May 9, 2016 | Morning Headlines
ICAO HANDS OVER AIRSPACE CONTROL EQUIPMENT TO SOMALIA
08 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 202 Words
Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya Gamal Mohamed Hassan on Sunday delivered the Somalia’s air space control equipment which has been under the UN control for the past two decades. The delivery of the equipment, Gamal said was a milestone for Somalia as it prepares to fully control its own airspace which has to date been under the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO in Nairobi since the collapse of the central government in 1991.
“This consignment is a turning point for Somalia’s airspace. We can now control our own airspace which ICAO has had mandate over for the last two decades” said Gamal. The ambassador had told ICAO in February that Somalia was now ready to control its airspace. It was after the collapse of the central government in 1991 that the United Nations Development Program and the International Civil Aviation Organization established the Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority for Somalia (CACAS).
CACAS later changed name its name to Flight Information Services for Somalia (FISS) after its mandate expired in 2012 following the formation of the Federal Government in Somalia. Somalia airspace generates an average of $7 million annually.
Key Headlines
- ICAO Hands Over Airspace Control Equipment To Somalia
- Markets Closed As Inflation Soars In Puntland (Hiiraan Online)
- Government To Adopt Integrated Finance To Curb Graft And Enhance Efficiency Finance Minister Says(Goobjoog News)
- Djibouti President Sworn In For Fourth Term In Office (Hiiraan Online)
- Turkey Sends Aid Ship To Somalia (Anadolu Agency)
- Somali Migrants Protest Video Posted By Swedish Parliament Member (Voice of America)
- U.S.-Funded Somali Intelligence Agency Has Been Using Kids As Spies (Washington Post)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Markets Closed As Inflation Soars In Puntland
08 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 234 Words
Hundreds of small scale traders have closed their businesses in Puntland due to a protest against the crippling economic effects by the recent importation of a new currency which saw the Somali shilling stumbled against the US dollar. The striking traders in Garowe, the provincial capital of the north-eastern Somalia region have complained of the galloping inflation which they said left their businesses struggling, thanks to the decline in sales of commodities in the volatile economic situation.
Markets largely remained closed on Saturday, with striking traders expressing concerns over the future of their businesses. Local officials said that the new inflation drove food prices to the highest levels recorded in years, adding pressure to lives of many in the impoverished horn of Africa nation. Puntland officials haven’t yet commented on the development which left many poor families struggling to survive. However, traders called on the regional authorities to take an immediate action to stimulate the region’s economic crisis.
Government To Adopt Integrated Finance To Curb Graft And Enhance Efficiency, Finance Minister Says
08 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 351 Words
Key government departments notably the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and the Mogadishu air and sea port will soon be interconnected through the Financial Management Information System, FMIS aim is to promote efficiency and curb graft. The move which is part of the government’s efforts towards standardizing practices and effective financial management in line with the country’s National Plan and IMF regulations will be rolled out soon.
Speaking while handing over equipment to various departments on Sunday, Finance Minister Adan Ibrahim Fargeti noted the equipment will be instrumental in data capturing and ease daily operations in the government. “We distributed this equipment to 57 departments today. The equipment will be used to record data, ensure prudent fiscal management and enhance workflow. We will now be able to get real time information whether it is monthly reports or every three months,” said Fargeti.
The International Monetary Fund, IMF April said it had reached a Staff Monitoring Program agreement with the Federal Government of Somalia which is a significant milestone for Somalia, marking the move toward normalizing relations with International Financial Institutions. The program will focus on policies to improve governance and fiscal management, strengthen institutions, foster financial sector development, and fill considerable data gaps. Technical assistance and capacity building will be an integral part of the program.
The programme is supposed to kick-off this month and is expected to run for the next 12 months. IMF said July last year Somalia was not yet eligible for credit from international financial institutions pending clearance of the country’s arrears of about $328 million. But IMF mission chief Rogerio Zandamela noted that the fund “could advise the authorities on appropriate macroeconomic policies, including in the context of a staff monitored program, which is a “shadow program” involving a dialogue with the IMF on economic policies but which offers no financing.” Clearing the country’s arrears requires the authorities to develop a track record of performance, and that is usually done through such a program. This would pave the way for Somalia, in due course, to obtain debt relief, said Zandamela.
Djibouti President Sworn In For Fourth Term In Office
08 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 115 Words
Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh was sworn in for a fourth term in office Sunday in a ceremony attended by several regional heads of states and dignitaries. Guelleh took the oath of office at his presidential residence in the capital, Djibouti City. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn were among those in attendance. Opposition groups had complained of curbs on freedom of assembly before the vote, while rights groups have denounced political repression and crackdowns on basic freedoms. Guelleh won his last election in 2011 with 80 percent of the vote.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Turkey Sends Aid Ship To Somalia
08 May – Source: Anadolu Agency – 86 Words
Turkey sent 11,000 tons of aid to Somalia on Sunday, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said. Chairman Fuat Oktay said the shipment left Istanbul’s Haydarpasa Port on Mother’s Day. “We have been helping Somalia for five years and the ship will be delivered within 15 days,” he said. “To the many good Somali mothers go our thanks.” Turkey has provided $500 million worth of aid to Somalia, which is becoming more stable but is still largely underdeveloped and faces ongoing violence from Al-Shabaab.
Somali Migrants Protest Video Posted By Swedish Parliament Member
08 May – Source: Voice of America – 177 Words
Nearly 200 Somali migrants protested Saturday after what they said was a racist video posted to the social media account of a member of Sweden’s parliament.The protest in Orebro was in response to Left Party member Amineh Kakabaveh who allegedly posted a video to her Facebook page on April 24. The video allegedly included images of Somalies and used language that described them as social misfits and people with lower IQs.
Kakabaveh immediately removed the video last week. In an interview with a local Swedish newspaper, she apologized for posting the video clip. Ahmed Abdullahi Kaboole, a protest organizer, told VOA Somali the demonstrators oppose racism. “We came out to show our feelings, and how were are disgruntled with the recent racist comments from Kakabaveh,” Kaboole said. He said they were also demanding that she resign over the incident. “Somalis, other migrants and Muslims are facing their worst-ever racial discrimination,” he added. However, Kaboole said there are “good Swedish people who are supporting us in our struggle to stand against the violations against our rights.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
U.S.-Funded Somali Intelligence Agency Has Been Using Kids As Spies
09 May – Source: The Washington Post – 2,481Words
“They took me sometimes in a car and sometimes on foot and said, ‘Tell us who is Al-Shabaab,’ ” recalled one 15-year-old who said he was held by the intelligence agency. “It’s scary because you know everyone can see you working with them.”
For years they were children at war, boys given rifles and training by al-Qaeda-backed militants and sent to the front lines of this country’s bloody conflict. Many had been kidnapped from schools and soccer fields and forced to fight. The United Nations pleaded for them to be removed from the battlefield. The United States denounced the Islamist militants for using children to plant bombs and carry out assassinations.
But when the boys were finally disarmed — some defecting and others apprehended — what awaited them was yet another dangerous role in the war. This time, the children say, they were forced to work for the Somali government. The boys were used for years as informants by the country’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), according to interviews with the children and Somali and U.N. officials. They were marched through neighborhoods where Al-Shabaab insurgents were hiding and told to point out their former comrades.
The faces of intelligence agents were covered, but the boys — some as young as 10 — were rarely concealed, according to the children. Several of them were killed. One tried to hang himself while in custody. The Somali agency’s widespread use of child informants, which has not been previously documented, appears to be a flagrant violation of international law. It raises difficult questions for the U.S. government, which for years has provided substantial funding and training to the Somali agency through the CIA, according to current and former U.S. officials.
A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the issue. But in the past the U.S. government has supported Somali security institutions — despite well-known human rights violations — citing the urgent need to combat terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab. The child informants were used to collect intelligence or identify suspects in some of the world’s most dangerous neighborhoods, according to their accounts.The child informants were used to collect intelligence or identify suspects in some of the world’s most dangerous neighborhoods, according to their accounts.