February 19, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somalia Vows To Fight Against Individuals Selling Relief Food
19 February – Source: Hiiraan Online – 214 Words
Somalia has vowed to take legal action against officials who steal food aid intended for starving people in the drought areas. In a statement dated 17th February, the Ministry of Health said that its officials found that some of the food aid meant to be distributed is being diverted and then sold off in the market for a profit.
The ministry further noted that it was aware of individuals involving in the aid-for-cash scandal. “The officials are well aware that the food is meant for hungry children and families are being sold in markets. The stolen aid currently being sold in the market includes Ready-to-use Complementary Food (RUCF), Ready-to-use Therapeutic Food (RUFT), high energy biscuits, food oil and millet,” the statement reads in part.
The ministry called on the police to detain and prosecute those individuals accused of involvement in the illicit trade. The statement did not mention the names and number of people dealing with the selling of the relief food. Vast quantities of relief food bearing stamps of WFP, USAID, the Japanese government and other aid agencies have continuously shown up in major markets all over Somalia. Somalia has struggled with corrupt contractors, warlords and aid workers siphoning off desperately needed aid since the fall of the central government in the early 1990’s.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Vows To Fight Against Individuals Selling Relief Food (Hiiraan Online)
- Drought Bites In Puntland Regions As Locals Struggle To Get Drinking Water (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia Traders Show Off Their Products At The Gulfood Fair (Hiiraan Online)
- A Delegation Of Qatari Businessmen Arrives In Mogadishu (Jowhar.com)
- Somalia: Police Arrest Suspected Rapist in Mogadishu (Allafrica)
- Farmaajo Presidency: Mishaps And Meaningful Gains (Wardheere News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Drought Bites In Puntland Regions As Locals Struggle To Get Drinking Water
19 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 256 Words
The drought situation in parts of Puntland has worsened with locals forced to travel distances to find drinking water, a government official has said. Karkar regional governor Abdullahi Mohamed Barre told Goobjoog News the situation was getting worse by the day following failure of the rains for a long time. “In some areas residents now don’t have even water to drink. We missed the autumn rain,” siad Barre. The land is now bare because all trees have been cut and this has contributed to absence of rain.
The only source of livelihood, livestock, is also facing severe threat as most of them have now died or are in a very poor state. Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Agency (HADMA) of Puntland has said in a recent research half of the livestock was lost because of the ongoing drought. Abdullahi Abdirahman Ahmed, the director of HADMA stated that the drought has generally affected all of the regions in Puntland. “The country has been witnessing this drought for long. Almost half of the livestock has been lost. Around 50,000 families have lost their livestock” said Ahmed.
UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Peter de Clercq this week confirmed that the northern regions of the country such as Sool and Sanaag were still facing severe drought conditions calling for scaled up humanitarian response. In areas like Sool and Sanaag, there are still massive needs and a strong possibility that famine-type conditions would develop, de Clercq said adding, ‘we are not out of the woods yet by any stretch of the imagination.”
Somalia Traders Show Off Their Products At The Gulfood Fair
19 February – Source: Hiiraan Online – 143 Words
The 23rd annual Gulfood Fair has officially been opened at the Dubai World Trade Centre. This year’s expo is featuring over 40 Somali companies displaying their products. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, opened Gulfood. With over a million square feet of exhibition space, Gulfood is the world’s largest food and beverage trading expo.
This year’s fair is expected to attract over 90,000 food industry professionals who will view more than 5,000 regional and international exhibitors across eight segments, including Beverages; Dairy; Fats & Oils; Health, Wellness & Free-From; Pulses, Grains & Cereals; Meat & Poultry; Power Brands and World Food. Somalia is represented at the food expo by 40 companies who will be selling Somali bananas, dried lemons, chilli, groundnuts, sesame, beans, oils & meat. Last year, Somali businesses made over USD $2 million in sales.
A Delegation Of Qatari Businessmen Arrives In Mogadishu
19 February – Source: Jowhar.com – 132 Words
A delegation of Qatari businessmen has arrived in Mogadishu to hold talks with Somali government officials and the business community. Deputy Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development, Fahma Ahmed Nuur received the delegation at Aden Abdulle Airport. Speaking to the press at the airport, Fahma said the delegation came to assess the investment opportunities existing in Somalia. She further said the Qatar business community can play a key role in promoting relations between the two nations.
Fahma stated that the government is making a lot of effort to develop the country’s economic infrastructure to attract international investment, also noting that the government finalized the regulations for investing in the country. Some members of the delegation expressed their happiness to visit Somalia and showed their eagerness to invest in the country.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia: Police Arrest Suspected Rapist in Mogadishu
19 February – Source: Allafrica – 111 Words
Somali Police authorities on Monday arrested a suspect whos was wanted for an alleged rape incident that occurred on the northern outskirts of the capital Mogadishu. Col Mohamud Hussein, a senior Police officer told the media that the suspect has been detained at Gubadley village following a tip-off by the local residents.
Hussein did not confirm the identity of the arrested suspect in his remarks to the media, but, he added that the rapist has also been selling narcotics in the area. Sexual harassment against women in Somalia has been on the rise in recent years due to the lawlessness in the country which is currently recovering from a decades-long conflict.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“A way forward: One way to move forward for Farmajo is to pivot and recapture some of his patriotic pledges that he articulated on the campaign trail. He needs to go back drawing board and reassess what his heroes such as Aden Abdulle Osman and Abdirazak Hussein stood for: we know they stood for a well-defined Somali-centered existential philosophy buttressed by a government that was committed to democracy.”
Farmaajo Presidency: Mishaps And Meaningful Gains
16 February – Source: Wardheere News – 1719 Words
On February 8, 2017, Somalia witnessed a soft revolution led by Mohamed A. Farmajo, and subsequent euphoric waves following his victory were felt throughout the entire Somali speaking world. An underdog candidate, Farmajo won the 2017 presidential election by a substantial margin and defeated hands down the well-oiled incumbent at the time, former President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud. Somalis felt that night as if hope arrived within their reach.
Where are we a year later? As we all reflect on past year’s challenges and gains, objectivity is a must. Real tangible policy programs are often impossible to realize within one year. Because of that reason, I rather highlight some high level issues that had captured the imaginations of the nation (positive and negative) that represent gains and losses. I will conclude with short remarks on a way forward.
On that eventful evening of February 8, 2017, electing Farmajo was akin to a soft revolution; that revolution is in many ways similar to the revolution of Salvatore Allende in Chile. Allende was a popular president of a unity government, but went to office without an organized cadre, thus making possible for the US-supported military anti-Allende Coup d’état in 1973.
Similarly, Farmajo won popularly but entered Villa Somalia without his own organized cadre, thus making impossible to implement his vision right away. On assuming power, Farmajo put together an administration dominated by three groups: those who served in the previous administration, a very small group called “Isbedell-doon” (or pro-change individuals), and a bunch of incompetent ministers who came by way of the notorious 4.5 system. In the end, a disheveled and one of the largest cabinets in the history of Africa was seated.
In less than a year, most of “Isbedel-doon” ministers were dismissed by the Prime Minister. Farmajo was expected to be a transformational leader for he had a huge political capital. Many Somalis are asking whether he lived up to his expectations, or came short of managing the huge expectations created at campaign rallies. Just consider how some of his predecessors within the Somali landscape pivoted to articulating transformational issues.
TOP TWEETS
@CPD_Africa: Quick mobilization of donor funds,@shf_somalia‘s quick allocation of funds & @Ochasom‘s humanitarian coordination has enabled agencies like@CPD_Africa to timely respond to the 2017 humanitarian crisis in Somalia and avert famine. #SustainSomaliSupport & be#WithSomalia in 2018!
@DalsanFM: #Somalia Cabinet expected to meet today to approve the new police and Intelligence Chiefs.
@mpfsomalia: Taxes is an investment in a sustainable and autonomous #Somalia http://blogs.worldbank.org/
@Eye_on_Somalia: #Hiraan Somalia vows to fight against individuals selling relief food http://dlvr.it/QGwyrh #Somalia
@HarunMaruf: You can read about what Ibn Battuta wrote about Mogadishu, here > http://www.classzone.com/
@abdi_adaani: Eng Yariisow on business crisis over taxation n#Mogadishu: “We r ready solving your Complaints let’s go the table & talk together” #Somalia
@Goobjoognews: #BAKARO MARKET traders’ boycott enters 2nd day as stand-off between #Somali Govt and the traders persists over mandatory 5% sales tax.
@MarcoLembo01: Somali refugees enslaved in Libya return home @AJENews http://www.aljazeera.com/
@HarunMaruf: You can read about what Ibn Battuta wrote about Mogadishu, here > http://www.classzone.com/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
11 Somali migrants who were repatriated to Mogadishu from Libya arrive at Aden Cade International Airport.
Photo: @TheVillaSomalia