July 4, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Mogadishu Mayor Cancels Lease Contracts Of City Gardens
03 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 251 Words
Mogadishu Mayor, Abdirahman Omar Osman, has cancelled the lease contracts given to businessmen to manage the city’s recreation areas. The contracts and garden licenses given to individuals have previously raised eyebrows. In a statement dated 3rd July 2018, the Local Government of Mogadishu revokes all the agreements signed with the businessmen: “The Mayor of Mogadishu and the Governor of Banaadir region has terminated and cancelled the deals on the control of the city gardens,” reads the statement in part.
The Mayor termed the agreements inked with businessmen as shoddy contracts: “After witnessing the issuance of garden lands at the Junction of Mogadishu streets and confirming that they (deals) were signed in a way contrary to the Constitution, we decided to revoke all the contracts,” Mr. Osman said in the statement. The Mayor lambasted the lease payment terms saying the amount is unsatisfactory. “The licences for public garden land do not meet the requisite standards. The rental amount is low compared to the strategic values of the gardens,” he said.
Though he did not mention the period of the leasehold, the Mayor said his predecessors issued long time contract to the businessmen. “The period of the lease exceeds one year and even the procedures to manage government properties have not been followed,” he noted. The Mayor warned the businessmen against breaching the directive saying the government would take legal action against the violators. “Whoever breaks this directive or fails to abide by it, will have legal action taken against them,” he vowed.
Key Headlines
- Mogadishu Mayor Cancels Lease Contracts Of City Gardens (Halbeeg News)
- Somali PM Receives Qatari Delegation In Mogadishu (Shabelle Media)
- Jubbaland Administration Appoints New District Commissioner For Baardheere District (Halbeeg News)
- Somali National Accused Of Attempting To Kill Politician Has A Case To Answer – Court (The Standard)
- Country Of Fragility: Psychosocial Analysis Of Somali Clan Conflict (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali PM Receives Qatari Delegation In Mogadishu
03 July – Source: Shabelle Media – 138 Words
Somali Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, on Tuesday received a high-level delegation from Qatar in his office in Mogadishu. A statement released by his office said the two sides discussed a wide range of issues, touching mainly on the bilateral relations and Qatari’s plans to invest along key seaports in Somalia.
The PM assured the Qatari delegation that his government was ready for business and investment since Somalia was keen at reviving the economic infrastructure of the country. The President of the Federal Government of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has so far paid two state visits to Qatar since taking office in February 2017, against the backdrop of a diplomatic tiff between gulf nations. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Jubbaland Administration Appoints New District Commissioner For Baardheere District
03 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 136 Words
The Ministry of Interior of Jubbaland state has appointed a new district commissioner for Baardheere District in Gedo region. According to a statement issued by the deputy Minister of Interior, Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein, Mr Ismail Abdi Qorah has been appointed as the new district commissioner of Baardheere. The statement states that the outgoing commissioner, Abdullahi Noor Hassan, was fired due to incompetence and complaints filed against him by residents of Baardheere district.
But the sacked DC has denounced the move terming it unacceptable. He maintains that he is the legitimate leader of the district: “I am the legitimate District Commissioner and I will stay in office” said Hassan. Hassan openly criticized the Jubbaland administration during the commemoration of 58th anniversary of Somalia’s independence in Baardheere district; an action that is believed to have contributed to his dismissal.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali National Accused Of Attempting To Kill Politician Has A Case To Answer – Court
03 July – Source: The Standard – 531 Words
A Nairobi court has found out that a Somali national accused by a Kenyan politician of assault has a case to answer. Magistrate Eunice Kimaiyo sitting at Makadara Law Court yesterday ruled that Jamal Mohammed has a case to answer in causing grievous harm. At the same time Kimaiyo acquitted Jamal of the charges of being illegally in the country on the grounds that the prosecution failed to table enough evidence in court. The prosecution called five key witnesses who testified before the closure of their case, both the prosecution and the defense tabled their oral submissions. Jamal had requested the court to withdraw the charges claiming that the complainant Hussein Mohammed had not produced an X-RAY report to court which would be used as evidence. The accused said that Hussein’s witnesses gave contradictory information to court regarding the incident.
He said that the investigators did not conduct an identification parade after the arrest of Jamal Mohammed. Hussein Mohammed who testified in the case said that Jamal attempted to kill him on September 17 at Eastleigh 7th street in Kamukunji. He said that Jamal used his boots and stepped on him where he fell down.
The accused later removed the knife and stabbed him on the neck. “Two days after the incident the accused called me and said that he wanted to apologise for what he did to me,” said Hussein. Hussein told the court that Jamal assaulted him because he wanted to be paid Sh337,000 the cost he incurred after they sold a machine they had bought together and subdivided the profit. He also told the court that he was introduced to Jamal by his brother and that he did not know him before.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The ideology of patriotism is pushed to the wayside in favour of clan legacy and the mindset that accompanies it. The reality of this puts the future of the country at risk, shapes the mindset of clan association, worsens divisions, and impacts the ability of leaders to assess and act on threats in security.”
Country Of Fragility: Psychosocial Analysis Of Somali Clan Conflict
03 July – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1855 Words
Somalia is a country where clan rivalries feed off each other and where politics are intensely clan-driven, with many self-appointed politicians swapping sides in alliances of convenience. The continuance of the clan culture in Somalia, the foundations for the conflict between clans, and the events involved in allowing it to continue have been discussed and evaluated by political analysts, various kinds of commentators, researchers of an academic nature, and a wider general population.
Despite the level of evaluation, there is no singular consensus on the events and continuance of the clan rivalries and conflict in Somalia. An inability to view the conflict from an objective point of view, with consideration for the position of each clan and their viewpoints and beliefs, is perhaps the reason why the general conclusion that holds on is that there are solid self-association and feeling of resists. In this sense, clan affiliation precedes over patriotism.
Recently, the narrative of a collective state with reconciliation and peace in the nation has become a popular trend. These accounts speak of a new Somalia hoping to end the conflict, proclaiming an end to the disorder caused by clans, and the discomfort felt by citizens for decades.
The post-(clan)-conflict is the antitoxin for what ailed us, a way to re-establish our country’s respect and regain its legitimate status. Our people could finally exchange the sackcloth of disgrace for the mantle of pride. There are a few issues, obviously, with this idealist driven variant of analysis and how “clan” is constituted within this context.