November 24, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali PM Makes Minor Cabinet Reshuffle, Two Ministers Replaced
24 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 186 Words
Somalia’s Prime Minister replaced two ministers in a mini Cabinet reshuffle that government officials say precedes an upcoming major shakeup in the Cabinet. In a statement issued lateMonday, Mr Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke fired Abdirahman Abdi Osman, the Trade and Industry Minister and replaced him with Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed. The PM also appointed Mohamed Mursal as Electricity and Water minister, replacing Mohamed Hassan Aden who has held the position since early this year.
The reasons behind the dismissal of ministers have not been specified, much as the Premier is largely expected to carry out a major reshuffle in his Cabinet in the few coming days. In the meantime, political analysts observe that Mr. Sharmarke is trying to experiment with the idea of having few ministers in government following criticism over the economic viability of maintaining a large Cabinet. The Somali government is struggling to contain a deadly insurgency from the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab.
Key Headlines
- Somali PM Makes Minor Cabinet Reshuffle Two Ministers Replaced (Hiiraan Online)
- We Are Committed To Entrenching Political Party System In Somalia Interior Minister Says (Goobjoog News)
- Kahda District Upgrades 2km Road In The District (Goobjoog News)
- Consultative Forum Report Indicates Puntland Favors Geographical Representation Model In 2016 Elections (Villa Puntland)
- Sweden Responds Early To Save Lives In The Somali Region Of Ethiopia (WFP)
- Galmudug Regional Assembly Members Undergo Training On Parliamentary Functions (AMISOM)
- Recent Floods Damage Supply Routes Vital Infrastructure In Somalia UN Relief Wing Warns (UN News Centre)
- Al-Shabaab Wants IS To Back Off In East Africa (BBC)
NATIONAL MEDIA
We Are Committed To Entrenching Political Party System In Somalia, Interior Minister Says
24 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 189 Words
Interior and Federal Affairs Minister Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein has said his ministry is committed to strengthening the political party system in the country through necessary legislation. The Minister who spoke following the completion of a two day consultative process on the draft law on political parties said his ministry was committed to expedite the process of adopting a political parties law. “This legislation is critical for Somalia’s democratization and political process. It must enable an inclusive, accountable multiparty system to emerge; ones that are based on ideas promoting constructive policies that further good governance, accountability, transparency and human rights,” said Hussein.
The two day regional consultation brought together more than 200 delegates from the civil society, representatives of emerging political parties, regional administrations, members of the Federal Parliament and Federal Cabinet Ministers. The participants highlighted the need to harmonize the draft legislation with the other important electoral related legislations and legal framework to enhance the country’s overall democratization and political process. They called for the finalisation of the draft law to take into account the ongoing constitutional review process. The cabinet will then submit the bill to parliament for debate.
Kahda District Upgrades 2km Road In The District
24 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 108 Words
The Administration of Kahda has commenced the construction work of a road that runs through the district. Speaking to Goobjoog News, Kahda District Commissioner, Abdikamil Shukri Mohamed said that the road will be 2km long and would be vital for the movement of the transport in the district. He commended the citizens for the voluntarily reconstruction of the road and called upon the public to continue same spirit with the developmental projects they commenced in district. The Federal Government of Somalia normally encourages the public to take part in common good projects in the country including refurbishment of old government institutions, roads, and cleaning of garbage for the public interest.
Consultative Forum Report Indicates Puntland Favors Geographical Representation Model In 2016 Elections
23 November – Source: Villa Puntland – 200 Words
The Government of Puntland wants the 2016 elections to be held based on geographical representation model, Villa Puntland Agency has reliably established. According to a report released on Sunday by the Puntland Task Force for the National Consultative forum for the National Election process 2016, delegates were in favor of this model rather than the much hyped clan representation – or the so-called 4.5 system. The forum, which was held between November 16th and 17th 2015 was attended by up to 600 delegates from Garowe, Bosaso, Galkayo, Badhan, Qardho and Tukaraq who unanimously resolved that the National Parliamentary elections be held in accordance with geographical representation.
Four electoral models were suggested by the Somalia National Consultative Leadership Forum (SNCLF). The four electoral models are Political Party representation, Regional State (Federal Member State) representation, District representation, and Clan representation. Delegates agreed it would be retrogressive to go for the clan representation model famously known as 4.5, which they said was not only unconstitutional but an obstacle to the democratization of the governance institutions and structures of Somalia. They added the tribal model was against the principle of equality among Somalis and that it fosters injustice, corruption, insecurity and disintegration of the Republic of Somalia.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Sweden Responds Early To Save Lives In The Somali Region Of Ethiopia
24 November – Source: WFP – 434 Words
The contribution from the Swedish International Development Agency, or Sida, is one of the first international responses to the crisis amidst rising food needs across the country and increased efforts to support the Government of Ethiopia in the response. Intense drought caused a dramatic increase in the number of people in need of relief assistance – from 2.5 million people at the beginning of the year to 8.2 million in October – which in turn led to a serious funding gap for WFP in Ethiopia. The agency was concerned that it would have to stop relief distributions entirely at the end of November. But Sweden’s generous and timely contribution is allowing the November distributions to go ahead as planned, providing a vital lifeline to drought-affected people in the Somali region.
“We know how important it is to act quickly and early to save lives in these types of crises. Paying early will mean saving later. Ethiopia finds itself in an extraordinarily dire situation with increasing numbers of people needing food assistance. We are happy that the joint and intensive collaboration between the Embassy, Sida HQ and WFP have now materialized in this contribution. One important key factor has been that the Africa Department in Sida HQ realized the need for flexibility and could reallocate development funds for humanitarian needs,” said Anneka Knutsson, Head of Development Cooperation and Deputy Head of the Embassy of Sweden.
Galmudug Regional Assembly Members Undergo Training On Parliamentary Functions
24 November – Source: AMISOM – 678 Words
Regional Assembly lawmakers are undergoing intensive training on the functions of parliament. Galmudug Regional Assembly members are the first group of lawmakers to undergo the first of a series of capacity building workshops, on rules and procedures of parliament, law-making, legislative processes, parliamentary ethics and the role of parliamentary committees among others. The purpose and objectives of the training, organized by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), is to educate the new members of Assembly about the role and functions of parliament, to enable them discharge their constitutional mandate effectively.
“Galmudug state is a young state and parliament is still very new but they are already doing a very good job right now because they are trying to learn everything as parliamentarians. Some of the things they learned today are how to behave, how to make decisions, how to prepare oneself, how to deal with a journalist who asks tough questions and the nature of journalism in Somalia. They also learned how to handle messages and the best media available for a particular message,”said Major General Fidza Dludlu, the Acting AMISOM Head of Mission.
At the end of the five-day training, the new members of Assembly are expected to have a deeper understanding of the general role of parliament, representation, law-making and oversight; the Somalia provisional constitution and the existing legal system; the principle of separation of powers and the concept of checks and balances of powers; understand the workings of parliamentary secretariat and administrative structure of parliament and parliamentary practice and procedure.
Recent Floods Damage Supply Routes, Vital Infrastructure In Somalia, UN Relief Wing Warns
24 November – Source: UN News Centre – 306 Words
The floods caused by recent heavy rainfalls in South Central Somalia have led to an interruption of humanitarian aid delivery, an escalation of local commodity prices, and an epidemic in water-borne diseases, the United Nations relief wing has warned in the latest situation update on the country. “There is need to urgently repair main lifeline roads, bridges and airstrips. This will ensure supplies can reach the markets to stabilize the escalating food prices and enable humanitarian partners and aid supplies to reach those most in need of assistance,” stressed the latest humanitarian update issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which warns that even as the rains have slowed, the risk of flooding remains high.
Despite the worsening road situation, OCHA and relief partners are ramping up efforts to reach people in the flood-hit areas. For example, emergency relief and food such as high energy biscuits and cooked meals are being delivered to those displaced in South Central Somalia. Moreover, water-borne diseases, such as Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) and cholera, have spiked in more than 2/3 of the South Central regions as a result of current rains and flash floods. Chlorine and hygiene kits, as well as essential drugs are either already distributed or being delivered to the outbreak-affected communities. Some water wells in affected locations will also be chlorinated for disinfection, according to OCHA.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“IS advocates global expansion and domination, an ideology that does not sit well with Al-Shabaab leaders, who would rather focus on matters closer to home. While the group is happy to take on foreign fighters who serve their own purpose, the idea of taking orders from leaders outside Somalia is not something the Al-Shabaab hierarchy is keen on.”
Al-Shabaab Wants IS To Back Off In East Africa
24 November – Source: BBC – 745 Words
Somalia’s militant Islamist movement Al-Shabaab is battling to keep the loyalty of its fighters, as the Islamic State (IS) group tries to gain a foothold in East Africa. IS achieved a major boost in March this year when it won the loyalty of the main jihadi group in West Africa – Boko Haram, which is based in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous state. But East Africa – which has a longer history of militant Islamist activity – has so far remained out of its grasp, mainly because of the Al-Shabaab leadership’s loyalty to al-Qaeda.
However, some cracks may be starting to appear in that unified position. Last month Sheikh Abdulqadir Mumi, a prominent former “spiritual leader” and recruiter for Al-Shabaab, declared allegiance to IS from his base in the remote Galgala Mountains, in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, located in north-eastern Somalia. The move may turn out to be largely symbolic, given that reports indicate only 20 of Mumi’s estimated 300 followers opted to switch sides, but it has at least given IS its first official outpost in East Africa.
For al-Qaeda, East Africa has always been a key frontier of jihad. Its most notorious attack, before it brought down the New York Twin Towers in 2011, was the simultaneous bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, which left more than 200 people dead. With al-Qaeda significantly weakened since the death of Osama Bin Laden, it has relied on Al-Shabaab to salvage its credibility in global jihadi circles.
TOP TWEETS
@hiiraan: #Ban appoints veteran #British #politicalpeacebuilding adviser to head UN assistance mission in#Somalia
http://www.hiiraan.com/news4/
@HassanIstiila: #Somalia Former envoy to #Ankara Mohamed Mursal Sheikh appointed #Minister for the Water and Energy.#Congratulation
@Mubarak_A_Salah: Activists protest at International Conference on Somalia #somalia #telesur http://youtu.be/f-5rcvyfJBo
@Villapuntland: http://www.villapuntland.com/?
@Hakiimov: UK to invest £85m in #BBCWorld Service. Some of the money will be allocated to a dedicated TV output for#Somalia http://www.independent.co.uk/
@DrumChronicles: #Somalia pirates seize #Thailand and #Iranfishing vessels, no word yet on ransom demands
@ccasomalia: #Somalia SPORTS FOR PEACE: CCA organized sports tournament for peace and integration in Mogadishu Shangani district.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Galmudug Regional Assembly members undergoing a training on parliamentary function.
Photo: AMISOM