October 19, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report.
President Farmaajo Appeals The Cabinet To Approve Election Laws
18 October – Source: 252Politics – 173 Words
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has called upon the cabinet to speed up the approval of the election laws, which is still pending. Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting on Thursday, chaired by the President for the first time since his election last year, His Excellency requested the cabinet members to pass the election laws in the next weekly meeting, after which it will be submitted to the parliament for final approval.
“I want to request you to approve the elections laws in the next weekly cabinet meeting to achieve our plan for the next elections in 2020,” he said.” We don’t want to waste any more time so that the parliament approves it before the end of the year, ” he added.
Meanwhile some of the opposition political parties in the country said that they are still concerned how swift the president is speeding up the election laws approval without any consultations with members of the opposition parties. Constitutional review, federalism and 2020 election process were among the top agenda of the cabinet’s meeting.
Key Headlines
- President Farmaajo Appeals The Cabinet To Approve Election Laws (252Politics)
- Banadir Businesses Discontinue Financing Mogadishu Roads Construction Project (Jowhar News)
- Deadly Strike Kills 3 People Near Kismayo (Caasimada Online)
- KQ Eyes Direct Flights To Somalia (The Star)
- Somalia Humanitarian Fund Transforms Children’s Lives (OCHA)
- I forgave My Mother For My FGM – But I Want To Stop The Practice (The Telegraph)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Banadir Businesses Discontinue Financing Mogadishu Roads Construction Project
19 October – Source: Jowhar News – 133 Words
Banadir business community announced they have discontinued financing the Mogadishu road construction project citing corruption charges. They made the announcement following their meeting in the capital on Thursday. Their gathering followed the resignation of the chairman of the committee tasked with running the roads rebuilding project, Abdullahi Nur Aw Dini.
Speaking at the meeting, Aw Dini said he stepped down following constant interferences from the Chairman of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industrialization, whom he accused of making at least three corruption attempts such as seeking to change the bank accounts of the project.
He called on the city’s business community to avoid funding the project until trustworthy individuals are appointed for the committee. Local businesspeople have in the past four years hugely contributed to the reconstruction of roads in the capital.
Deadly Strike Kills 3 People Near Kismayo
19 October – Source: Caasimada Online – 209 Words
At least three people have been killed and another one injured in an airstrike carried out near the coastal town, some 500 kilometers south of Somali capital Mogadishu. The strike against Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab group, was conducted in Bulo-Haji area near the town, killing at least 3 children, a witness, who asked to be anonymous, said. He says a victim was taken to hospital.
It is unclear, who carried out the airstrike in south of Somalia, but US military often carries out drone strike against Al-Shabaab in south and central Somalia. The latest airstrike was carried out last week near Harardhere town, killing 60 militants, according to the U.S. Africa Command. The strike becomes such U.S. deadliest strike since one on Nov. 21, 2017, killed about 100 Al-Shabaab fighters.
The U.S. military has carried out at least 27 airstrikes, including drone strikes, this year against the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab that killed 160 Islamist fighters in Somalia. The Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab was pushed out of the Somali capital in 2011 — and subsequently other towns and cities — by soldiers from the African Union Mission in Somalia. The group is fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government of Somalia, but has also carried out attacks in neighboring Kenya.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
KQ Eyes Direct Flights To Somalia
19 October – Source: The Star – 489 Words
Kenya Airways is planning direct flights to Somalia’s capital Mogadishu; days after regional rival Ethiopian Airline said it will resume flights to the destination from November 2. Ethiopian Airlines suspended its operations in Somalia following the outbreak of hostilities between the two countries in the late 1970s. Speaking to the Star on phone, Kenya Airways chairperson Michael Joseph said the airline has commenced plans to fly to Mogadishu but declined to give more information. “Yes, we are looking at that possibility. Plans are still at infancy stage. It will require a lot of negotiations and procedures,’’ Joseph said.
A source privy to the talks told the Star that three KQ agents were in Mogadishu assessing the route and are expected back in Nairobi today. The airline currently serves 54 destinations across the globe, 44 of them in Africa. It is expected to commence direct flights to Gabon’s international airport Libreville on October 28. A meeting between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his former Somalia counterpart Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed in March last year saw Kenya end an 11 year flight blackout to and from Mogadishu.
Kenya had in 2006 suspended direct flights to Mogadishu following increased terror threats and attacks by the al-Qaeda linked terror group the Al-shabaab. Planes from Mogadishu had to pass through Wajir International Airport for security checks and screening before proceeding to Nairobi. On Tuesday, Kenya Defence Forces marked seven years since it crossed the border into Southern Somalia in 2011 in pursuit of Al-Shabaab group, which had allegedly kidnapped foreign tourists and aid workers inside Kenya.
Somalia Humanitarian Fund Transforms Children’s Lives
18 October – Source: OCHA – 615 Words
In Somalia, primary school enrollment ratio is among world’s lowest. A stunning 70 per cent school-age children are out of school. That is 3 million of 4.4 million children. The numbers are grimmer in rural areas or IDPs settlements, where only 17 percent of children are enrolled in primary schools. According to the Somalia Education cluster, education gaps and needs are largely a consequence of lack of adequate learning facilities, teachers, basic emergency teaching and learning materials, but also insecurity, lack of food and water and limited sanitation facilities.
In Southwest State of Somalia, a recent assessment has identified learning spaces, limited teachers support, limited learning kits and community education committees (CEC) structures as the most critical needs, and the biggest challenge as Baidoa faces large waves of internal displacement. While the new arrivals have translated into an increasing number of enrollments in school, this in fact this has put further strain on already weak infrastructures and limited resources available to IDPs and host communities.
To address this, the Rural Education and Agriculture Development Organization (READO), with support from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF), has been improving access to education for children in four schools in Baidoa through an integrated and innovative approach. The SHF has allocated USD 483,266 to these projects.
Together with the Ministry of Education, READO has identified four community education facilities – Lowilay, Awdinle, Daryel, and Imamu-Malik community schools in Baidoa rural areas. It has trained members of the 34 CECs from the four targeted community education facilities for a period of 2 days, targeting educators’ skills to enable them to effectively participate in school management, while helping them understand their roles and responsibilities, how to mobilize resources for the schools, ways to increase school enrollment and how to involve the community in actively supporting the schools.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“It is still happening. In the last few months, three girls in Somalia, two were sisters, 10 and 11, died. And it’s the first time doctors have put it out there that there was death because of FGM. There are many more girls dying than that but this prompted worldwide outcry and it’s the first step that doctors were brave enough to admit this.”
I forgave My Mother For My FGM – But I Want To Stop The Practice
18 October – Source: The Telegraph – 1258 Words
When Hibo Wardere was six, she was “cut”. She had been cruelly bullied at school in Somalia by her peers, who called her “dirty” for not having had the procedure. So, she asked her mother if she could be cut in order to fit in. She had no idea that “cutting” was, in fact, female genital mutilation (FGM).
Now 48, and living in Walthamstow, east London, the mother of seven is the author of Cut: One Woman’s Fight Against FGM in Britain Today and an ambassador for SafeHands for Mothers, a charity that raises awareness of issues such as FGM, child marriage, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Hibo’s Story premiered this week in a moving film I had to walk away from – twice. The most traumatic part of it all? Hibo’s mother’s role. Here’s what she had to say about mothers, daughters and FGM.
When she said, “Lift the dress”, I started to whimper. Mum standing there; no eye-contact anymore. She tells my auntie and the other helper “I need you to pull her legs apart”. I screamed so much. The first cut, I thought I was dying. And I remember literally saying ‘Mum!’ There was another cut and another cut. I could see my blood all over.
I was looking at my mum and my screams were getting louder and louder and nobody was listening. It was being butchered by the people you love the most that was the most hurtful thing. I said, “Please God, take me. I can’t take this pain anymore.” I didn’t think my Mum was there anymore. Whoever was standing there was not my mother.
Where we were, at that moment, in Somalia, it was considered to be part of a beautiful thing. It’s considered to be part of the heritage, tradition, culture. If a girl’s not cut she is actually worth nothing at all. If a girl’s not cut she’s deemed to be not a virgin, not clean. But if a girl is cut, she is, economically, worth a lot. And it’s an honour thing. You’re bringing your family an honour of being a girl who’s cut. It comes with a lot of social status – being mutilated.
After becoming a mother myself, I understood the why from her point of view. Until then I had been a very angry human being. “Why did you do it?” I didn’t understand fully until I looked from her perspective – and understood that if she hadn’t cut me there would have been a social death on her.
TOP TWEETS
@DalsanFM: BREAKING Customs authority and police seize and destroy alcohol being smuggled via the #Mogadishu port#Somalia.
@DrBeileh: An honour to have delivered a lecture on Somalia’s fiscal & economic reform successes & challenges@ChathamHouse today. I thank the engaged audience for their contribution & great questions. Somalia has much to be proud of & many challenges still to overcome. We remain hopeful.
@AP_Archive: #OTD In 1977, West German commandos stormed a hijacked Lufthansa jetliner on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, freeing all 86 hostages and killing three of the four hijackers. http://apne.ws/AYCa7tW
@SomaliPM: Under the leadership of @M_Farmaajo was pleased to showcase roadmaps for the 4 central pillars of our governance. Through these ambitious roadmaps we will continue to transform our nation #nabadiyonolol.
@ChumaAeneas: #HappeningToday Had the chance to discuss with IDP elders at Qoloji 1 IDP site, Somali region, #Ethiopiaestablished in 2016 and currently sheltering nearly 70,000 displaced persons who are requesting #SustainableSolutions#LeaveNoOneBehind @SDG2030.
@AbdullahiHamud: It was a pleasure having H.E. Pres@M_Farmaajo chair the weekly Cabinet Meeting in the newly refurbished cabinet meeting room. The President carefully listened to the workload; priorities & most importantly the concrete RoadMaps & plans @SomaliPM & his team had prepared.
@Nigeria2030: #CHAfrica meeting with Minister of Finance for Somalia – @DrBeileh, at the #ChathamHouse now. We are seeking #Somalia’s economic revival… @MofSomalia.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo addressing the weekly cabinet meet yesterday.
Photo: @SomaliPM