May 10, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Committee Examines Somalia Election Proposal
09 May Source: Garowe Online – 265 Words
A 26-member select committee has begun reviewing electoral proposal introduced by Somalia’s Federal Government (SFG), and endorsed by international community on Monday, Garowe Online reports.
On April 4, UN-backed national government and Puntland agreed to a scheme for 2016 electoral process, Upper House, 2020 roadmap, and tight implementation to be closely monitored by international community. 5 of the 26 commissioners named for the proposal review are current MPs, with former parliamentarians being included.
The lawmakers kicked off debate for the electoral modality on May 3 as western donors push for accomplished benchmark on time. The committee has already dropped points in the proposal, sources privy to the development have told Garowe Online.
MP Mohamed Omar Mohamed said they are in clockwork meetings to report back to the parliament as soon as possible given limited time in sight.
Somali election proposal amasses regional presidents with more power, a move met with only a lukewarm endorsement in Mogadishu. Somalia Federal Government introduced national election model that garnered swift support from western donors for long baffled by slower pace of the country’s transition from clan-based power sharing formula in January.
Recently, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke hoped that Somalia could see election date pushed back by at least two months Incumbent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is seeking second term in office under a model, UN envoy called “a midway point between the election of 2012, when only 135 electors selected 275 Members of Parliament and 2020, when all Somalis will have a say.” Somalia held first-ever presidential election on its own since the state collapse, in September 2012.
Key Headlines
- Committee Examines Somalia Election Proposal (Garowe Online)
- Somalia Leaders US Delegation Discuss Upcoming Elections (Horseed Media)
- Somalia Moves To Limit Charcoal Use (Horseed Media)
- Parliament To Deny Regional Heads Powers To Sign Off List Of MPs Elect In 2016 Polls (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia To Bring Its Nationals In Italy Back Home (Shabelle News)
- Shibis Police Commissioner Calls On Residents To Help Improve Security (Goobjoog News)
- Regional PACs To Engage Somalia Djibouti (New Times)
- AMISOM To Build Community Hospital In Eel-Jaalle Village in Marka Lower Shabelle Region (AMISOM)
- Closing Refugee Camps Is Escapist Says ODM (The Star)
- U.N. Concerned By Kenyan Threat To Close Refugee Camps (Reuters)
- Somali Community Remembers Youth Activist (MPR News)
- Somalia Security Forces Arrest 2 Al-Shabaab Militants (Xinhua)
- As The Kenyan Minister For National Security Here’s Why I’m Shutting The World’s Biggest Refugee Camp (The Independent)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Leaders, US Delegation Discuss Upcoming Elections
09 May Source: Horseed Media – 230 Words
A delegation of the United States America led by the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs arrived in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Monday to discuss on the country’s upcoming elections, Horseed Media reports. Somalia’s Federal government President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid and several ministers held talks with the delegation. According to a press statement from the President’s office following the talks, both sides discusses on wide range of areas such as Political progress, preparation for the elections, security, efforts on fight against terrorism and bilateral relations.
U.S Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Bruce Wharton welcomed the government’s progress, stressing the importance of the forthcoming elections viewing it important to the country and regional stability. Mr Wharton reaffirmed his government’s continued support to the process of stability and development of Somalia.
Somalia is expected to hold elections in four months’ time, with the current President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud one of the candidates. Over the past few weeks, there have been speculations saying that the current leaders plan to postpone the elections. In May last year, when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a landmark visit to Somalia, he discussed with the Somali Federal government and regional administration leaders holding peaceful and democratic elections, though after few months the Federal government ruled out the possibility of holding one-person-one vote elections in the country.
Somalia Moves To Limit Charcoal Use
09 May- Source: Horseed Media – 288 Words
Somalia’s Federal government and regional administrations have joined together in an effort to reduce dependency on charcoal for cooking and heating. Over the weekend, Somalia’s minister of Livestock, Forestry and Range Saeed Hussein Iid launched a UNDP-backed programme to address land degradation, promote alternative energy and create sustainable livelihoods in the autonomous region of Puntland.
The joint program is also aimed at tackling deforestation in a bid to protect environment and reducing emissions, was first launched last year in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. At the launch, Minister Saeed Hussein Iid said the new programme will help conserve the environment. ‘’For those who much rely on charcoal trading we have now other alternatives for them and we encourage everyone to take part in this programme which is important to the state our environment.’’ Puntland official pledged their commitment to completely halt charcoal exports and work towards alternative livelihoods and energy.
Since the collapse of the central government in 1991, Somalia has been a haven for many environmentally destructive illegal activities such as nuclear and toxic waste dumping, over-fishing and illegal fishing by international fishing enterprises, and the rapacious importation of Somali charcoal by the Gulf States. While the charcoal industry has grown by exponentially, the trees from which the charcoal is made are being decimated in the process. Mature trees have disappeared from the Somali landscape, leading to a decline in livestock herds and consequently affecting the general population by creating extensive poverty and famine.
In a country with little electrical power, charcoal is the predominant domestic cooking fuel and is now managed by a network of more than 30 local brokers and was also controlled by armed groups such as al-Shabaab before losing seaports they used to export from.
Parliament To Deny Regional Heads Powers To Sign Off List Of MPs Elect In 2016 Polls
09 May- Source: Goobjoog News – 369 Words
Parliament will shoot down the proposal to give powers heads of federal states to sign the list of official members of the Houses of Federal Parliament, Goobjoog News has learnt. The lawmakers, who are still debating proposals submitted by the National Leadership Forum, NLF will also object the formation of a separate election dispute arbitration committee. The NLF, which is made up of the president, Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament and heads of regional states proposed that chief executives of each federal member state will be vested with the authority to sign the official list of the Upper and Lower House candidates elect.
This, the NLF said, will be done after the State Level Electoral Implementation Teams (SEITs) forward the certified final results. It further proposed State executives will nominate at least two candidates for each seat. The state assemblies will vote for each seat individually. But Federal MPs have questioned the rationale of bestowing such powers to the regional heads all of whom are interested parties in the polls.
The lawmakers have also taken issue with composition of 135 elders who will be tasked with the choice of the delegates who will in turn elect the members of parliament. The list is drawn from the 135 elders who participated in the election of members of parliament in 2012. The NLF has proposed the list of the 135 Traditional Elders shall serve as the base of the electoral process. The list will be updated, whereby the deceased elders will be replaced and those questionable or disputed will be corrected, read the proposal. But some MPs have intimated to Goobjoog News they are concerned with the manner in which the elders will be replaced. The Ministry of Interior will be responsible for the selection and updating of the list, a matter some MPs worry the government might manipulate the list to its advantage.
Another proposal which the lawmakers have raised concern and intend to oppose is the formation of the independent dispute resolution mechanism. The lawmakers, Goobjoog News has learnt are of the opinion the arbitration team be drawn from the 135 elders since they understand the process and are duly qualified as arbiters in their day to day lives.
Somalia To Bring Its Nationals In Italy Back Home
09 May- Source: Shabelle News – 115 Words
The president of the federal republic of Somalia HE Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said his government is in the is the process of returning of its citizens in Italy back to their country. Mohamud said Somali federal government will reduce the rate of the unemployment and create new jobs for the country’s youth, who are risking their life to Europe for better future.
Speaking at Europe Day event held in Mogadishu, Somali president the government is committed to tackle the internal problems forcing the youths to flee their country. The president’s statement comes as hundreds of Somali youngsters lost their lives after their crowded boats capsized off Libya coast while trying to reach Europe last month.
Shibis Police Commissioner Calls On Residents To Help Improve Security
09 May- Source: Goobjoog News – 192 Words
Shibis police commissioner Mohamed Abdiqadir Warsame urges local residents in Shibis district to work with local security forces in order to restore peace and stability to the city. “Security has improved greatly in the city but we want our people who live in the capital to help security institutions so that, together we can further improve the security,” said Warsame.
Assassinations of government workers have become a common occurrence in many parts of the town. The commissioner said that armed criminal gangs, drug traffickers and people with personal feuds and rivalries are taking advantage of the violence in the city.
This comes after a suicide car bomber struck the entrance of traffic police headquarters in the capital, killing four people and injuring nine others. Two police officers were among the dead and two armed extremists who tried to storm the traffic police premises in Mogadishu’s Shangani district were shot dead. Al-Shabaab has claimed the responsibility for the attack, which has shattered a period of calm in the seaside city, Mogadishu. Despite being pushed out of Somalia’s major cities and towns, the group continues to carry out deadly guerrilla attacks across the country.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Regional PACs To Engage Somalia, Djibouti
09 May- Source: New Times – 489 Words
Lawmakers on East African Public Accounts Committees have resolved to engage Somalia and Djibouti and other politically troubled member states on best practices in management of public finances for a smooth and extensive integration. This was announced yesterday at a meeting of East African Public Accounts Committee (EAPAC) hosted by Rwanda’s Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee to develop strategic plans to broaden oversight roles in other East African countries.
The committee which was founded in 2005 started with two East African countries, namely Uganda and Tanzania but has since expanded to include Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, South-Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia and East African Legislative Assembly. EAPAC seeks to form African Public Accounts Committee which requires bringing more members on board in the horn and the east and southern parts of Africa before it can merge with bigger blocs like West African PAC and South African Community PAC.
However, there are concerns that some countries in the region whose parliaments are not fully functional and those that are politically troubled might drag the rest of the countries whose integration policies are running smoothly. Legislators noted with a particular concern countries like Burundi which is signatory to the EAC protocols but because of the political turmoil, integration has been relatively slow even when there is commitment to form a political federation in the future.
AMISOM To Build Community Hospital In Eel-Jaalle Village in Marka, Lower Shabelle Region
09 May- Source: AMISOM – 311 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is undertaking a feasibility study in Eel-Jaalle village in the coastal town of Marka, Lower Shabelle region, for the construction of a proposed community-based hospital. The Level II hospital will be constructed by AMISOM in partnership with the Italian government through the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF), under the Quick Impact Projects programme.
When complete, the hospital will serve approximately 773 families who are in dire need of medical services. It will also ease the pressure from military doctors from AMISOM who had to step in and provide medical services to residents of Eel-Jaalle. AMISOM has implemented similar projects in Beletweyne and Barawe.
A delegation of senior officials from AMISOM Mission Headquarters accompanied by their counterparts from AMREF toured the site where the hospital will be built. “Hopefully we should be able to embark on the project in three months time,” confirmed Dr. Opiyo Ododa, AMISOM’s Head of Stabilization and Early Recovery. Locals have donated the land where the hospital will be built.
“Thank for coming and giving hope to the people of Eel-Jaalle. The provision of medical services has been one of the biggest challenges here and the construction of the hospital will go a long way in solving this problem,”said the Governor of Lower Shabelle Mr. Ibrahim Aden Ali. The residents thanked AMISOM for the assistance, but pleaded for more. “We do not have a health facility or a good school. Sanitation is poor and we do not even have a market. We need support in many things. It is good that AMISOM has promised to build us a hospital,” said a grateful of Chief Eel-Jaalle village Mr. Yusuf Osman Ali.
Present, was Col. Peter Omola, the Commander of the Ugandan battle group XVI who briefed the team on the security situation in Eel-Jaalle and the challenges the community is facing.
Somalia Security Forces Arrest 2 Al-Shabaab Militants
09 May- Source: Xinhua- 183 Words
Somalia security forces on Monday arrested two Al-Shabaab suspects during an operation in the capital, Mogadishu. Spokesman of local government, Abdifitah Omar Halane said the security agencies launched manhunt for suspects behind the killing of two people on board in Hama-Jejeb district in Mogadishu and arrested the two suspects.
“The security forces conducted successful operation in Hamar-Jejeb district on Monday where they held two Al-Shabaab suspects,” Halane said by telephone. “We believe the suspects killed two men on a three-wheel motorbike in the district this morning, but the security forces pursued them and found them immediately,” he added. He said the two suspects in custody would be arraigned in court soon.
The incident comes after Al-Shabaab militants carried out a deadly attack at the main headquarters of Somali traffic police in Shangani district early on Monday where over three people including two police officers were killed and eight others injured, according to officials. Such incidents come as forces from the African Union Peacekeeping Mission and Somalia National Army have stepped up their military operations against the insurgents in the Horn of Africa nation.
Closing Refugee Camps Is Escapist, Says ODM
09 May- Source: The Star- 286 Words
ODM yesterday warned the government against closing refugee camps and sending back more than 400,000 refugees. In a statement, the party termed the threats juvenile and escapist. It said the move cannot be “morally, politically or economically right”. The party said closing the camps “does not make any sense, as it does not help solve the underlying causes”. The statement signed by ODM director of elections Junet Mohammed said closing the camps is likely to put thousands of innocent lives at risk.
On Friday, Interior PS Karanja Kibicho said the camps in northern Kenya are being shut because of threats posed by al Shabaab and other terror groups. Junet said the rise of violent extremism and radicalisation is largely because of dwindling opportunities arising from poverty, unemployment, conflicts and other social ills.
“There is no evidence whatsoever that the extremists emerge from refugee camps. There are no refugee camps in France, Belgium or the US, where terror attacks have happened,” he said. The MP said Jubilee must not alienate Kenya from the international community, which is struggling to accommodate refugees.
U.N. Concerned By Kenyan Threat To Close Refugee Camps
09 May – Source: Reuters – 302 Words
The U.N. refugee agency on Monday called on Kenya to reconsider its plans to close camps that host Somali and South Sudanese refugees and that the government has long said pose a security threat.
Kenya’s Interior Ministry said on Friday it aimed to close in the “shortest time possible” the sprawling Dadaab camp, home to 350,000 mostly Somalis, and Kakuma camp, which has expanded during more than two years of conflict in nearby South Sudan.
Kenya has made similar remarks before, even setting a three-month deadline last year for Dadaab to be closed, although it has backed away from such threats. The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement it viewed with “profound concern” the latest Kenyan government comments. “UNHCR is calling on the government of Kenya to reconsider its decision and to avoid taking any action that might be at odds with its international obligations,” it said.
In Friday’s comments, the Interior Ministry said hosting refugees posed “immense security challenges”, particularly from Somali Islamist group al Shabaab, which has killed hundreds of Kenyans in attacks during the past three years or so. UNHCR said in January it was planning for as many as 50,000 Somalis to return to Somalia in 2016 under a voluntary repatriation programme, although it said that number might not be met given the challenges returnees still face.
Although neighbouring Somalia is making a slow recovery from more than two decades of conflict and chaos, the government is still fighting an al Shabaab insurgency and many basic services are lacking, such as proper schooling and adequate shelter. South Sudan’s political leaders have also been patching up differences, but the peace process has proved fragile and the U.N. World Food Programme has said up to 5.3 million people may face severe food shortages during this year’s lean season.
Somali Community Remembers Youth Activist
09 May – Source: MPR- 237 Words
Members of the Somali community are remembering a community activist who died over the weekend after a years-long battle with cancer. Abia Ali was known for her humanitarian work and her work with young people in the Somali community. In 2008, she received an award from the Minneapolis Police Department for her work with youth, at a time when the FBI was investigating whether young Somali men in the Twin Cities were being recruited to fight with the extemist group al-Shabab. She told MPR News in 2009 that she tried to stop young men from traveling to Somalia to fight with al-Shabab, back when she was working at a travel agency.
A few years later, she was diagnosed with cancer. But her friend Zakya Gazey said that didn’t slow her down. “I heard her saying that it actually made her want to do more,” said Gazey. “It inspired her to work harder to strive to help more people.” Saida Hassan was mentored by Ali as a teen, and the two later became good friends.
“This person is so humble,” said Hassan. “Look at her sitting here knowing that she just went through chemo, smiling and laughing with people. That was her.” Ali recently learned that her cancer treatment was no longer effective. She left Minnesota in April to make a pilgrimage to Mecca and to visit family in Somali. She’s survived by her husband and three children.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Kenya has stood on the front-lines of challenging terrorism, upholding humanitarianism, and pursuing global peace and security. We, however, have no grounds to keep compromising the security of our citizens in the face of foot-dragging, double standards and lack of commitment in the rapid resettlement of Somali refugees in their homeland,” writes Dr Karanja Kibicho, Kenya’s Principal Secretary for the Interior, which includes National Security.
As The Kenyan Minister For National Security, Here’s Why I’m Shutting The World’s Biggest Refugee Camp
09 May – Source: The Independent – 829 Words
For reasons of national security, against a pervasive and persistent terrorist threat, Kenya is to close its two largest refugee camps in Dadaab and Kakuma. Between them, they house more than 600,000 refugees. As some of the largest camps in the world, they have acquired iconic status. They represent decades of an open-hearted Kenyan response to those fleeing wars and persecution in our sub-region.
But some of the largest terrorist attacks, such as the 2013 Westgate atrocity, have been planned and executed from Dadaab. The Al Shabaab terrorist group has been able to take advantage of the camps’ overcrowded and under-resourced conditions, and most importantly the limits to policing United Nations run sites, to operate with an alarming degree of freedom. Terrorism has killed hundreds of Kenyans, and injured thousands. It has also led to frequent Western country travel warnings that in their broad – and inaccurate – generalisations have ruined the livelihoods of thousands of families.
The Daadab refugee camp is home to almost half a million Somali refugees who fled their country due to decades of civil war. Since its inception in the 1990s, the camp has been clouded in controversy ranging from smuggling of goods and weapons from the neighbouring Somalia, to harbouring terrorists today. The Kenyan government’s most pressing constitutional and moral responsibility is to ensure the security of its citizens from the risk of violent attack. Our intelligence and security forces have known for a long time that these camps are a dire threat to our people’s security.
This is not a decision without controversy and pain. Kenya, after all, has been a proud contributor to regional peace and security. In the Good Country Index, which measures what each country on earth contributes to the common good of humanity, Kenya is ranked 26th. It is 20th in contributing to international peace and security.