April 10, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Somalia Parliament Speaker Quits As Gulf Rivalries Boil
09 April – Source: Reuters – 325 Words
The speaker of Somalia’s parliament resigned on Monday after a dispute with President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed that analysts said was fuelled in part by a crisis in the Gulf spilling into the politics of the volatile Horn of Africa nation. The resignation of Mohamed Osman Jawari came the day after the seizure of $9.6 million in cash at Mogadishu airport from a plane that had landed from the United Arab Emirates, according to police and government sources.
The Mogadishu government confirmed the seizure but did not say what the money was for.
The mystery cash has fuelled a widespread view among Somalis that the political problems in their country are the work of foreign powers, said Rashid Abdi of the think-tank International Crisis Group. The speaker’s dispute with the president had simmered for weeks and came close to violence. Last week a no-confidence vote against him did not go ahead after he and his opponents arrived at parliament with armed guards.
The president and speaker have long been rivals, analysts said, with much of their enmity fuelled by the perception that they back opposite sides in the dispute that erupted last year between Qatar and Turkey against Saudi Arabia and its ally, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Arab states have strong trading links with and influence in Somalia, which lies across the Gulf of Aden, although this clout is offset by the sway of Turkey, one of Somalia’s biggest foreign investors and the owner of an in-country military base.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Parliament Speaker Quits As Gulf Rivalries Boil (Reuters)
- Galmudug State Forces Take-over Bases Vacated by Ethiopian Troops In Dhuusamareeb (Halbeeg News)
- Somalia Ranks Last In Ease Of Doing Business -World Bank Report (Goobjoog News)
- Teachers’ Exodus Aids Al-Shabaab (The Star Kenya)
- Somali School To Teach Turkish As Part Of Curriculum (Anadolu Agency)
- Jawari In Lone Ranger Act Leaves Supporters Dazed (Goobjoog News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Galmudug State Forces Take-over Bases Vacated by Ethiopian Troops In Dhuusamareeb
09 April – Source: Halbeeg News – 219 Words
Galmudug state forces have taken charge of military bases in the outskirt of Dhusamareb town following Ethiopian troops exit. Ethiopia has pulled out its troops from the bases on Sunday, for unknown reasons. Mr. Nur Ahmed Hassan, Galgaduud governor who spoke to media said Galmudug forces were deployed to the bases to fill the gaps left by the forces from neighbouring country.
“Galmudug dispatched its forces to the military bases vacated by Ethiopian forces. The Security of the town and its surrounding areas have been beef up,” said Mr. Hassan. The governor pointed out that the withdrawal of the troops would not have any setback on efforts to stabilize the region. “We held meeting with the security commanders on the issue and it will not affect our process to secure and liberate the region from Al-Shabaab,”he noted.
Ethiopian forces have been manning the bases in several towns in Galgaduud region since 2015, while giving support to Ahlusuna forces in the fight against Al-shabaab fighters. The neighbouring country has also deployed over 4,400 troops who joined African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in 2014. Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda and Burundi are other troop contributing countries backing the federal government of Somalia. Recently, Somali forces collaborating with AMISOM troop have accelerated operations against Al-Shabaab fighters, in South and central Somalia
Somalia Ranks Last In Ease Of Doing Business – World Bank Report
09 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 182 Words
It takes 70 days to start a business in Somalia, while a similar practice in Rwanda takes only four days, a World Bank report, has said ranking Somalia last in the Doing Business profile for 2018. The Doing Business 2018 just released by the World Bank ranks Somalia at number 190 based on several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms.
The report which is derived from ten indicators such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency also puts Somalia at 187 in the starting a business rank.
New Zealand has been rated the best in both the ease of doing business and DFT score with rank 1 and 86.55 respectively. It takes half a day to start a business and only one procedure. Neighboring Kenya is ranked at number 80 in overall ease of doing business with a DFT of 65.5. It takes 25 days to start a business in the East African nation.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Teachers’ Exodus Aids Al-Shabaab
09 April – Source: The Star, Kenya – 667 Words
The acute shortage of teachers in Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties is a ticking time bomb. Most public schools are either understaffed or lack teachers due to an exodus of non-Somali teachers following terrorist attacks allegedly targeting them. Some schools are on verge of closure. The issue was hyped when 28 Kenyans, 17 of them teachers, were killed by terrorists who ambushed a bus on November 22, 2014. Teachers were not the target; teachers happened to be the majority passengers. Since then terror has become the major justification for transfers by non-Somali teachers in these three counties.
On February 22 this year, Teachers’ Service Commission CEO Nancy Macharia told the Parliamentary Committee on Education it was transferring non-local tutors following a terrorist attack in Qarsa village, Wajir, on February 16. Four people, among them three teachers, were shot dead by militants. This has been met with resistance by the local communities and leaders.
Somali School To Teach Turkish As Part Of Curriculum
09 April – Source: Anadolu Agency – 152 Words
The Turkish language has been added to the curriculum of a school for orphans in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, according to the Yunus Emre Institute. The idea to introduce Turkish language courses at the school came when Huseyin Caner Akkurt, the institute’s head of the department of human resources, visited the school in August 2017.
On Friday, an official ceremony was held to announce the addition of Turkish language to the curriculum of Girls’ Preschool at Bondhere Orphanage. The lessons will be taught by a Turkish-speaking Somali teacher. Turkey’s Ambassador to Somalia Olgan Bekar, who was also present at the event, thanked the principal of the orphanage, Nurto Mohamed Addow, for opening its doors to Turkey. Bekar said Somalia-Turkey friendly ties were getting stronger and it was being supported through education. Addow highlighted the importance of educating girls and added that not only students but also teachers were going to learn Turkish.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The political temperatures in Mogadishu are yet to tone down. Speaker Jawari’s exit could more than ever fortify the anti-Khaire faction, who also include MPs, allied to former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.”
Jawari In Lone Ranger Act Leaves Supporters Dazed
09 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 480 Words
Professor Mohamed Osman Jawari’s surprised with a resignation, despite a spirited to fight to remain in office, and insistence he would only bolt out through a parliamentary process seems to have caught many legislators from his camp off guard. All through over a month-long political circus featuring Speaker Jawari and company on one side, and Prime Minister Hassan Khaire on the other, subtly backed by President Mohamed Farmaajo, the embattled Speaker maintained he would not budge.
But a resignation letter through his erstwhile political enemy and Deputy Abdiweli Mudey this morning left his supporters tongue-tied. MPs allied to Jawari who spoke to Goobjoog News only said they were shocked. The lawmakers who until Sunday hoped for a resolution of the political crisis and even went ahead to appoint a mediation team woke up, to the news that the man they had fought with the whole of March and into April, had given in to pressure from the executive.
Speaker Jawari who will now take to the chamber as an ordinary lawmaker had vowed never to resign emboldening his supporters to soldier on. He even implored upon the legislators to stand up against the executive, in what he termed as a systematic capture of the legislature. “Instead of mediating the political crisis, he (President Farmaajo) is asking me to resign. I will not resign. I came through the ballot and will exit through the same.”
“I call on MPs not to be politically bankrupt. Each one of you represents at least 55,000 constituents. Your actions and decisions should reflect the interests of those people.” But pressure from Villa Somalia following day long talks with President Farmaajo, may have heavily weighed in on the 73 year old lawyer, whose time in politics dates back to the Siad Barre era where he served as minister and MP.
A Norwegian passport holder like his arch political nemesis Prime Minister Khaire, Speaker Jawari has in the past survived threats of no-confidence motion, since he was elected as the Speaker of the House back in 2012. He recaptured his parliamentary seat in the 2016 polls from Digil and Mirifle clan in South West state. It was not immediately clear on what terms Speaker Jawari decided to go against his word, and that of his supporters but his exit has given Prime Minister Khaire’s camp a momentary sigh of relief.