April 27, 2018 | Morning Headlines.
UAE Vital For Somalia’s Security And Stability-Gaas
26 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 342 Words
Puntland stands in the front-line of defence against international crime syndicates, the state leader Abdiweli Gaas has said noting a close relationship with UAE was indispensable in ensuring regional security. Speaking at a forum in Abu Dhabi Thursday, Gaas pitched his case for sustained diplomatic relations between the gulf nation and Somalia arguing the relationship was mutually beneficial. “We are in the first line of defence against terrorism, piracy and human trafficking,” said Gaas. “All these are important for the security of UAE. It is not only for Somalia but also the UAE; this is mutually beneficial.”
Up to 24,000 vessels pass through the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Puntland, Gaas said noting both countries must collaborate with international community in realising the security-development nexus. Gaas who has pushed for UAE stay in Somalia against the backdrop of a souring relations between Abu Dhabi which led to cancellation of military support deal mid this month, said the dispute between the two nations will soon end, calling it ‘passing wind’. “Somalia and UAE enjoy brotherly relations which cannot be superseded by the current dispute. This is a passing wind and we hope this hiccup will soon be resolved.”
The Puntland leader who is on a diplomatic charm offensive in UAE following the cancellation of the military support also defended his government’s trade relations with the Emirati government noting the state laws allowed it to pursue its own contracts. “Article 54 of Puntland constitution allows us to enter into and sign contracts”, Gaas said but noted military deals fell under different scope. UAE’s P&O Ports secured a 30 year concession with Puntland last year valued at $336 million. Gaas added federalism sought to cure some of the challenges the country has faced over the years noting centralised system sowed the seeds of discord which boiled over into collapse of government and subsequent civil war in Somalia. “Somalia’s collapse of 1991 was the result of centralised power and the Mogadishu city state. Somalia is not Mogadishu and Mogadishu is not Somalia.”
Key Headlines
- UAE Vital For Somalia’s Security And Stability-Gaas (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Intelligence Agent Shot Dead In Mogadishu (Shabelle News)
- Somaliland Court Sentences Boqor Buurmadow To Five Years Jail Term (Halbeeg News)
- Families Stranded On Rooftops As Shabelle River Floods In Southern Somalia Farming District (Radio Ergo)
- Somalia Launches ICT Initiative To Create Gender Parity (Xinhuanet)
- Fears Persist As Mogadishu Dares To Rebuild Itself (Aljazeera)
- Development In Somalia; A Missed Opportunity Or A Failed Responsibility? (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Intelligence Agent Shot Dead In Mogadishu
26 April – Source: Shabelle News – 104 Words
Suspected Al-Shabaab members have shot and killed a member of Somalia’s National Security and Intelligence Agency (NISA) in Mogadishu. Ahmed Mohamud, the NISA officer was gunned down by two men armed with pistols near his house in the capital’s Waberi district, according to the local residents. The killers managed to escape from the crime scene before the arrival of the Somali security forces, who later conducted an operation, though no arrest has been made for the murder. No group has claimed responsibility for the assassination which was the latest in targeted killings against Somali security forces and civil servants in the capital city.
Somaliland Court Sentences Boqor Buurmadow To Five Years Jail Term
26 April – Source: Halbeeg News – 87 Words
A court in the breakaway state of Somaliland on Thursday sentenced Boqor Osman Aw-Mohamud known as Boqor Buurmadow to five years in jail. Burmadow was arrested last week upon returning from Puntland where he attended the inauguration ceremony of another elder. The court said Buurmadow was found guilty of committing three crimes levelled against him. Among the charges was lying about Somaliland’s President, Muse Bihi Abdi. The court sentenced Buurmadow, who is one of the well respected elders in the region, with five years jail term.
Families Stranded On Rooftops As Shabelle River Floods In Southern Somalia Farming District
26 April – Source: Radio Ergo – 430 Words
Ifiye Ma’alin Hassan and his family of nine have spent five days camped out on the roof of their house near Beletweyne, in southern Somalia’s Hiiraan region, after floods inundated their village. Ifiye, who spoke to Radio Ergo by mobile phone, said they were crammed onto a small space on the rooftop with only some plastic bags to cover the children in the continuing rain. They were surviving on sorghum that they had managed to fish out of the flood water below, cooked in a big metal washing basin to avoid setting the house on fire.
The floods rose quickly on 20 April as the nearby Shabelle river burst its banks, washing through the village of Lebow, around 11 km from Beletweyne town. When Radio Ergo’s correspondent spoke to Ifiye, he said they had left it too late to evacuate with the children as the water had risen too high around them. He was worried that their supply of food would run out and that the wooden roof supports might collapse under the weight as it kept on raining. Ifiye’s phone could not be reached when we tried to reach him again to follow up on his situation.
Over the past few days, more than 1,000 families have fled their homes in Beletweyne and five surrounding villages due to the floods, according to local leaders. Ali Sheik Mohamud, the commissioner of Lebow, told Radio Ergo that 210 families in the village have been affected by the floods. Some left their houses to move to higher ground, while others are stuck on roof tops. The commissioner said he was unable to reach out to help other families as the floods have cut off all roads and pathways. He said if they had realized the floods would be so bad, they would have evacuated the area earlier but they had stayed hoping that the water would recede.
Earlier this year the river had run dry following the prolonged drought. The water had only started flowing again in March. The commissioners of Lafole, Garash, Nim’an and Shinile villages said the residents there all left before the water levels rose too high. The people affected are both farmers and livestock herders. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s SWALIM flood alert, the Shabelle river level has risen dramatically to within a few centimeters of reaching full bank level with high risk of flooding at Beletweyne. Moderate to high rainfall is forecast for the week ahead. There are similar high flood risk warnings around the Juba river at Luq and Bardera in Gedo region.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Launches ICT Initiative To Create Gender Parity
26 April – Source: Xinhuanet – 449 Words
Somalia marked the International Girls in ICT Day on Thursday with the launch of an initiative to create gender parity in the country’s ICT industry. The event which was organized by Fursad.so, a local organization working to promote education in Somalia, in partnership with Research and Education Network (SomaliREN) and Ministry of Post, Telecom and Technology, sought to highlight the challenges faced by girls in ICT.
Abdulkadir Mohamed, Fursad.so manager, said in a statement released in Mogadishu that out of the 1,233 ICT graduates in 2017 from 23 universities across Puntland, GalMudug, SouthWest, Benadir, Jubbaland and HirShabelle, only 9 percent were female. Mohamed, who presented a survey conducted on the total number of women graduates in ICT, added that the few women who managed to graduate despite hardships face stereotypes and discrimination in accessing the scarce job opportunities.
Speaking during the occasion, Abdi Ashur Hassan, the Minister of Post, Telecom and Technology, expressed concern about the figures of women graduates in ICT and the challenges they face in employment. Hassan said he could see these facts at the Ministry as women with ICT background form less than 1 percent of the total ministry staff and cannot help because of the freeze. “As charity begins at home, we will start from our ministry, but we will also partner with other institutions, such as the academia and the private sector, including telecoms, to address these challenges at a national level,” said Hassan.
Fears Persist As Mogadishu Dares To Rebuild Itself
26 April – Source: Aljazeera – Video: 2:15 Minutes
Six months after the country’s deadliest bombing, life is slowly returning to normal in Somalia’s capital city, but uncertainty remains. At least 3,000 civilians have been either killed or injured by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in Somalia in the past three years. 2017 was by far the deadliest, largely due to a massive bombing in Mogadishu in October that killed more than 500 people. Six months later, things are slowly returning to normal at the busy market it destroyed.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Nevertheless, the FGS’s focus to development is equally hampered by the Federalism structure; a system adopted out of clan interests and based on international community pressure. Sadly, the Federalism ideology was embraced and implemented as a new style of governance without proper policy sensitization, education and acceptance by both the public and the politicians. “
Development In Somalia; A Missed Opportunity Or A Failed Responsibility?
26 April – Source: Hiiraan Online – 854 Words
The Somalis were aid dependent for 27 years and prospects of emancipation from charity are a distant dream, since the Federal Government of Somalia’s (FGS) focus to country and people’s development is neither an issue nor a priority; as the concentration to development is constantly obscured and upset by political turmoil, insecurity, corruption, delusions about Federalism, etc.
The three pillars of the government are not well established in Somalia, except the Executive and the Legislative, the Judiciary branch is either sideline or neglected, while the Constitution is at an interim phase for six years. Whereas, the periodic frictions between the Executive and /or Legislative, paralysis the governance and development endeavors and heightens the insecurity.
Moreover, despite different ministerial positions instituted to oversee the national development, i.e. agriculture, livestock, fishery, etc., yet, the development sector is facing a huge challenges. Similarly challenged are the service delivery; health, education, water and sanitation, etc. which is in the hands of the private sector, whereas the government role is either limited, absent or uncertain. In short, the above situation indicates that those tasked to deliver the development in Somalia might have capacity challenges that require bridging through training, regular monitoring and guidance.
On the other hand, the high turnover of ministerial positions and their supervisors is a weak link to development; a move that discourages donors and development partners alike, when it comes to, dealing with the new Ministers – most of them novice – who need time to understand the development processes before they take on their duties seriously.
In addition to that, most of the political leaders seem to be authoritarian; instead of empowering the different institutions, they distract them by becoming involved directly or indirectly in their institutional duties and responsibilities, especially, those institutions and /or agencies that bring in revenues. Therefore, to achieve tangible development results, a thorough change in leadership attitude may be one of the key ingredients to development and good governance in Somalia.