NATIONAL MEDIA
10 July – Source: SONNA – 171 Words
The Prime Minister of Somalia worked out with the youth of Galkayo at Abdullahi Isse Football ground. After the training session he met with a section of the youth and discussed with them the challenges they are facing. The youth informed the Prime Minister that they need a standard football ground where they can nature their talents, they need the ground for their sporting activities and recreation.
The Prime Minister stated the importance of the particular football ground that was named after the former Prime Minister of Somalia, Mr. Abdullahi Isse, who was a member of Somali youth league (SYL) and a freedom fighter. He promised that his administration will take part in the reconstruction of the stadium, pledging USD $150,000 which will be used to renovate the said stadium. The Government of Somalia has big 4 agenda, among them is the social development agenda. One of the key milestones in the social development agenda is to address the needs of the youth who constitute the majority of the population.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
11 July – Source: ADRA Somalia and ECW – 709 Words
The Federal Government of Somalia, Education Cannot Wait and the Adventist and Development Relief Agency in Somalia (ADRA Somalia) launched today a multi-year programme to boost education opportunities for children and youth impacted by the ongoing crises in Somalia. Education Cannot Wait is allocating $8.5 million in seed funding to support the launch of the comprehensive multi-year education response. With this catalytic grant, the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises is calling on additional donors to step up and fill the additional $58.8 million required to reach over 402,000 Somali children and youth annually over the next three years.
The ground-breaking programme will improve access to safe, quality education for children and youth affected by the multiple crises in Somalia. Activities will include: school rehabilitation to provide adequate safe learning space, supply of teacher learning material, promotion of girls’ enrolment & retention, support to community education committees to promote education delivery and the importance of protection and safeguarding, and strengthening policy development on education. “The Government of Somalia is committed to provide an equitable and inclusive education system that affords children left behind with access to free quality basic education. This will enhance their personal development and in the medium to long term contribute to Somalia’s development, socio-economic growth and global competitiveness,” said the Federal Minister of Education, Culture and Higher Education Honourable Abdullahi Godah.
Access to education in Somalia remains extremely limited. The national primary net attendance ratio is estimated at 30 per cent for boys and 21 per cent for girls. The Southern and Central parts of Somalia are the most affected with more than 3 million children out of school. Only 17 percent of children living in rural areas or in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) settlements are enrolled in primary schools. Drought, food insecurity, poverty and inequality also hinder efforts to get more Somali children and youth in school, with an estimated 2.4 million school-aged children considered food insecure……
10 July – Source: Addis Standard – 325 Words
The U.S. military, in partnership with the Ethiopia National Defense Force (ENDF), militaries from the nations of Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Djibouti, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Rwanda, Somalia, Uganda, United Kingdom and participating international organizations such as the United Nations offices, African Union, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the International Committee of the Red Cross, will conduct Justified Accord (JA) 2019, a command headquarter and company-level field training exercise, July 15-31, the US embassy in Addis Ababa said in a statement.
“JA19 is an exercise designed to enhance the capacity and capability of participating staff and forces in peacekeeping operations in support of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).” Approximately 1,100 military and government personnel will participate in the annual, combined, joint military exercise. Ethiopia, a significant contributor of peacekeeping troops to the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions on the African continent, previously hosted Justified Accord in 2017.
The exercise will include headquarters staff training, land force maneuvers and culminate with a platoon-level demonstration. “This exercise will increase interoperability and help participating military forces enhance readiness and the skills required to support peacekeeping operations and promote regional security,” the statement said. Once the exercise is complete, all exercise participants will return to their home countries and stations.
Concurrent with JA19, the United States Government is also conducting a Medical Readiness Exercise (MEDREX) 19-4 where medical military and civilian personnel from Ethiopia and the United States will share and learn from each other’s medical procedures and best practices to build and strengthen their medical treatment capability and capacity. Through this program, Ethiopian medical professionals can enhance the Ethiopian healthcare system’s ability to deliver effective general surgery and trauma response in support of regional U.N. and African Union missions. The United States Government will be infusing nearly $6 million directly to the Ethiopian economy because of these exercises.
9 July – Source: Finn Church Aid – 366 Words
Promising progress has been made to improve public service delivery in Jowhar, Somalia. A new initiative will contribute to strengthening of stability in the country through decentralized service delivery and improved accountability in decision-making. The process to establish councils to strengthen local governance structures providing services was kicked off in an official ceremony that took place in Jowhar in May, 2019.
The purpose of the new councils will be to provide access to basic public services such as education, healthcare, water, sanitation, public transport and administrative services, and engage citizens in local development. The initiative is part of a project implemented and supported by Finn Church Aid (FCA) and funded by the European Union. The Vice President of Hirshabelle, H.E Ali Abdullahi Hussein, launched the initiative in Jowhar, the capital city of Hirshabelle, on May 28, as part of a ceremony that welcomed a wide range of representatives from governmental and regional levels, as well as traditional elders and youth groups.
“Local councils in the Jowhar district will support State’s development initiatives to decentralize local governance. It will improve the opportunity for citizens to participate and contribute to local decision-making and increase access to public services in the local level. In the longer run, Jowhar will have a representative local council that is freely and fairly elected”, H.E Ali Abdullahi Hussein said. In his speech, the second Deputy Speaker of Hirshabelle Regional Assembly, Hon. Anab Abdullahi Isse, urged clan elders and the Ministry of Interior and local government of Hirshabelle to ensure the enacted 30 % quota for women’s representation in the local councils……..
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“However, Mukhtar could be earning much more if transportation was more efficient. He uses three donkeys to take his produce to Markad, the transit village, 35 km away. “The mountain terrain is rough with narrow steep cliffs so we only load two 30 kg bags on to each donkey and we try to balance them to avoid them falling off,” he explained.”
10 July – Source: Radio Ergo – 408 Words
Rough terrain and impassable roads are reducing profits for small scaleSomali coffee farmers in Puntland. The farmers in the Al–Madow mountain range, stretching west from Bossaso to the northwest of Erigavo, are forced to use donkeys to transport their coffee beans to an accessible transit point, where they pay commercial lorries for onward transport to the northern port city of Bossaso.
Mukhtar Abdullahi Isse, who lives in Dadan village, has two plots measuring 2.5 hectares with 5,000 coffee trees. He inherited the farm from his parents and has been growing coffee for 18 years. “This year we are hoping to get a good harvest as the area received adequate rainfall. After selling this produce, I expect to make $5,000–6,000 from each plot,” he said. However, Mukhtar could be earning much more if transportation was more efficient. He uses three donkeys to take his produce to Markad, the transit village, 35 km away. “The mountain terrain is rough with narrow steep cliffs so we only load two 30 kg bags on to each donkey and we try to balance them to avoid them falling off,” he explained. This year, Mukhtar has harvested 70 bags of coffee beans. It costs $8 per bag for the lorry transport to Bossaso. He has paid to send 20 bags so far to Bossaso but the vehicles are few and he is having to wait a long time to ship the rest.
Ismail Muse, another coffee farmer in Mayer, depends on two donkeys to carry his bags of coffee beans the 50 km from his farm to Markad. This season, he harvested 48 bags. “There is no way through the mountains where my farm is located, so I have to use my donkeys to take the bags to the village for transportation to Bossaso,” he said. Ismail told Radio Ergo that farmers sell one kg of coffee at $2 to middlemen in Bossaso,who resell it for $5 to consumers. There are over 60 coffee farms in the villages in Lasqoray district that use Markad as the transit for transport to the main market in Bossaso, around 200km away.
Puntland’s State Minister for Agriculture, Abdirashid Ali Gelle, said the government planned to improve roads and transportation in the region. “We are committed to constructing roads in those areas and that is one of our priorities. We want to encourage the farmers to increase their production to reduce imports,” he said. |
