May 16, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somalia: More than 90 MPs table a motion against cabinet
16 May – Source: Raxanreeb/Hiiraan Online – 186 words
At least 97 Members of Somali Federal Parliament have tabled the first motion against the cabinet on Wednesday calling for the vote of no confidence, RBC Radio reports. The Deputy Speaker of Somalia Federal Parliament, Mahad Cawad Cabdalla who read the motion from the MPs said that the legislators who brought the motion followed the right path to table such motion and that the chair of the parliament accepted it.
“So according to article 75th of the constitution, the parliament will hold a session about the motion within five days from the day of the submission.” The deputy speaker of the parliament said in Wednesday’s parliament gathering in Mogadishu.
MP Abdirashid Xiddig who was one of the legislators tabled the motion said they were expecting the prime minister and his cabinet to come to the parliament in the coming week to ask for the vote of confidence.”
Key Headlines
- Somalia: More than 90 MPs table a motion against cabinet (Raxanreeb/Hiiraan Online)
- People displaced by floods in Jowhar return to their homes (Radio Ergo)
- Barre Hirale claims Jubbaland presidency (Bar-kulan/Shabelle/VOA Somali Service)
- Minn. Women to be sentenced in Somali terror case (AP)
- EU to step up security involvement in Somalia (New Vision)
- Puntland Congratulates Jubaland People and the New President-elect (Horseed Media/Bar-kulan)
- Former Islamist warlord elected president of Somali region (Reuters/AFP)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somalia: More than 90 MPs table a motion against cabinet
16 May – Source: Raxanreeb/Hiiraan Online – 186 words
At least 97 Members of Somali Federal Parliament have tabled the first motion against the cabinet on Wednesday calling for the vote of no confidence, RBC Radio reports. The Deputy Speaker of Somalia Federal Parliament, Mahad Cawad Cabdalla who read the motion from the MPs said that the legislators who brought the motion followed the right path to table such motion and that the chair of the parliament accepted it.
“So according to article 75th of the constitution, the parliament will hold a session about the motion within five days from the day of the submission.” The deputy speaker of the parliament said in Wednesday’s parliament gathering in Mogadishu.
MP Abdirashid Xiddig who was one of the legislators tabled the motion said they were expecting the prime minister and his cabinet to come to the parliament in the coming week to ask for the vote of confidence.”
People displaced by floods in Jowhar return to their homes
16 May – Source: Radio Ergo – 223 words
People displaced by the floods along Shabelle River in Jowhar, Middle Shabelle region, are beginning to return to their homes. The local administration assisted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), INTERSOS, SAACID group and Hormud telecommunications company and other local businesses, worked together to drain the Badda As, Horseed, Fanole, Halane neighbourhoods of flood water. Villages of Gashanle and Daymosamo were also cleared.
The regional commissioner of Lower Shabelle, Abdi Jinow Alasow, said they were in the process of establishing the exact number of families that were able to return to their homes. These people had fled their homes to seek shelter in neighbourhoods in the region not affected by the floods. One of them, Mumino Mudey, said they need help in repairing their flood-ruined shelters, and with basic food commodities and mosquito nets.
Dr. Ali Mohamed (Ali Wadad), a doctor in Jowhar town, expressed his dissatisfaction with the way flood water were dealt with, decrying the risk of outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Some 80% of Jowhar town and its neighbouring villages have been affected by floods this April, forcing thousands of families to flee their homes, according to the regional commissioner.
Barre Hirale claims Jubbaland presidency
16 May – Sourcee: Bar-kulan/Shabelle/VOA Somali Service – 173 words
A Somali warlord who spoke to the media on Wednesday night claimed to be the elected president of Jubbaland administration in the next four years term. Speaking to the Somali VOA Service, Barre Aden Shire (Barre Hirale) said that he is aware of the other conference in which Ahmed Mohamed Islam aka Ahmed Madobe was elected as the president of Jubbaland but insisted he is the official and lawful president of the Jubbaland administration.
Barre added that he will launch reconciliation for the Jubbaland people and will closely work with everyone that hails from these regions.
Barre Hirale’s claims as the newly elected president of Jubbaland administration comes hours after Ahmed Madobe, a prominent Ras-Kamboni Brigade leader was declared as the elected president of Jubbaland administration in a landslide election where some 500 delegates from Gedo and Jubba regions gathered.
Armed group robbed civilians at Afgoi corridor
16 May – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 145 words
Civilians traveling in the way between Mogadishu and Afgoye were robbed by unknown armed men who also tortured them. The people,including women who were robbed, told Mustaqbal radio that armed men were dressed in government troops uniform
Three armed men stopped the min-bus and subsequently drove it to the bush where they robbed the passengers. The unknown men then took money and other valuables from the passengers before torturing them, as the victims confirmed to Mustaqbal radio.
Even though the Somali security officials reiterated that they will hunt the robbers and maintain the security of that way, robbery is rampant in the area.
Puntland Congratulates Jubaland People and the New President-elect
15 May – Source: Horseed Media/Bar-kulan – 128 words
The people and Government of Puntland State of Somalia warmly welcome the election of the new President of Jubaland State of Somalia, His Excellency Ahmed Mohamed Islam, who was elected by a majority of community delegates at the Jubaland Constitutional Conference in Kismayo.
Puntland congratulates the people of Jubaland State and the new President Elect, on organizing a community-led consultative conference, adopting a new State Charter, and electing a new President today. Puntland also congratulates the other Presidential Candidates and calls on them to respect the election results.
Puntland reaffirms that the Jubaland State formation process is fully in accordance with the Provisional Federal Constitution (PFC) of Somalia, and Puntland calls upon the Somali Federal Government, IGAD, and the wider international community to recognize and cooperate with Jubaland State.
Prominent Elder killed in Galgadud region
15 May – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 106 words
The finance officer of Ahlu Sunna For Adado District in Galgadud district in Central of Somalia Abdiweli Aden Mohamed told the media that armed group killed a prominent peace-seeker.
The prominent peace-seeker was killed by the unidentified armed men at an area in between Gelinsor and Adaado district. Mohamed said they have sent forces to the place, but there were no people seized for the killing case, he added.
The Ahlu Sunna official confirmed the elder was killed because of revenge. No group yet claimed the responsibility.
Shortage of fresh produce hits Dadaab refugee camps
15 May – Source: Radio Ergo – 281 words
Residents of Dadaab refugee camps are experiencing a shortage of fresh vegetables and other essential produce, as heavy rains have caused flooding across Garissa district and led to price hikes.
Maryan Abdullahi Aden, a vegetable vendor in Hagadera camp, spoke to Radio Ergo’s reproter about the big price changes in the vegetable trade. The price of a kilogram of onions has tripled from KES 40 to KES 120; 1kg of tomatoes has gone up from KES 45 to KES 130, potatoes from KES 30 to KES 40, and a sack of bananas from KES 1,100 to KES 1,500.
“Even the normally daily supply trucks are only coming once or twice a week. Garissa farmers say that their farms were flooded and crops washed away, so the prices went up because of demand. We in the refugee camps can’t afford vegetables at such prices,” Maryan said. Abduqadir Mohamed Ahmed, another vegetable trader in Hagadera, said they received a small amount of produce at extremely high prices, too high for the poor people living in the refugee camps.
Halima Daud, a refugee, said: “For a week now, my family has not eaten any vegetables; we were forced to eat yellow beans instead because we could not afford vegetables.”
REGIONAL MEDIA
EU to step up security involvement in Somalia
16 May – Source: New Vision – 196 words
The European Union is to move military training of Somali soldiers from Uganda to Mogadishu in a show of confidence in Somalia’s growing stability after two decades of turmoil, the EU special envoy to Somalia said on Wednesday.
Western donor countries have been unwilling to deploy soldiers inside the Horn of Africa state, but instead fund the African Union’s AMISOM peacekeeping troops, which have driven Islamist al Shabaab rebels out of Mogadishu and many other strongholds in central and southern Somalia.
The success of Amisom, made up mostly of Uganda, Burundi and Kenya soldiers, has encouraged Western countries to look beyond the scars left by the deaths of U.S. and U.N. soldiers during Somalia’s violent disintegration into civil war in the early 1990s, and increase their engagement.
The EU’s training mission, separate from Amisom, has trained some 3,000 Somali soldiers and officers in Uganda since 2010. Michele Cervone d’Urso, the EU envoy, said having up to 80 European military staff in Mogadishu was a “game changer”. The EU military experts will focus on providing strategic advice to Somali Defence Ministry staff while also teaching Somali trainers, who will then train their own forces.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Minn. Women to be sentenced in Somali terror case
16 May – Source: AP – 138 words
Two Minnesota women convicted of conspiring to send money to the terrorist group al Shabaab in Somalia are to be sentenced in federal court. Amina Farah Ali and Hawa Mohamed Hassan are the last of nine defendants sentenced this week in federal investigations into recruiting and financing for al Shabaab.
Authorities say the women went door-to-door and raised money in the name of charity, but routed funds to al Shabaab. Their attorneys say the women are humanitarians who gave money to orphans and a group working to push foreign troops out of Somalia.
Prosecutors say Ali should get at least 20 years in prison on multiple terror-related counts when sentenced Thursday. They say Hassan should get at least 15 years for one terror-related count and two counts of lying to the FBI.
Former Islamist warlord elected president of Somali region
15 May – Source: Reuters/AFP – 315 words
A former Islamist warlord was declared president of Somalia’s southern region on Wednesday, something likely to upset the government in Mogadishu as it tries to assert its authority.
Although Ahmed Madobe, leader of powerful Ras Kamboni Brigade, fought against the al Qaeda-linked militants that tried to seize control of the country, he is not viewed favourably by the central government.
Hours after the constitutional assembly in the volatile Jubaland region elected Madobe president, a rival warlord who is widely seen to be backed by Mogadishu, Barre Hirale, declared himself to be the president.
Oilmen ready for risky push into Somalia
15 May – Source: UPI – 717 words
Foreign companies are getting ready to undertake the risky business of exploring for oil in war-torn Somalia, a quest that could trigger new conflict as the Western-backed government struggles to stop die-hard Islamist insurgents.
“The world’s leading oil companies are increasingly accepting that their quest for new reserves will take them into challenging new territory,” the Financial Times observed this week.
“In regions such as the arctic, the problems are technical. Around the Horn of Africa, companies must calculate whether political and security risks will put too heavy a burden on their production costs.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“What’s behind the recent decline in maritime piracy attacks off the Horn of Africa? Sonia Rothwell believes that military operations on land and at sea are starting to have the desired effect, as are more controversial measures developed by private companies.”
Somali Piracy: Gone for Good?
16 May – Source: ISN – 1490 Words
Following its peak between 2005 and 2011, maritime piracy off the Horn of Africa now appears to be abating. The efforts of 40 countries, numerous coalitions and the controversial adoption by some ships of armed guards have contributed to the gradual decrease of both successful and attempted hijackings. But this suggests a far simpler solution to the threat than is the reality. What, for example, are the reasons behind the fall? And with the rise in instances of piracy and robbery in the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa, has the threat simply moved elsewhere?
Money to be Made
Despite the fact that piracy around the Horn of Africa comprises one of the world’s busiest trade routes, the Gulf of Aden, very few studies have attempted to estimate its impact on the global economy. A recently-released report by the World Bank seeks to change that. According to its figures, Somali piracy cost the global economy an estimated $18bn for the year 2010. The report also notes “that piracy imposes a distortion on trade that has a high absolute cost.
When the shortest shipping route between two countries is through piracy-infected waters, the additional cost of trade between them is equivalent to an increase of 0.75 to 1.49 percentage points (with a mean estimate of about 1.1) in total ad valorem trade costs.”
But for a poor region largely devoid of structure beyond clan networks, jobs and steady income, the business model for piracy is an attractive one. Somali pirate attacks are long-term investments in that the crews and their backers are prepared to hold out for many months for ransom demands to be met. The outlay is relatively inexpensive at around $80,000 but the ransoms can be lucrative (although payments to financial backers and to communities who tolerate pirate activity can significantly eat into profits, meaning the pirate foot-soldiers may not actually make much money from the risks they take). From such a simple premise, much money has been made. Again, the recent World Bank report estimates that the average ransom in 2011 and 2012 was $4.9m.
“Somali women parliamentarians today, and hopefully more so in the future, have an opportunity to guide the country towards a right and just direction that will benefit all citizens; a direction that will not be buckled down with tired cultural segregation and subordination.”
Somali women parliamentarians: the predicament of finding a voice
15 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1726 Words
Parliamentary democracy is described as a political system based on the idea that parliament is supreme or “sovereign”. This means that parliamentary democracy is one in which the people choose representatives at regular elections and are responsible for the following: the formation of government, the passage of legislation by majority vote of the parliament, the scrutiny and monitoring of the executive government and the public service and other authorities and institutions created by parliament. Most importantly, this scrutiny extends to monitoring the expenditure of public money.
The general belief is that Somalia has never had a free parliamentarian election; in fact Somalia did have its first and the last civilian parliamentary public election in 1960 following the country’s independence. Somali Youth League (SYL) won the majority of the seats by 69 of the 123 seats.
Inaugurated in August 2012, the Federal Parliament of Somalia and in particular its Lower House composed of 275 clan-based representatives included only fourteen percent (14%) female parliamentarians ended the Transitional Road Map. In September, the same year, Parliament elected a new President of Somalia and adopted the Somali Provisional Constitution. On October 2012, the President nominated the new Prime Minister and in November 2012, Parliament formally endorsed the Council of Ministers as selected by the Prime Minister.
Understandably the country has undertaken a historical process of change and has moved forward towards peace and stability after decades of violent conflict that ravaged the country and resulted in widespread suffering to its people. Rebuilding Somalia’s withered institutions with a stable government and a parliament representing the will of its citizens will take a lot more effort and strength, and it is the key to building the country into a peaceful and prosperous nation.
“The 15th May was the sole day of our fathers of independence in the whole year and I am really disappointed by the behaviour of our leaders who are messing around with something else and forgetting the importance of this day”.
Fathers of independence forgotten in Somalia
15 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 885 Words
The subdivision of what was once called as ‘the great Somalia’ or SOOMAALI WEYN, which has now descended into small clan-based semiautonomous states, is mainly attributed to the loss of the memorial services that Somali people used to observe each year with the arrival of the Somali youth day the 15th May which was on Wednesday not remembered as used to be, although small congregations have been observed in some places, but that doesn’t really match how to commemorate such prestigious day.
To the record of my remembrance for the past 16 years I have been a mature, Somali people across the country or elsewhere around the world used to share ideas and suggestions on how to make pre-arrival preparations for the memorial services of the day which used to be held in and outside the country.
That was always taking place even at least two or three months, before the arrival of 15th May, the foundation day of Somali Youth council SYC in 143, which later changed into Somali Youth League SYL. But no colourful events have been seen this year, whilst no one can predict what has been wrong with the millions of Somalis around the globe.
Top tweets
@OCHASom Humanitarian Coordinator for #Somalia updates us on the current humanitarian situation in Somalia http://youtu.be/HaCBI7gbN-A #UNLazzarini.
@viewstatus WHO launched Alert and an investigation of the detection of a wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in #Mogadishu http://www.who.int/csr/don/
@UKinNZ Miohamud Mohamed, Somali Community Wellington, comments on the Somali Confernce held in London http://ow.ly/l4x2i #Somalia.
@HodanLioness Happy 70th anniversary to one of the most prominent and awe-inspiring political party in #Somalia: the Somali Youth League (SYL).
@Draz_DJ Lovely day in #Mogadishu, #Somalia! Hopefully soon enough this will be a common sight along these gorgeous beeches pic.twitter.com/rAJYjogh8k.
Image of the day
Somalia’s Defense Minister Abdihakin Haji Fiqi pins an accolade onto Commander for European Union Training Mission in Somalia, Brig Gen Gerald Aherne during a welcoming ceremony for the mission in Mogadishu on 15 May, 2013. Photo: EEAS Flickr.