with disabilities in the country.

On Thursday Ms. Hajji stressed the need for the bill to be approved saying its impact will be witnessed in the next financial year. “Apart from safeguarding the interest of citizens with disabilities, if approved the bill will allow us to set aside funds in the 2019 national budget to support their needs,” she said.

The disability bill is still with the Senate and once approved, it will pave way for establishing an independent national disability agency to lobby for the wellbeing of people with disabilities. The agency will be responsible for protection, job creation, education and among others in the country.

Funded by the government,  it will required to have branches or offices across regional states. Human Rights activists have praised the move saying it is one step further in a country that has worst human rights records in the continent. President Farmajo has last week urged members of the two houses in the country to speed the approval of the bill.   More than three decades of civil war in Somalia has contributed to the significant number of people with disabilities mainly in major cities that witnessed intense fighting.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Military Chiefs Approve Framework For Exit Of AU Troops From Somalia

06 December – Source: Vanguard –  230 Words

Military chiefs from eight African countries that contribute troops to Somalia have approved a strategic document that will guide security operations and the exit of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). It also marked the final phase of the AMISOM’s transition and its eventual exit from Somalia.

The mission said the military, police chiefs and representatives of AMISOM troop and police from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia approved CONOPs during a meeting on Sunday. “The MOCC (Military Operations Coordination Committee of AMISOM) endorsed the CONOPs as a strategic document which will guide the urgent development of an operational plan to include required details on implementation of the CONOPs. “It was further concluded that the implementation of AMISOM mandated tasks requires resources and necessary enablers and equipment to ascertain timely and successful transition,’’ it said.

The meeting urged Somali government to conduct effective force generation to gradually take over security responsibilities in Somalia. It said the document was developed in line with the Somali Transition Plan and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2431 to facilitate the gradual hand over of security responsibilities to the Somali security forces. CONOPs is expected to provide a comprehensive basis for conducting operations in the training and mentoring of the Somali police and the national army and create a useful framework for stabilisation, civil military activities, early recovery and reconstruction.

OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“It is morally and ethically questionable not to use a legitimate legal tools at the government disposal, to distribute a nation’s shared resources, in an equitable fashion, among its citizens.”

The Economic Contribution Of ICT And Its Regulation To Somalia’s National Economic Development

05 December – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1035 Words

The impact of ICT on national economy is well researched area and there is a general consensus, that the ICT sector has a huge positive economic and social impact on national economic development of both developing and developed countries. In Somalia, the standard excuse that we have entered the age of digital transformation in an unregulated format due to the chaos we inherited from the two decades with no stable functioning government, is no longer valid.

We now have a functioning government, albeit with weak institutions and teething problems, not different from others who went through rebuilding a failed State. The government has passed a telecommunication law, established a National Communication Authority (NCA), leaving aside the controversial process followed to get there. What is important for all Somali citizens, and in particular my area of interest and focus is what needs to happen for us to reap the benefits of the telecommunication law and the formation of the  NCA.

The expectation was and remains to be, for all to enjoy and share the valuable common resources such as the dividends (as in tax)  from national telecommunication assets and all other value added platforms, i.e. mobile money, digital currencies, OTT, ISPs, digital content, and many more. The impact of digital transformation and the interplay of ICT regula­tion on national economies is not difficult area to understand. For those who are interested in this area there are new-generation, mature econometric modelling techniques, they can pursue, that can help to quantify this with additional granularity.

The evidence is there for all to see, there is absolutely no ambiguity of the importance of the law and regulatory authority to lead us and drive the national digital growth which will ultimately have positive impact on the growth of our national economy and prosperity for all of us. So what is the cause for the delay in Somali government to get on with this? In fact recent credible research[1] highlights the importance of mobile technology (which is dominant in Somalia) and its higher economic contribution in less developed countries than in more developed countries where fixed broadband contributes more.