NATIONAL MEDIA
22 October – Source: Halbeeg – 121 Words
The leader of Puntland state in northeastern Somalia has appointed five General Directors for five ministries and high authorities in the state. In a statement, President of Puntland State, Said Abdullahi Deni, has appointed Directors for Ministries for Livestock, Fisheries, Planning, and Information. Ahmed Abdalla Mohamed was appointed Director-General for Veterinary while Director-General for the Ministry of Fisheries is Abdirisaq Jama Adan. The leader also selected Sharmarke Hassan Ali to be the Director-General of the Ministry for Planning. Mohamed Isse Osman was selected to be the Director-General of the Ministry for Information. Puntland Highway Authority will be headed Abdikadir Ali Hirsi. According to the statement, the new officials will assume their respective offices in respective to the date of the appointment.
22 October – Source: Goobjoog – 185 Words
Somali-born Canadian MP Ahmed Hussein cruised to victory Monday retaining his seat as MP for Ontario riding of York South—Weston in parliamentary elections in Canada. According to Canadian media, Hussein who ran on a Liberal Party ticket was re-elected MP in the general elections which also saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau return to power. Preliminary results show Liberal Party has so far garnered upwards of 80 parliamentary seats out of the required majority of 170. Hussein has served as Canada’s immigration minister since January 2017, when former Liberal MP John McCallum stepped-down from the role to take on the position of ambassador to China. In his position as Immigration Minister, Hussein was often the spokesperson for the government of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in its fight against anti-immigrant rhetoric and concerns about refugees, especially those who have entered Canada through unofficial border crossings in Quebec and Manitoba since the spring of 2017. Hussein who fled Somalia in the early 1990s and lived in Kenya before proceeding to Canada was elected MP in 2015, becoming the first Canadian of Somali extraction to hold the position.
21 October – Source: MAP – 670 Words
The Media Association of Puntland (MAP), is pleased to announce the launching of the Free Press Unlimited (FPU) supported Puntland Media Gender policy (PMGP). The PMGP policy is the first of its kind in the history of the Somali media fraternity. Held at the PDRC hall on October 20, the conference was participated by Puntland Minister of information, Deputy Minister of Labour, Deputy Minister of Women Development and Family Affairs and the Puntland Media Executives. The PMGP aims to ensure that the Puntland media workforce of both genders are provided with equal opportunities, As a result, the policy hopes to provide an enabling environment for gender sensitivity in and through the Puntland Media. At the inaugural session of the PMGP conference, MAP chair Mohamed Dahir Warsame welcomed the participants and gave a brief on the objectives of PMGP. ”Today is a very important day for MAP, after years of research and advocacy on seeking an enabling environment for Puntland women in the media we are finally introducing a gender policy that will narrow the gender gap in our media. The chair added we call on our media owners and executives to approve and effectively apply in their respective newsrooms” Said the MAP chair
While talking on the conference activities, the chair said, ” Before presenting the PMGP, we will present the Puntland Media Monitoring results and later have discussions on the contents of the PGMP”. The opening remarks of the MAP chair was followed by a keynote speech given by the Honorable Sahra Abdi Hersi, in her speech she noted ”We are here today to ensure this gender policy is approved and effective, we want to see that both female and male journalists have an equal consideration on opportunities including salaries” Said Puntland’s Deputy Minister of Women development and family affairs. The Puntland Minister of Information, Communication, Culture and Heritage the invited chief guest of honour supported the initiative aimed at empowering the women in the media. He also pledged in his capacity to contribute to the promotion of safety and protection of the local journalists. ”After the fall of Somalia, we all know how vital women have been to the society and given them an equal share shouldn’t be a problem. Adding, on the other side I want to take this opportunity to assure Puntland Journalists that in my capacity no journalist will get into trouble as a result of his/her work”……
21 October – Source: Somali Affairs – 341 Words
Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) calls for Puntland authorities to drop charges against former Radio Daljir director, Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed (also known as Tall Man) who appeared at Nugal Regional Court on Monday 21 October 2019. Mr. Tall Man was arrested on Thursday 17 October from his home in Garowe with the orders of Puntland police chief, General Muhidin Ahmed Muse and was held at the police station. According to human rights lawyer, Mustafe Mohamed Jama, the prosecutors brought charges of incitement and public order disturbance against Mr. Tall Man over Radio Daljir’s reports in September of a prisoner allegedly died in the police custody following torture. Mr. Tallman was then director of the Radio Daljir. “The defending lawyers requested additional time to review and prepare their response to the charges brought against Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed (Tall man). The next hearing will resume two days later,” lawyer Mustafe told SJS.
Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) calls authorities in Puntland to immediately drop the criminal charges against Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed (Tall man) and grant his freedom. SJS has learnt that the charges brought against the former radio director were heavily influenced by the police chief who previously ordered his soldiers to raid Radio Daljir in mid-September. “Media practitioners should be able to investigate and report police wrongdoings without fear of reprisals,” Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, the Secretary-General of Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) said. “Instead of genuinely investigating allegations of police brutality, it is unfortunate that authorities in Puntland are responding by seeking to suppress journalism through criminal litigation. This has now become the weapon of choice against truth tellers as Journalism is not a crime.” SJS stands in solidarity with our colleague, the former Radio Daljir director Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed (Tall man)……
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
21 October – Source: VOA – 301 Words
Dire humanitarian conditions continue in Somalia, as the second consecutive season of below-average rain is again threatening food production. Delayed rains during the peak growing season, between April and June, and parched river beds, have produced harvest levels nearly 70 percent below average in some parts of Somalia, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. By December, more than 2 million people are likely to face severe hunger and desperately need emergency food assistance. At the same time, approximately 2.6 million people – or one in five Somalis – are internally displaced, while more than 730,000 are seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.
In response to this pending disaster, the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, announced that the United States has provided nearly 257 million dollars in additional humanitarian assistance in the Fiscal Year 2019 to help the people in Somalia. The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance in Somalia, and this latest announcement brings the total contributed by the American people in Fiscal Year 2019 to nearly 498 million dollars. The assistance will address life-threatening hunger and acute malnutrition and provide safe water, emergency health care, education, and protection to people affected by ongoing conflict and recurrent drought inside Somalia. It will also provide help to Somali refugees in neighbouring countries…….
21 October – Source: OCHA – 814 Words
Situation Overview
The Deyr rains (September-December) started in September in some parts of Somalia and moderate to heavy rains have continued in many parts of the country and within the Ethiopian highlands over the last three weeks, according to the FAOManaged Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM). As a result, in Belet Weyne and Jowhar riverine areas, the Shabelle river levels have surpassed the high risk level of flooding and are just a few centimetres to bank full capacity. By 21 October, the Shabelle river level was at 7.72 meters in Belet Weyne, less than half a meter below the bank full level of 8.30 meters with flooding reported in the town. In response, some residents have already begun relocating to higher ground. In Jowhar, river levels are near bank full, while two major breakages at Maandheere and Dhamasame (Jowhar) have reportedly resulted in flooding. Reports from neighbouring areas in Ethiopia indicate overbank flows from the Shabelle with the flood water expected to reach Somalia in a day or two, thus increasing the risk of flooding in the region. The river levels are very high in Bulo Burto, Mahadey Weyne and all downstream reaches, and a similar trend is expected from upstream. Moderate to heavy rains are projected in the Ethiopian highlands that feed the river this week, and the Shabelle River is expected to rise further, leading to overbank spillage. Along the Juba River basin, water levels are also high, with flooding reported in Doolow, Luuq, and Bardheere. On 21 October, SWALIM issued another alert on possible floods along the Juba river advising communities in these areas, to move to higher grounds. In light of the forecast, flash flooding is also expected in built-up and low lying areas of Bay, Bakool and central regions.
Humanitarian impact and needs
Latest reports received in the evening of 21 October indicate that nearly 40 percent of Belet Weyne town has been affected by flooding with an estimated 72,000 people having moved to Ceel Jaale highlands and surrounding areas. All villages in the north of Belet Weyne town have been affected and humanitarian partners are yet to establish the number of people displaced in these areas. The situation is further compounded by flooding from an outburst of minor tributaries in Belet Weyne, which has caused damage to farmland in villages such as Hawo Taako. Significant portions of crop land were also flooded in Bardheere in Gedo region, (where the river is already at bank full) and Bualle. Riverine OCHA Somalia Flash Update #1 Humanitarian impact of flooding | 21 October 2019 communities have been asked to vacate their homes to higher ground with immediate effect. The rains will continue in the next seven days and river levels will continue to rise, further worsening the flood situation. Local authorities working with humanitarian partners are closely monitoring the situation. During the 2018 Gu’ season, Belet Weyne town and surrounding areas were the worst affected by riverine flooding with an estimated 186,000 people displaced to several locations……
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Thirdly, after the attacks, we had noted a compelling need to decentralize some elements of the security function from the Federal to the city authorities as part of a wider security sector reform to better prevent and tackle the terror threat. This strategy was built on a community policing approach that integrates the people on the ground into the security structure and decision-making to enhance local ownership and improve the working relationship between the security institutions with the citizens.”
21 October – Source: Standard Media – 746 Words
It’s been two years since Somalia’s most devastating terrorist attack on October 14, 2017, in Mogadishu which killed more than 600 people and left many others injured or missing. As we mark this sad anniversary and send heartfelt condolences, we owe it to the victims to ask questions on the city’s preparedness to effectively respond to disasters of a similar or worse scale in the future. I was the Mayor of Mogadishu and Governor of Benadir region when the horrific attacks occurred and I vividly recall the crisis that Mogadishu was plunged into. I was among the first to reach the scene having passed the spot only 10 minutes earlier, heading to the office. We quickly realized that our limited disaster response capacity was simply no match to the disaster and we resorted to mass mobilization of the people to support the disaster response.
Two years down the line, it is regrettable that the fundamental measures that are critically needed and were strongly recommended to strengthen the security and disaster posture and response of Mogadishu and the rest of Somalia are yet to be implemented. I had begun implementing the measures while I was still in office but they were abandoned after I left. However, inaction is leaving millions of people in a very vulnerable and precarious position considering that the threat of catastrophic terrorist attacks still hangs over our heads. Disasters may be unavoidable, but with planning and preparations, we can attempt to minimize their negative impacts.
For a start, functioning and adequate blood banks are yet to be operationalized despite the intolerable tragedy that their absence caused after the attacks. Many of the initial casualties rushed to various hospitals were not able to access emergency medical treatment partly due to the absence of adequate blood. Hospitals were also unable to cope with blood donations since they lacked blood storage capacity. The situation hasn’t changed much since then. Also yet to be addressed is the need to establish emergency disaster centers in Mogadishu and around the country, complete with trained staff and equipment to speed up disaster response. When I was the mayor, I had started the process of setting up one emergency centre for every four districts in Mogadishu (there are 17 districts in the capital) but this initiative was not pursued further by my successors.
Thirdly, after the attacks, we had noted a compelling need to decentralize some elements of the security function from the Federal to the city authorities as part of a wider security sector reform to better prevent and tackle the terror threat. This strategy was built on a community policing approach that integrates the people on the ground into the security structure and decision-making to enhance local ownership and improve the working relationship between the security institutions with the citizens…… |
