June 27, 2017 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Somali President Calls For Reunification Of Somalia

26 June – Source : AMISOM – 378 Words

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo led the country in celebrating the 57th independence anniversary of the northern regions with a call for the reunification of the country. The ceremony held in Mogadishu was attended by top officials of the federal government and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), among them, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, and AMISOM Force Commander, Lt. General Osman Noor Soubagleh.

On June 26, 1960, British Somaliland became independent followed by the Italian Somaliland a few days later, culminating in the unification of the two regions in July 1, 1960, to form the Republic of Somalia. However, Somaliland broke off from Somalia in 1991 following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime. Speaking at the ceremony, President Farmaajo called for the reunification of the federal republic of Somalia and Somaliland, saying the move would make the country great again.

Emphasizing the historical significance of the day, the head of state urged Somalis to put aside their differences and unite for the betterment of the present and future generations. “Brothers attending these celebrations, I am urging our brothers in the northern regions (Somaliland), the youth, the elderly, men and women that it is our responsibility to regain our nationhood and unity of our country. We have to go beyond our recent painful and ugly history, to have a better future,” President Farmaajo observed. He noted that Somalia has had a chequered post-independence history, characterized by both prosperity and destruction, with the latter having devastating effects on the country, due to the pro-longed civil war that lasted more than a decade.

Key Headlines

Somali President Calls For Reunification Of Somalia (AMISOM)
Al-Shabaab And Government Forces Clash In Daynuunay (VOA Somali)
Mogadishu Internet Outage To Be Resolved In A Week
AU Commission Representative Lauds UPDF Role In Somalia (NTV Uganda)
UAE Budget Carrier To Launch Somaliland Flights In July (Arabian Business)
Helping Somalia Attract Private Investment Will Require Realism Rigor And Reforms (World Bank Blogs)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Mogadishu Internet Outage To Be Resolved In A Week

26 June- Source: Radio Dalsan – 129 Words

Somalia’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication has commented on the fibre cut that has led to poor internet access in the capital, Mogadishu. The Director General at the Ministry, Ahmed Haji Abdalla has told the media that the internet outage been experienced in Mogadishu was caused by a fibre cut resulting from an incident involving a ship off the coast of Somalia. “The outage is been resolved, and it will take a week for the internet to return,” said Abdalla. People in Mogadishu have been experiencing the internet outage for the last two days. This has come at a time people were celebrating Eid. Many people who use the internet to connect with their families to congratulate them on the Eid have missed the opportunity to do so.

Al-Shabaab And Government Forces Clash In Daynuunay

25 June- Source: VOA Somali – 70 Words

Reports reaching from the town of Baidoa indicate that there has been clashes in the Daynuunay military camp which is located in the outskirts of Baidoa. The fighting took places after Al-Shabaab launched an attack on soldiers in the base. Preliminary reports indicate that that five people were killed in the incident. It is reported that fighters who attacked the camp briefly seized control of the camp but withdrew.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

AU Commission Representative Lauds UPDF Role In Somalia

26 June – Source : NTV Uganda – 170 Words

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, has held talks with senior military officers of the Uganda People’s Defence Force to review the security of the area under UPDF control. The three-hour meeting focused on the status of security in the area referred to as sector one, which includes Banadir in Mogadishu and Lower Shabelle region.

Ambassador Madeira, who was accompanied by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Osman Noor Soubagleh, was briefed on the security situation in the sector by the Ugandan Contingent Commander, Brig. Kayanja Muhanga. The Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) has managed to bring relative peace and security in the area and is currently helping Somali security forces administer law and order in sector one. Speaking after the meeting, the SRCC described the discussions as crucial, saying sector one was of strategic importance in the fight against Al-Shabaab. Brig. Muhanga said the UPDF will continue working closely with the local population to help AMISOM meet its mandate of securing Somalia.

UAE Budget Carrier To Launch Somaliland Flights In July

26 June – Source : Arabian Business – 199 Words

UAE-based budget carrier Air Arabia has announced that it will launch flights to Hargeisa, Somaliland from July 4. Air Arabia marked its entry into the African market in 2004, and currently serves six destinations across Egypt, Sudan and Kenya from its main hub in Sharjah. The new flights to Hargeisa will operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, the airline said in a statement.

“Hargeisa offers travellers a unique blend of contemporary and modern experiences from one street to the next and the city has all the amenities a traveller could wish for: from culture to commercial and more,” said Adel Al Ali, Group CEO of Air Arabia. “We are glad to announce this new route and are confident that this will establish Hargeisa as a destination of choice and appeal to the growing tourism and trade sectors”.

Hargeisa, currently undergoing a rapid transformation focused on economic growth and development, has an estimated population of 1.2 million people and is a commercial centre and a hub for the construction, retail and precious stone-cutting sectors. Air Arabia currently operates flights to over 130 routes across the globe from five hubs located in the Middle East and North Africa.

OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“The London conference was a landmark occasion in Somalia’s journey toward development – uniting such development partners as Denmark, Sweden, the European Union, the U.K.’s Department for International Development (DFID) and USAID in an ever-closer partnership with the country,”

Helping Somalia Attract Private Investment Will Require Realism, Rigor And Reforms

26 June – Source : World Bank Blogs – 1062 Words

Stabilizing countries that have long been afflicted by fragility, conflict and violence (FCV) – and helping them shape effective reforms to strengthen the investment climate – is one of the most difficult challenges in international development. The task is all the more severe when, as in Somalia, a large proportion of the population has been displaced by violence and natural disaster and when the economy is overly concentrated on a few sectors. Such factors make rebuilding investor confidence a daunting challenge for the newly elected government.

However, despite these challenges, Somalia represents a rare example of private-sector resilience. The major sectors of the economy survived the tumultuous period after the collapse of the state in 1991. Entrepreneurs in Somalia and abroad continue to innovate and adapt in a country void of regulatory frameworks or government oversight. Domestic mobile-money transfers average $1.2 billion in monthly transactions, and mobile money usage is above 70 percent. Nonetheless, economic growth in Somalia has stagnated and has not resulted in a peace dividend for the population. Government revenue is low – around 2.5 percent of GDP – in an economy driven by consumption, as identified in the World Bank Group’s Somali Economic Update (SEU) from 2016. According to the SEU, two of the biggest obstacles to equitable growth are access to finance and lack of regulations. Moreover, investment in priority sectors is low, held back by protectionism, conflict and instability.

Somalia was the focus of an international conference in May 2017 in London that brought together some of Somalia’s top private-sector firms, development institutions and government leaders to discuss how to jump-start private-sector-led growth and achieve long-term peace and development. Among the distinguished attendees were the newly elected president of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo”; Prime Minister Teresa May of the United Kingdom; United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres; and the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, Federica Mogherini. The World Bank Group delegation was led by Jan Walliser, the Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions.

The conference dedicated a special side event to economic recovery, bringing together government, private-sector leaders and development partners to discuss their common challenges. This side event achieved the signing of a landmark Public Private Dialogue (PPD) Declaration between the government and the private sector. The declaration is a potentially transformational step: The government affirmed its responsibility to develop and strengthen regulatory frameworks and policies, in consultation with the private sector, to enable economic recovery that will benefit all Somalis. In turn, the private sector committed to actively engage with the government to progressively establish a modern business environment based on the rule of law and a fair, predictable and competitive taxation system. The declaration also outlined key sectors for investment and regulation, such as Information and Communications Technology and agribusiness.

ADDITIONAL SOMALIA NEWS WILL APPEAR IN THE AFTERNOON REPORT

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