February 16, 2018 | Morning Headlines

Slain Minister’s Brother Elected To Take His Seat

15 February – Source: Hiiraan Online  – 178 Words

The brother of a slain minister has been elected as a Member of Parliament from Kismayo. Mohamud Abdullahi Siraji, the brother of former Public Works Minister Abbas Abdullahi Siraji was easily elected to fill his brother’s seat, winning 50 of a possible 51 votes.  His competitor Fardowsa Hussein failed to garner a single vote. The only vote not attributed to Siraji was a spoilt ballot.

The current Minister for Public Works Sadaq Abdullahi Abdi pulled out of the race. The 31-year-old Abbas Abdullahi Siraji – the youngest Somali minister in the Somali cabinet’s history was shot dead at the front gates of Villa Somalia by soldiers who were escorting then Auditor General, Nur Farah. The soldiers began firing at Mr. Siraji as his car approached the checkpoint leading to the compound.

A source close to the investigation said that Nur Farah’s bodyguards were suspicious of the vehicle carrying Abbas Siraji and mistook the Minister for a suicide bomber. A military court in Mogadishu sentenced Ahmed Abdullahi Abdi (Aided), 29, to death over the killing of the Somali cabinet minister.

Key Headlines

• Slain Minister’s Brother Elected To Take His Seat (Hiiraan Online)
• Foreign Affairs Minister Gives Nod To IGAD Border Opening As Immigration Dept Rejects (Goobjoog News)
• Car Bomb Blast Heard In Mogadishu (Radio Shabelle)
• Somali Forces Destroy Al-Shabaab Bases In Southern Somalia (Xinhuanet)
• Review Of Somalia’s 2018 Budget For Public Services And Economic Development (The Somali Public Agenda)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Foreign Affairs Minister Gives Nod To IGAD Border Opening As Immigration Dept Rejects

15 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 301 Words

Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmed Awad has endorsed the free movement of persons within the IGAD bloc terming it beneficial for Somalia contradicting earlier position by the Immigration Department which noted the country was not ready for the arrangement. Responding to earlier comments by the Immigration Department in a TV interview Wednesday, Awad said Somalia was comfortable with the idea and that the government supported it. “We’re comfortable; in fact we encourage it. We welcome the region’s borders to be open, the economy of the countries in the region to be integrated,” said Awad. “Somalis and Somalia will benefit very much from such open border.”

Awad noted the opening of the borders would be of much significance for Somalis given their distribution across neighbouring countries such as Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia. “In any case,” Awad noted, “It is the goal of Africa and AU to have the whole of Africa open borders.” But Immigration Department director Mohamed Koofi said on Monday, the country would not be assenting to an open border agreement among IGAD member countries noting Somalia was not ready since it first needs to have full control of its borders.

Addressing an IGAD conference on consultations to open borders by IGAD members Monday in Mogadishu, Foreign Affairs permanent secretary Ambassador Ali Mohamed Ali said the free movement of persons and goods was necessary for development in the region. “We believe that the free movement of persons and goods is important to all the countries given that it will spur development. We all know how the European Union started and how people can now move by only using their identity cards,” noted Ambassador Ali. The 8 member trade bloc spanning over 5.2 million-square kilometer is exploring options of opening its borders to boost trade and economic integration in the region.

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Car Bomb Blast Heard In Mogadishu

15 February – Source: Radio Shabelle – 93 Words

A loud explosion was heard on Thursday afternoon in the heart of Mogadishu, the Somali capital amid tight security. A witness told reporters on  phone that one person has been injured after a an explosive device fitted into his vehicle went off in Waberi district.

The identity of the man targeted in the car bomb has not been established, but, police said they are investigating the incident. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the car bomb but, it bore all the hallmark of Al Shabaab, a militant group linked with Al Qaeda.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali Forces Destroy Al-Shabaab Bases In Southern Somalia

15 February – Source: Xinhuanet – 153 Words

Somali forces backed by African Union forces destroyed Al-Shabaab bases in the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia, the military said. Lower Shabelle region military commander Ibrahim Aden Najah told journalists on Thursday that the forces raided the bases in Kurtunwarey and destroyed the bases used by the militants to attack Somali and Amisom forces.

The military officer said the forces were going on with operations in the regions to flush out the militants. Lower Shabelle region remains one of the strongholds of Al-Shabaab. “We will not relent until we kick out all Al-Shabaab in the region,” added Najah. Security forces Tuesday also destroyed explosives in Lower Shabelle region suspected to have been destined for the capital Mogadishu. They also destroyed an FM station run by Al-Shabaab. The allied forces have ramped up offensives against the militants as the African Union forces continue with the draw-down which started with 500 troops last December.

OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“Somalia’s private business has famously continued to develop and expand since the collapse of the central government in 1991. Public institutions, however, mandated to oversee and improve the quality of the service and products have remained poorly resource. More investment in public economic institutions will not only help generate employment and ensure better quality services and products, it will also significantly increase the tax, and help reduce the budget deficit.”

Review Of Somalia’s 2018 Budget For Public Services And Economic Development

14 February – Source: The Somali Public Agenda – 942 Words

The approved federal government budget for 2018 is $274 million  which may seem low — less than $300 million annual budget for a government facing so many critical challenges. Yet it is $14 million higher than the last year’s budget, so Somali citizens are seeing a gradual improvement compared to the past several years. $120 million, the majority (or 43.6 percent of the budget) goes to recurrent administrative expenses; salaries of the government servants including, but not limited to, members of the parliament, the council of ministers, the presidency, civil servants, and independent commissions. Another significant budget portion (32.7 percent or $90 million) also goes to the security sector institutions. An aggregate sum of $39 million (or 14.3 percent) is apportioned to all public services and economic development schemes.

Investment in public services; The $19 million allocated to public services could be seen as insignificant in comparison to the recurrent administrative expenses and security. Most citizens (and would-be tax-payers) want good quality and accessible public education and healthcare, which are currently largely offered by private institutions. The budget allocations for public hospitals and education provision are poor, and are unlikely to improve the access to and regulations of these sectors.

The 2018 budget allocates the Ministry of Health $4.4 million though it makes no specific provision for public hospitals. The implication of this meager allocation to the entire health sector is that the government has other more important priorities. Arguably access to health care from government-funded hospitals should be as important as security. Public investment in the health sector is long overdue.

The 2018 Ministry of Education budget is $7.1 million, with an additional $2.3 million allocation to the Somali National University. Surprisingly, no budget was allocated for basic primary and secondary schools provision. Access to formal education at primary, intermediate and secondary levels is vital for the country’s future workforce and human capital development. Given the present overwhelmingly privatized education sector and the country’s low literacy rate, the 2018 education budget is a missed opportunity for the FGS. It is imperative that formal, accessible and free primary education is re-established for the children of disadvantaged and poor families who are not able to pay tuition fees for private schools.

Furthermore, an aggregate of $3 million budget goes to the ministries of labor and social affairs, sports and youth, and women and human rights. Youth are the majority of the country, and women are about half of the population, a significant demographic which such a small stretched budget cannot hope to provide with meaningful and tangible services.