July 11, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Goobjoog Reporter Is Freed After Spending 3 days In Somaliland Jail
11 July – Source: Horn Observer – 183 Words
Somaliland authorities released Goobjoog reporter on Tuesday, after the journalist spent more than 3 days in jail, Goobjoog radio reported. The journalist, Omar Ali Hassan Serbiya and his wife were arrested upon arriving at the Egal International airport in Hargeysa, after traveling from Mogadishu for family related purposes. Omar Serbiya works for Goobjoog media which is an independent radio and television station – Goobjoog media – based in Mogadishu, Somalia. “Somaliland released Goobjoog reporter Omar Serbiya after three days of detention. Goobjoog Media group is grateful for setting free the journalist” Goobjoog media said on twitter, following the release of their colleague.
Meanwhile, another prominent online journalist, Ahmed Ali Kilwe is now in jail in Puntland for the last nine days. He was arrested on the July 02, 2017 by the Puntland counterterrorism police after receiving a directive from the Puntland President on allegations of “posting articles impertinent to the Puntland President,” according to officials from Puntland security and the Puntland Ministry of information and the Media Association for Puntland (MAP) members.
Key Headlines
- Goobjoog Reporter Is Freed After Spending 3 days In Somaliland Jail (Horn Observer)
- Foreign Firms’ Taxation to be Back-dated To The Start Of Their Presence in Somalia (Somali Update)
- Gunmen Kill Tax Official In The Capital Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- Food Crises Getting Worse in Somalia Kenya ( VOA News)
- Analysis: Piracy In The Indian Ocean (Shephard Media)
COMMUNIQUE OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
1. The National Security Council met in Mogadishu between 5th – 10th July 2017.
2. The meeting was chaired by the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, MohamedAbdullahi Farmajo and attended by Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Kheyre, Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohamed Guled, Regional State Presidents: Puntland Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gas, Jubbaland Ahmed Mohamed Islam, South West Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, Galmudug Ahmed Duale Gelle, Hirshabelle, Ali Abdullahi Osoble, Benadir Regional Administration and the Mayor of Mogadishu Thabit Abdi Mohamed and the Ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Interior federal affairs and reconciliation, Defense, Internal Security, Army commanders and the National Security Advisor.
3. The National Security Council has praised the good work done by the central government on security issue particularly stabilization of the capital, and strengthening political relations between the central government and regional states.
4. After the council assessed the security situation in the country, they agreed to strengthen the fight against Al-Shabaab and anyone who supports financially, protection or spreading their ideology.
5. The council, reviewed the security deal reached on 16-17 April 2017, observed the recommendations presented by the parliament committees on defense and Security Councils, respected the different views of the public, those recommendations have been added to the National Security Plan.
6. The Council, also agreed on the establishment of a technical committee working on the completion of the National Security Framework, including the structure of security agencies, police, NISA and custodial corps. The committee will come from Federal Government, Regional States and Benadir region.
7. The council recognizes the need of political unity on the development of federal system,constitutional review and the one person one vote election in the 2020, they agreed establishing constant consultation mechanism on the above issues with a quarterly meeting.
8. The council, agreed that the law establishing the National Security Council to be present to the Parliament in accordance with the Article 111, Paragraph (h) of the provisional constitution.
9. The council, has adopted the code of conduct of the National Security meetings and the Implementation Plan.
10. Finally, the National Security Council meeting will take place once in every three months.
NATIONAL MEDIA
Foreign Firms’ Taxation to be Back-dated To The Start Of Their Presence in Somalia
11 July – Source: Somali Update – 385 Words
Senior Federal Government officials recently met with a number of international and local companies that currently operate from Mogadishu International Airport to discuss the issue of taxation. “It is important that companies with offices inside the secure area of Aden Abdulle International airport contribute to the economic well-being of Somalia.”Minister of Information, Abdirahman Omar Osman (Yarisow) said. During the meeting, government officials were shocked after realizing the presence of 157 companies in the heavily-fortified Halane camp, where the African Union Mission (AMISOM) and the United Nations and the fenced airport are based. According to Finance Ministry, only 9 out of the 157 currently pay taxes.
A taxation task force will be established to negotiate with each company and payments will be back-dated upon their arrival to Somalia. “These companies provide important support to the UN, the international community and aid agencies, who pay well for these services.” Minister Yarisow added.”It is only right and proper that these companies, who profit from the situation in Somalia, contribute towards ending the political turmoil of the past and help rebuild a prosperous and peaceful future.” Ministers who attended the meeting included Ministers of Finance, Commerce, Transport and Civil Aviation, Labour, Public Works, Ports, Information and others.
The Finance Minister Abdirahman Dualeh Beileh said the aim is to ensure that these foreign companies are fully licenced to operate in the country and that they ensure to employ Somali citizens rather than foreigners that outraged many locals. Representatives from these companies, from security firms to catering companies, attended the meeting and expressed their readiness to pay taxes and wanted to know the process and information.
Minister Beileh reassured them that taxation will be handled in accordance with international standards and will be independently monitored to insure transparency and accountability. “This move will allow the Federal government to record all the security companies working in the country to have proper insurances and are operating within the law and are accountable for their activities” said Minister Beileh. Weapons will be registered and standards of training adhered to, while encouraging these companies to employ more Somali staff. These announcements represent further steps by the Federal Government of Somalia to regulate the activities of foreign companies and raise revenues to pay for the programme to reforms and improve the lives of Somalis.
Gunmen Kill Tax Official In The Capital Mogadishu
11 July – Source: Garowe Online – 178 Words
Suspected Al-Shabaab assassins have shot dead and killed a tax official working for Somalia’s Finance Ministry in the capital Mogadishu on Monday, according to reports. A witness confirmed to that tax official was gunned down in a busy market in Sey Piano neighborhood, in Mogadishu’s Hodon district, while he was collecting tax from local traders and shops. Police identified the late officer as Mohamed Abdullahi Timo-Jilac however, the motive behind his assassination remains unclear. Security personnel who cordoned off the scene are investigating the incident.
The killers were reported to have run off in a motorbike, after shooting the man. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the murder, which comes amidst tight security in the capital. On Sunday afternoon, pistol-wielding men believed to be Al-Shabaab members have also killed an employee working for Somalia’s Ministry of Finance named Sa’eed Karshe in Hamar-Bile village in Wardhigley district. In the past few weeks, the Militant group Al-Shabaab has intensified targeted killings against public servants, security force members and traditional elders who elected the MPs of the Federal Parliament
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Food Crises Getting Worse in Somalia, Kenya
11 July – Source: Voice of America – 332 Words
Severe food crises are growing in Kenya and Somalia, as the Horn of Africa continues to receive below-normal rainfall, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network. The hunger-tracking group says 2.9 million people in Kenya and 3.2 million in Somalia are experiencing Phase 3 or higher on the network’s five-tier warning scale, with Phase 3 being the crisis stage and Phase 5 being a full-fledged famine. The numbers represent a jump of 800,000 in Kenya and 300,000 in Somalia since FEWS NET’s last estimates, released in June. Peter Thomas, FEWS NET decision support advisor, says Phase 3 indicates that households are in need of urgent humanitarian aid. “This means that households are unable to meet their basic food needs for survival and facing gaps in their basic food needs,” he told VOA’s Horn of Africa Service.
Thomas says the new estimates were compiled just after the March to May rainy season, which FEWS NET said was “very poor” across southern Somalia and northern Kenya. Some parts of Kenya received just 25 percent of the normal rainfall. The rain was more plentiful across nearby Ethiopia, except in the south, where drought conditions continue and millions across the Somali and Oromia regions remain in need of assistance. Aid agencies like the U.N. World Food Program have helped many Horn residents hold off starvation. But Thomas warns that in Somalia, the situation could change. In the past, militant group al-Shabab has periodically banned aid agencies from helping people in towns under the group’s control. “In the worst case scenario, if the humanitarian assistance is cut off and access to humanitarian need by local communities are restricted, famine could be possible,” he said. The last declared famine in Somalia, in 2011, killed an estimated 260,000 people. On Saturday, the Trump administration announced more than $630 million in aid to Somalia and three other countries where conflict has led to or contributed to widespread hunger: South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The re-emergence of Somali piracy is related to just such an opportunity; the fact that naval operations against them have been diverted or wound down. Pirate Action Groups (PAGs) are no longer a priority for many local and regional navies, who are now busy policing Yemen’s coastal areas on the lookout for terrorist activities, Iranian transit of arms or other illicit smuggling,”
Analysis: Piracy In The Indian Ocean
06 July – Source: Shephard Media – 513 Words
Following the hijacking of the Aris 13 in March, the first merchant vessel to be taken by pirates operating from Somalia since May 2012, at least half a dozen further instances of attacks have been reported in its coastal waters. The question remains as to what lies behind the sudden spike in attacks on shipping passing through the Gulf of Aden and if this portends a return to large scale Somali piracy and robbery at sea in the Indian Ocean. Although Somali piracy dropped out of the international headlines after 2012, many so-called pirate action groups (PAGs) simply shifted business models as the profits of targeting international commercial traffic decreased and the dangers multiplied.
By 2012, PAGs had become so effective and such a threat that they essentially put themselves out of business by eliciting a concerted international response to the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean. In response to international operations like NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield some PAGs diversified into drug and arms smuggling and people trafficking. Others continued to prey on shipping but simply stuck to extorting smaller vessels from the local Somali fishing fleet.According to Theodore Karasik of geopolitical risk consultancy Gulf State Analytics (GSA), who worked with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs on counterpiracy, parts of Somalia where central authorities exercise no control local clans still impose ‘fines’ on foreigners caught fishing illegally in Somalia waters. ‘Such fines are essentially ransom payments, highlighting how domestic corruption and rule-of-law concerns in the African country are further fuelling this return to piracy,’ he added.
The MV Albedo and fishing vessel Naham 3 were two of the most notorious victims of Somali piracy (Photo EU Navfor). Adam Lakhani, Nairobi-based head of information at corporate security company Salama Fikira, argued that some of the blame is due to the complacency which has crept back in to the shipping industry regarding the threat of Indian Ocean piracy. He said: ‘[Currently] fewer and fewer vessels embark armed teams, the [Indian Ocean High Risk Area] has reduced and there is a perception that piracy has gone away. The pirates may have stopped being pirates, however they have certainly not gone anywhere and nor has Somalia. ‘Many of these pirates may have tried to find work elsewhere, [but] when the opportunity arises to return to piracy due to a re-balance of the risk/return scales they will take it.’
TOP TWEETS
@IlwadElman: Honored to have hosted Sir #DavidAdjaye in#Mogadishu for Vol.1 of the #ElmanPeaceLabs 4 dialogue & innovation @elmanpeacehrc #HealingSpaces
@LeylaHussein: @IlwadElman Please share our appeal. We are fighting to keep vital services for #FGM survivorshttps://localgiving.org/
@OfficialOYSU: Ridwaan, only survivor from her family, left as dead after being hanged with metal wires, near Wardeer.
@HarunMaruf: The @SomaliPM plans to hold weekly cabinet meeting in towns outside Mogadishu, the 1st meeting could take place in Kismayo this wk: reports
@WhoseinMoulid: #Somalia gov’t receive the airspace control equipments from UN after 25 years.
@farhanjimale: BBC News – Somalia internet outage is ‘major disaster’
@FarahmohamudM: The sad part of Somaliland election campaign is, no candidate can articulate what he stands for & what will he do for the people.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Abdirahman Hosh Jibril speaks at public consultation event in Baidoa on the provisional constitution review process.
Photo: Radio Muqdisho