February 21, 2017 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

IMF Urges Somalia To Clear Arrears And Take Concrete Action To Reform Economy

20 February- Source : Bloomberg – 621 Words

The International Monetary Fund says creditors may forgive part of Somalia’s outstanding $5.3bn debt if the strife-torn Horn of Africa state takes concrete steps toward reforming its economy and improving governance. Somalia, gripped by a three-decade civil war, would have to first clear arrears owed to the IMF, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, according to IMF’s country head Samba Thiam.

An arrears-clearance plan, a new currency, an effective monetary policy and a “solid track record” on good governance might lead to fresh funding, Thiam said in an interview February 17 in Nairobi, Kenya.”There is a general willingness from creditors to write off Somalia’s debt when the time comes, it’s a good prospect,” Thiam said. “They are not paying debt now, they will not be asked to pay tomorrow, so they have time to work on consolidating their economic base. The debt is an issue that will be resolved some time.”

Somalia is one of the last nations to qualify for debt relief under a World Bank and IMF initiative known as Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, Thiam said.A civil war and subsequent Islamist-militant insurgency have destroyed much of Somalia’s political and economic institutions over the past quarter of a century, with income per capita of $435 making it the world’s fifth-poorest nation, according to the World Bank. Agriculture accounts for 40% of national output in the country whose main export is camels to Gulf Arab countries. Economic growth may slow to 2.5% in 2017 from 3.7% last year, the IMF estimates.

Key Headlines

IMF Urges Somalia To Clear Arrears And Take Concrete Action To Reform Economy (Bloomberg)
Three Women Appointed Ministers In 52 Member HirShabelle State Cabinet (Goobjoog News)
Gunmen Kill Prominent Elder In Mogadishu (Shabelle News)
Death Toll Rises To 39 In Mogadishu Blast (VOA)
AMISOM Shells Al-Shabaab Combatants Near Qoryoley Southern Somalia (Intelligence Brief)
Drought in Somalia: Time Is Running Out (Al Jazeera)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Three Women Appointed Ministers In 52 Member HirShabelle State Cabinet

20 February – Source : Goobjoog News – 111 Words

HirShabelle state president Ali Abdullahi Osoble has appointed a 52 member cabinet, the first in the newly established regional administration. The regional leader formed 23 ministries headed by 23 substantive ministers and 23 deputies’ in addition six state ministers. The quest for more women representation seems however to have been dealt a blow in the selection since only three women; one minister and two deputies are among the 52 member cabinet. The cabinet distribution almost mirrors that of the Federal government which creates offices of state ministers with duplicate roles as ministers. The outgoing federal cabinet is made up of 26 ministers and equal number of deputies and 14 state ministers.

Gunmen Kill Prominent Elder In Mogadishu

20 February – Source : Shabelle News – 126 Words

Unknown gunmen have shot dead a traditional elder in Mogadishu on Monday evening, the latest in a series of targeted assassinations against elders involved in the recent concluded elections in the country. This is the second killing of high profile elders who participated in the long election process in the country killed within the last one week. According to witnesses, three men armed with pistols have stormed the elder’s house in Hamar Jajab district in Mogadishu in the evening, and shot him dead while he was inside his residence. The elder who was identified as Abdi Ali Ibrahim was said to have been among the elders involved the parliamentary elections in the country and voted for the Lower house MPs elected from Southwest state in Baidoa.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Death Toll Rises To 39 In Mogadishu Blast

20 February – Source : VOA -197 Words

The death toll from Sunday’s car bomb blast in Somalia’s capital has climbed to 39, according to Mogadishu ambulance services.The vast majority of those killed were civilians in the Kawo-Goday mini-market in the city’s Wadajir district, officials said. Security officials say they suspect the vehicle was aiming for another target but was unable to reach it due to road closures and increased deployment of security forces ahead of the inauguration of the new president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, on Wednesday.There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing. Militant group Al-Shabab has frequently targeted hotels and markets during its decade-long insurgency.

President Farmajo promised Monday to give a large reward to anyone with information about car bomb plots.“My promise to you as president, if you hear me, I will give you $100,000 if you report a car bomb plot before detonation,” he said. He also pledged to pay medical treatment for those injured and support the families of those who lost their lives in Al-Shabaab bombings.Farmajo made the statement after visiting victims of Sunday’sbombing in Mogadishu’s Medina hospital.The president said 900 Somali civilians were killed in Al-Shabab attacks last year.

AMISOM Shells Al-Shabaab Combatants Near Qoryoley, Southern Somalia

20 February – Source : Intelligence Briefs – 118 Words

Latest military intelligence reports from Somalia indicate that, AMISOM continues to humiliate the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-shabaab with their recent mortar shelling in a town near qoryoley district, about 120 kilometers south-west of the capital mogadishu. AMISOM troops conducted surprise mortar shelling on an Al-Shabaaab-held area in Farhane settlement, which is located around 8 km of Qoryoley town killing a several combatants in a makeshift camp, while undisclosed number fled with wounds. AMISOM is yet to release a statement concerning the offensive and state number of the combatants killed in the shelling. The operation is a part of AMISOM strategy to back the Somali national army to flush out the militants from large areas in central and southern regions.

OPINION, CULTURE & ANALYSIS

“Aid agencies are particularly concerned that the drought is exacerbating the country’s on-going humanitarian crisis – 365,000 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished and 71,000 of those children are in need of urgent life-saving assistance,”

Drought in Somalia: Time Is Running Out

20 February – Source : Al Jazeera – 316 Words

Four-year-old Safia Adan lies in Baidoa Regional Hospital in southern Somalia with a tube through her nose. She is suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration. At her side her worried grandmother looks up to explain that Safia first became sick after drinking water from the local well.”The water had changed colour but we still drank it,” says her grandmother. “We stopped after Safia became sick. We brought her to the city because we knew you get could get good treatment here.”

They were lucky – seven people from their village are now confirmed dead and the hospital has seen a surge in children suffering from waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea. They are the latest victims of the on-going drought ravaging Somalia that has left more than six million people, half the country’s population, facing food shortages and has seen water supplies become infected with bacteria rendering them undrinkable.

Last week the United Nations warned that a severe famine in Somalia was a distinct possibility and noted that if the rains failed again and urgent international action was not taken the country could see a repeat of the famine of 2011, which killed more than a quarter of a million people. “In the worst affected areas inadequate rainfall and lack of water has wiped out crops and killed livestock,” the UN said in a statement released last week. “Communities are being forced to sell their assets and borrow food and money to survive.”