December 31, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Mogadishu Police Confiscates Tank Weapons In A Mosque
31 December – Source: Horseed Media – 47 Words
The authorities came across anti tank missiles and portable surface to air weapons hidden inside the mosque in Hodan district, one of the more stable neighborhoods in Mogadishu. National Security Minister, Abdirisak Omar Mohamed, has told reporters that the weapons belonged to the terror group Al-Shabaab.
Key Headlines
- Mogadishu Police Confiscates Tank Weapons In A Mosque (Horseed Media)
- Jubbaland President Meets With Ethiopian Officials In Addis Ababa (Hiiraan Online)
- Federal Parliament Summons Finance Minister (Wacaal Media)
- Somalia’s Auditor General Accuses Turkish Firms Of Evading Financial Accountability (Hiiraan Online)
- Somali National Army Formed To Take Over When KDF Leaves (Daily Nation)
- Minnesota Somalis Suspicious Of U.S. Efforts To Stymie Islamic State Recruitment (Washington Times)
- Richfield Officer Apparently Shown Hitting Somali Teen Won’t Be Charged (Associated Press)
- Embrace Teachers To Save Children’s Future (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Jubbaland President Meets With Ethiopian Officials In Addis Ababa
31 December – Source: Hiiraan Online – 154 Words
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Adahnom and President of the Jubbaland State of Somalia Sheikh Ahmed Madobe held talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to discuss regional peace, the Affairs Ministry saidWednesday in a statement. The two officials discussed the peace and stability of the region, the upcoming Somali election and implementation of the Addis Ababa Agreement reached by the warring parties in Somalia, the statement said.
According to the ministry, Dr. Tedros said there is meaningful progress in Somalia and lauded the role of Jubbaland towards the improvement of peace and stability in Somalia. Sheikh Ahmed Madobe mentioned that Ethiopia’s role for regional peace and stability is crucial and he further noted “We appreciate the participation of Ethiopian troops in the Jubbaland corridor that are playing a crucial role in the fight against Al-Shabaab.” The Jubbaland president noted that further cooperation is needed to bring about peace, stability and progresses in Somalia.
Federal Parliament Summons Finance Minister
31 December – Source: Wacaal Media – 90 Words
The Federal Parliament of Somalia will today host the minister of finance who is set to update the house on his ministry’s activities. MPs will question the minister to audit the ministry’s activities. Minister Mohamed Adan Ibrahim – Farkeeti is set to give a review of the year’s budget as well as income and expenditure. Some of the government’s revenue streams include the Mogadishu airport and seaports. Parliament will also debate the 2016 financial year’s budget which is expected to be highest since the country expects to hold elections this year.
Somalia’s Auditor General Accuses Turkish Firms Of Evading Financial Accountability
30 December – Source: Hiiraan Online – 267 Words
Somalia’s auditor general accused two Turkish firms running Mogadishu’s airport and seaport operations of resisting financial accountability, preventing his office from executing an audit into the country’s 2015 revenue. Somalia has awarded millions of dollars contracts to the two Turkish firms last year to upgrade and run the Mogadishu seaport and airport operations.
Speaking at the parliament’s headquarters on Tuesday, Nur Farah accused the two companies Favori and Albeyrak of resisting an audit and accountability attempt by his office in a bid to ‘obscure’ the ‘actual’ proceeds from the airport and the seaport, the largest revenue source for the Somali government for the past two months.
“There’s no way we can close the annual fiscal book as long as these foreign firms that took over the airport and seaport operations are evading the accountability.” Mr. Farah told Somali legislators. He however urged Somalia’s leaders to step into the matter before January next year, a month the government would have to submit its annual 2016 budget.
No comment could be reached from the two firms on the allegations. Albayrak, the Turkish firm which runs Mogadishu’s seaport operation has transferred a one month revenue of $1.582, 000 million dollars to Somalia’s central bank in November last year, a significant revenue from the port which rarely reported ‘smaller’ returns before the foreign firm took over its operations. Somalia’s government largely relies on foreign aid and donors’ funding to rebuild state institutions in the horn of Africa nation which is recovering from decades of war since the ouster of Islamist insurgents from the capital and surrounding regions in 2011.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali National Army Formed To Take Over When KDF Leaves
30 December – Source: Daily Nation – 567 Words
The international community has put together a 20,000-strong Somali National Army, which is expected to take over the fight against Al-Shabaab when the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) eventually leave. Outgoing special representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Somalia Nicholas Kay, said the force, which includes a police wing, will take over from AMISOM to not only help fight the Al-Shabaab militants but also ensure they do not recover territory they had lost by the KDF under Amisom.
“Amisom is not going to be in Somalia forever, so this army and police force is expected to take over and maintain general order once the troops leave Somalia,” he said. The envoy was speaking as he wound up his two and a half year tenure overseeing an international effort led by the United Nations, to stabilise Somalia, with the US and the United Kingdom, among the lead contributors to the security and political efforts to ensure the war torn country regains stability.
He expressed optimism and hope that Somalia was on the path towards stability, saying next year will be particularly momentous in ensuring that ground covered in building institutions is not lost and that such gains are consolidated to give the fragile state a firmer standing. The British diplomat said however, economic recovery remained the most wanting issue, saying the country with 70 per cent of the Somalis under the age of 35 years, had 80 per cent of them unemployed.
Minnesota Somalis Suspicious Of U.S. Efforts To Stymie Islamic State Recruitment
December 30 – Source: The Washington Times – 1,245 Words
When presidential candidate Hillary Clinton visited Minneapolis earlier this month to outline her plan to defeat the Islamic State and combat homegrown radicalization, she highlighted local efforts underway in the Twin Cities to build trust between the area’s Muslim community and law enforcement.
But some members of the area’s Somali-American community are deeply skeptical of the Justice Department program she praised, warning that suspicion about it is so high that some community nonprofit groups fear they will be shunned as spies if they apply for money from the program.The Building Community Resilience Pilot Program was launched by the U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis in September, following a February summit at the White House in which the city was named as one of three where pilot programs would focus on countering violent extremism (CVE).
But almost immediately, Muslim and liberal organizations spoke out against it, saying the outreach programs being planned would actually be used to gather intelligence on the communities they were meant to serve: “There is a great deal of suspicion in our community,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “They really feel like this is a toxic thing.”
Richfield Officer Apparently Shown Hitting Somali Teen Won’t Be Charged
31 December – Source: Associated Press – 130 Words
No charges will be filed against a Richfield police officer apparently shown in a Twitter video pushing and striking a Somali-American teen. The cellphone video captures the officer telling 19-year-old Kamal Gelle to leave Adams Hill Park on Oct. 3. Gelle said the officer pushed him and hit him in the head. Two police officers were placed on paid administrative leave while the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigated. KARE-TV reported that the Hennepin County attorney’s office said it reviewed the investigation and declined to file charges against the officer. Richfield City Attorney Mary Tietjen said a special prosecutor also reviewed the case on behalf of the city and also declined to charge the officer. The police department will conduct an internal investigation while the officer remains on leave.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“In terms of standard and quality, schools, big or small, are sub-standard. Visits to over forty of the so-called best schools showed none of them have labs or libraries. Majority of teachers interviewed said they never received teacher training of any kind. Teacher resources are non-existent. Class sizes vary from forty pupils to over ninety.”
Embrace Teachers To Save Children’s Future
30 December – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1,037 Words
In principle, the idea of embracing Somali language in all fields of primary education was a noble one for Somalia to adopt. However, in practical, it was a premature adventure as necessary preparations were not made prior to the move. Therefore, the inaccessibility of academic reference material in foreign languages and the lack of resources in Somali language stifled learning at all primary levels.
Within ten years the education system, like other branches of the state, started to disintegrate. By late 1980s, teachers were deserting public schools, and parents were in disappointment with the appalling state of education. The onset of the war in 1991 was the last nail on the coffin of the entire education system.
Nonetheless, in mid to late 1990s, former teachers acting as individuals and entrepreneurs started small scale schools in an attempt to resurrect the education system and fill the gap created by the collapse of the state. That resurrection led to the mushrooming of ‘schools’ with Arabic language as the medium of instruction, which gave rise to the formation of unions (known as umbrellas) for legitimacy in the absence of central regulatory body.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Education’s (MoE) pre-1991 primary education mindset appears to be at odds with the post 1991 reality of privatised primary education. This paper presents brief analysis on the state of primary education, calling for serious public debate on the matter; and the role of the unions and the MoE.
According to the Ministry of Education’s Go to School (G2S) (Ministray of Education, 2013) initiative, roughly 40% of school aged children in Somalia attend schools. The rest are out of school! Now let’s consider the 40% that is said to be in schools.
TOP TWEETS
@DiplomatSo: President : Kay contributed to stability in#Somalia http://diplomat.so/2015/12/31/
@SKNataliaH : #AllAfrica Ethiopia Works With Juba Land to Ensure Somali Stability http://ift.tt/1YQjCYb #Somalia
@ijuru1: The future of the greater #Somalia. Lies in collective hands of it’s people & the HOPE @fqdayib is rising #Retweet
@hallaboutafrica : When #Kenya troops leave #Somalia, local army to take over against #AlShabaab but not yet up to task.
@RadioHambal 38m38 Two #Indonesian fishermen to stand trial in Puntland region for illegal fishing to Somali beaches#Somalia @PuntlandPirates @QalinNews
@Abdi_AlSheikh : Somalia: Information Minister Pledges Protection for Local Journalists – http://AllAfrica.com http://dlvr.it/D8FhSD #Somalia
@salaahudiin11 : #2016 Will be a serious year for #somaliaGovernment, I wish they don’t import another #civil war again.
@RavenHUWolf : #Somalia Police raided #Mogadishu mosque & find about two-dozen shoulder missiles
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Hiiraan elders listen to speeches during a ceremony to welcome the new governor of Hiiraan region, Yusuf Ahmad Hagar in Belet Weyne, Somalia.
Photo: AMISOM