June 7, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Expecting A Reliable Justice Within 3 Months
06 June – Source: Goobjoog – 541 words
Provision of justice is one of the best reasons on how a government can survive which the public expect justice for all and ruled through fairness. If justice is not exercised upon everything, the population will feel a deficiency of the best tool they look forward to from the ruling system. Many people believe the justice system of Somalia is in its lowest point which they complained bitterly about. The leaders of the country know of the existing mess in the justice department where people lost confidence in it. In his Sunday speech on Konis Football Stadium in Mogadishu with thousands of people, President Farmajo said he will do significant change in the judicial system. To remind the readers once again of one of his quotes which stated: “Trust and peace are inseparable things which we are currently advocating for. Be aware what we will do within the coming three months.
It is over to punish the already affected Somali people more by not getting justice. It is not right. We inform the veteran judges if you used to pass five different judgments on a single plot, then this is over. It is over for a mother to cry or to punish a person who seeks justice. Clean justice is needed from you. If you cannot deliver it, you don’t represent the people and the government. You will be in jail finally” said the President. Many people see these words can bring the much needed transformation in the justice system if the right steps are taken. The Director of Research in Heritage Institute for Policy Studies Abdirashid Khalif Hashi believes to be the correct move but he is waiting if it will be implemented. “The problems that engulfed the justice department need to be studied and looked from every corner. They are diverse in nature which some was brought by the civil war, lack of central government, conflicts, lack of conscience and knowledge. All these need to be considered. It can happen if they have plans for three months but such a short duration cannot fix prevailing problems of the last twenty four years including the pre-government injustice complains.
I don’t think three months can achieve something but it’s a desire from the government. To know these problems and facing to rectify them is an initial step and the judicial system deserves to be looked into and people need this” said Hashi. In order for many people, who claim to be treated unfairly, to get their rights it is imperative to overcome the present challenges so that the society gets justice. If fair judgment is to be expected from the National Judicial body, it has to be reorganized quickly. According to Professor Mohamed Hassan Doob “Building the National Judicial body of Somalia is very crucial. They were disbanded before and if not organized again, no judiciary will exist because of lack of operating laws. Initially why this country is collapsed is due to lack of justice. If supervision is to be carried out the above body has to be created again” says Professor Doob. Justice is equality and has no preference in regard to wealth or having good name in the society. People expect reliable justice from the government led by President Farmajo.
Key Headlines
- Expecting A Reliable Justice Within 3 Months (Goobjoog News)
- Southwest Parliament Passes Law on Local Government (Goobjoog News)
- Burundi To Pay Salary For Its Peacekeepers In Somalia (Shabelle News)
- Donors Commit To Funding Infrastructure Project Gap In Somalia (Worldcement.com)
- War-torn Somalia could become tangled in the wealthy Gulf states’ diplomatic spat (Quartz)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Southwest Parliament Passes Law on Local Government
06 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 136 words
The Parliament members of Southwest State today passed the Law on Local Government that was forwarded to them by the local Interior Ministry. The parliamentary session was presided over by Speaker Abdikadir Sharif Shekhuna Maye. Seventy four members were present. It was supported by seventy two votes where one vote remained partial and another opposed it.
This Law stipulates that the five locations in Southwest State will elect its own administration. Finally Speaker Maye announced the Law is generally agreed upon and becomes an Act. The Interior Ministry of Southwest State wants the local five locations namely Elbarde, Hudur, Berdale, Baidoa and Barawa to have local administrations elected by the people living in those locations. On 11th May 2017 the Parliament of Southwest State suspended this Law and passed it today after amendments were done to it.
Burundi To Pay Salary For Its Peacekeepers In Somalia
06 June – Source: Shabelle News
Burundian peacekeepers serving in the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are to receive their salary arrears as the European Union (EU) has peacekeepers’ salary arrears for six months, the Burundian army spokesman said. “Our peacekeepers in Somalia had spent over one year without getting their salaries. But we got them on Saturday last week. The European Union has deposited salary arrears for six months. We are therefore going to pay our troops,” Gaspard Baratuza said.
Baratuza said the participation in international peacekeeping missions “bears positive results” for countries contributing troops as the latter gain experience. Burundi has one battalion of about 850 soldiers at the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) since 2014, and six rotating battalions consisting of about 5,500 troops in Somalia since December 2007. Burundi is among the main contributors of troops in the AMISOM. The failure to pay peacekeepers’ salaries for 12 months had forced the Burundian government to threaten to withdraw its troops from Somalia.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Donors Commit To Funding Infrastructure Project Gap In Somalia
06 June – Source: Worldcement.com – 375 words
During the African Development Bank’s Annual Meetings in Ahmedabad, India, on 25 May 2017, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) organised a meeting with donors and friends of Somalia on “Financing the Infrastructure Pillar of Somalia’s National Development Plan (NDP) 2017-19.” The meeting included representatives from the following countries and institutions: Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United States of America, Germany, Sweden, Egypt, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Morocco, World Bank, and AfDB.
Through the NDP 2017-19, the FGS has prioritised the rehabilitation and development of Somalia’s infrastructure, given its importance in accelerating economic recovery and job creation, developing a competitive and prosperous private sector, and restoring peace and stability. This meeting was a timely opportunity for the FGS to further articulate its infrastructure investment priorities, and outline the financing options available for delivering these priorities, following the successful launch of a New Partnership Agreement between Somalia and the international community at the London Somalia Conference on 11 May 2017, and the broad commitments that were made to support the delivery of the NDP. The FGS also noted that aid flows to Somalia are currently prioritised towards short term imperatives, which leave infrastructure and economic growth as the least funded pillars of the NDP priorities. As a result, it is important that new sources of funding are identified and better aligned to the country’s top priorities.
An important channel to mobilise resources for important infrastructure projects is the recently established and AfDB administered Multi-Donor Somali Infrastructure Fund (SIF). During the meeting, the AfDB team presented a pipeline of priority energy, water and transport projects worth about US$ 160 million that will be developed over the next three years using the resources that will be mobilised through the SIF. Of the total amount required, a funding gap of about US$ 105 million still remains to be filled. Contributors to the SIF include the AfDB, Islamic Development Bank, United Kingdom, and Italy. The meeting also afforded representatives of donors the opportunity to express their support for Somalia. This will enable FGS to forge stronger partnerships and identify potential resourcing for its infrastructure agenda, which will ensure that delivery of infrastructure on the ground for the Somali people becomes a reality.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Somalia is a member of the Arab League, the 22-member body which brings together mainly Arabic-speaking states. Over the last two decades, it has maintained relations with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, who have provided humanitarian assistance and budget support, and have invested in key infrastructural projects.”
War-torn Somalia Could Become Tangled In The Wealthy Gulf States’ Diplomatic Spat
06 June – Source: Quartz – 609 words
The latest diplomatic spat in the Middle East, over Qatar’s alleged ties to terrorism, risks engulfing and destabilizing Somalia, a war-torn Horn of Africa nation struggling to bolster its own fragile democracy after decades of civil war. On Monday night, Somali civil aviation authorities reported increased Qatar Airways traffic over Somali airspace, according to the Associated Press. At least 15 flights were diverted to use the airspace, an increase from one or two flights a day previously. This comes after a slew of nations cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday (June 6)—triggering a crisis in the Gulf and north Africa. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates severed relations with the tiny, oil-rich peninsula, and air carriers including Emirates and Etihad suspended flights. Yemen, the Maldives, and Saudi Arabia joined in, with the latter suspending flights, pulling Qatari troops from the ongoing war in Yemen, and closing both land and sea borders. Egypt and one of the three rival governments in Libya joined the diplomatic row, suspending flights and accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism and extremism—charges denied by Qatar.
But Somalia is the nation with, arguably, the most to lose in the spat. As the nation regains a semblance of peace, its geographic location and its links to the feuding nations could put it at the center of efforts to isolate one of the world’s richest countries. The current rift jeopardizes essential aid to Somalia, a poor state with a weak government, bedeviled by terrorism and facing a severe humanitarian crisis. Somalia is a member of the Arab League, the 22-member body which brings together mainly Arabic-speaking states. Over the last two decades, it has maintained relations with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, who have provided humanitarian assistance and budget support, and have invested in key infrastructural projects. But as the long-simmering tensions escalate, Somalia might get caught in the middle, with different sides using their leverage to pressure the country to sever links with Qatar or stay put. The Emiratis have been particularly hawkish in their engagements in Somalia. Just this year, the country signed agreements to fund the development of a multipurpose seaport in Puntland, alongside a controversial military base in the port of Berbera in the breakaway region of Somaliland—mainly to prosecute the war in Yemen.
Qataris have also looked to Somalia and the Horn of Africa region to spread their influence. In 2010, Qatar successfully mediated a festering border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti. Alongside the UAE, Qatar has allegedly also been buying off presidential candidates and politicians in Somalia, to secure business deals or edge out traditional powerful figures. Qatar’s influence in the current Somali administration could also be significant, given that President Mohamed Farmaajo recently appointed a former Al Jazeera Arabic reporter—who reportedly acted as his link to the Qataris during the campaign—as his chief of staff. Saudi Arabia also uses its deep pockets to sway Somali support against the Qataris. Last year, under the presidency of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia received a pledge of $50 million from the Saudis on the same day it severed ties with Iran after protesters torched the Saudi embassy in Tehran. After his election in February, President Farmaajo’s first official visit out of the country was also to Saudi Arabia. While the Somali foreign ministry has yet to comment or take a position, observers say the diplomatic rift puts the government at a “delicate dilemma.” Others are calling on Farmaajo’s government to stay neutral and not get involved in the tensions roiling the region. “Somalia cannot afford to take any side,” Abukar Arman, the county’s former special envoy to the United States, wrote on Twitter.