February 24, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Regional Leaders Front Joint Efforts As Drought Plunges Millions Into Hunger
23 February – Source: Goobjoog News- 280 Words
Regional heads of states and governments have vowed to a joint approach towards the ongoing drought in the East and Horn of Africa which the UN estimates is affecting upwards of 12 million people. In a joint statement in Mogadishu Wednesday, presidents from Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister promised to closer collaboration while also calling on the international community and all stakeholders to marshal resources to avert further suffering in the region.“While each of our governments is mobilising to respond, the dire situation calls for international collaboration and regional partnership between governments, civil society, aid organisations, business and international donors,” the leaders said.
The leaders who were attending President Mohamed Farmaajo’s inauguration in Mogadishu warned the risks of a famine unfolding in Somalia could pose security and political implications in the region and beyond as coping mechanisms push communities into more vulnerability and possible conflicts.The UN announced this month Somalia was staring at a famine with signs being noted as 6.2 million people are in dire lack of food. Unless urgent action is taken, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia Peter de Clerq warned, the 2011 scenario could fast play out in Somalia. More than 250,000 people succumbed to the 2011 famine.
The leaders also pledged to ‘strengthen cross-border collaboration and efforts to establish security and stability in Somalia to ensure an effective response to the drought and to enable further progress in peacebuilding and statebuilding in Somalia’.Noting that many people were being forced to move within countries and across the borders for survival as a result of the drought, the leaders said they would provide appropriate protection and assistance to such groups.
Key Headlines
- Regional Leaders Front Joint Efforts As Drought Plunges Millions Into Hunger (Goobjoog News)
- Khaire Resigns From SOMA Oil Following Appointment As PM (Radio Dalsan)
- Over 60 MPs File Motion Against HirShabelle Leader (Shabelle News)
- State Accused Of ‘arm-twisting’ Somali Refugees To Return Home (Media Max Kenya)
- Somalia: Bossaso Goes Green (Thomson Reuters Foundation News)
- Who Is Hassan Ali Khaire? Somalia’s Newly Appointed Prime Minister (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Khaire Resigns From SOMA Oil Following Appointment As PM
23 February- Source: Radio Dalsan – 117 Words
The Prime Minister designate , Hassan Khaire has on Thursday resigned from his position at Soma Oil and Gas. A statement from the company confirmed that Khaire had resigned so that “he can accept the honor of serving his country of origin” The statement also made it clear that Khaire will be giving up his shares in the oil company“Mr Khaire has resigned from the board and has relinquished all his shares in the company” a statement said. Soma Oil refers to Khaire as a “very valued employee” but wished him the best in his appointment. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo announced on Thursday morning that he had picked Khaire for the post of Prime Minister.
Over 60 MPs File Motion Against HirShabelle Leader
23 February – Source: Shabelle News – 117 Words
More than 60 MPs in the HirShabelle parliament have tabled a no confidence motion against the President of HirShabelle Ali Abdullahi Osoble over a complaint by local clans over Cabinet nomination. The MPs who held a session at the meeting hall in Jowhar district, announced the no confidence motion against the President, and called for a snap election of new President.They said HirShabelle state President has failed to serve his people and make consultations with them on the appointment of the new cabinet which has drawn a wide condemnation.On Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators held a big rally against HirShabelle state President Ali Abdullahi Osoble in the southern seaside city of Adalle, protesting against the Cabinet.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
State Accused Of ‘arm-twisting’ Somali Refugees To Return Home
23 February – Source : Media Max, Kenya – 232 Words
Amnesty International has accused the government of using “falsehoods” to justify the bid to repatriate Somali asylum seekers and close the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Garissa. AI-Kenya claimed the government had resorted to anti-refugee propaganda machinery to force closure of the camp. In a State of the World’s Human Rights report released yesterday, AI says there is blanket blame on refugees in the largest camp in the world for terror activities in Kenya.The report says the government has been “arm-twisting” the refugees to return back to Somalia. “In an effort to coerce people to make ‘voluntary return’, government officials have told refugees in Dadaab that if they do not go back, they risk not getting the financial support package of (Sh40,000).
“As of last October, 27,000 refugees had returned to Somalia, nominally voluntarily, which Amnesty International has questioned in light of the pressure being brought in Dadaab,” stated the report.In a survey conducted by the medical NGO, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), refugees cited security concerns, including fear of forced recruitment to militias such as al Shabaab. Amnesty International regional director for East Africa Muthoni Wanyeki said forcible repatriation of refugees breaches international law.“The order to shut down Dadaab, which was reversed by the High Court this month, remains a classic example of governments pushing a toxic agenda and the collective scapegoating of people in need,” she said.
Somalia: Bossaso Goes Green
23 February – Source : Thomson Reuters Foundation News – 414 News
Situated on the northern curve of Somalia’s coastline, Bossaso is a major seaport, baked by year-round sunshine and refreshed by sea winds blowing in off the Gulf of Aden. It may sound idyllic but Bossaso is the scene of a seriously impressive hybrid renewable energy system that was installed by WFP’s IT emergency response capacity, the Fast IT and Telecommunications Emergency and Support team (FITTEST) exactly three years ago. The idea was to provide clean power to the WFP compound, including the warehouse.
This hybrid system consisted of a combination of solar panels, wind turbines, generators and grid power and will use the renewable energy first. Only when the load exceeds what the system was designed for, are the generators and grid power used. On 23 January 2017, the project hit a major milestone when the dashboard – a platform that remotely monitors the energy savings – showed savings of 381,375 kg of carbon dioxide, a volume equivalent to removing 35,000 WFP vehicles from the roads. The projected lifetime savings of US$1.26 million is equivalent to feeding 13,872 schoolchildren for a year.
The impact then is great: Not only is the system greener and more eco-friendly, it has made a massive impact on the lives of WFP staff working in the office and warehouse. Before the project, the warehouse had unreliable access to city power run on old generators -major pollutants. Being situated close to the port, the warehouse was vitally important for WFP staff to safely store food destined for Somali people in times of emergency. The cost of running the warehouse was also extremely high due to the sheer amount of electricity required.
OPINION, CULTURE & ANALYSIS
“Hassan Ali Khaire speaks fluent Somali, Norwegian and English. He has been described by those who know him as calm and very bright. The father of three is an accomplished technocrat who led an international NGO. His experience as regional director for one of the most drought-stricken regions in the world will be key for Somalia as the looming famine is of immediate concern,”
Who Is Hassan Ali Khaire? Somalia’s Newly Appointed Prime Minister
23 February – Source : Hiiraan Online – 669 Words
President Farmajo announced on Thursday morning that he has appointed Hassan Ali Khaire as Somalia’s Prime Minister. Mr. Khaire lived in Norway from 1989 and is a dual Somali-Norwegian citizen. He is an aid worker who spent over a decade working with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) working his way up to be the regional director for the Horn of Africa area. He also has business interests in Somalia, he was the director of Soma Oil and Gas. The company made headlines in 2016 for being at the centre of investigations by the UN Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG) and the UK, a charge both he and the company vigorously fought- and won. Hassan Ali Khaire was born in 1967 in Somalia and graduated from primary and secondary school in Mogadishu. At the onset of the civil war, Khaire moved to Norway where he enrolled at the University of Oslo in 1994. While in university, Khaire was active in the Somali Students Association, according to a friend.
After graduating in 1998 with a degree in political science and minor in sociology, Hassan Ali Khaire went on to the University of Edinburgh where he completed his MBA in 2001.After graduation, he moved back to Oslo where he began working with the NRC at their headquarters. Khaire briefly left the NGO for a few years to pursue business endeavors but in 2006 he returned to the NRC as an area manager. He remained at the NRC for the next 9 years as he worked his way up to County Director and eventually the Regional Director for the Horn of Africa.
After nearly a decade in the NGO field, Khaire moved on to the public sector joining Soma Oil. According to the company’s website, Hassan Khaire has been with the country since its inception in 2013.Both Hassan and Soma Oil faced serious charges by various groups. Hassan Khaire was accused of having links to extremist groups while Soma Oil and it’s chairman Michael Howard faced corruption investigations by UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO). They all maintained their innocence from the beginning and were eventually cleared by their accusers after rigorous scrutiny.