Recently I authored the article below to raise the urgent need for vetting public servants, government officials and politicians. Mr. Abdikarim Hussein Guled, a current presidential candidate in the election 2021 is a shining example of what is wrong with Somalia’s system of personnel selection, an appointment to a high position of public service and responsibility and to an elected office. Take a look at how he falsely and ignorantly see Somali history. The article reads this way:
https://ismailwarsame.blog/2021/04/29/somalia-leadership-vetting-a-must/
There has been a lot of resentments from Somali locals towards returning members of the diaspora getting hired more likely in public service. The locals are also angry to witness returning intellectuals in positions of political leadership (Parliament, presidency cabinet, heads of departments, etc). This is also true to all Federal Member States. The locals consider the existing situation as an invasion of Somali diaspora to steal them of opportunities in their own turfs.
But, that is one side of the story. There is another side in employing members of Somali overseas communities for public services. There is suspicion with regards to whom they represent and where their loyalty lies as the diaspora members are dual citizens. This is where the government needs to establish vetting regulations to insure that Somali national security isn’t compromised. Since independence, Somalia has been extremely weak in vetting public servants and security forces. Beside the lack of sophistication, poor knowledge of statecraft, clannish influence, the problem is exacerbated by the national constitution enshrining that all persons of Somali origin have equal rights, no matter where they come from, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Tanzania, among many others. As Somalis fled to different corners of the world, following the outbreak of the Civil War in the 1990s, the constitution and citizenship regulations have not been updated due to the absence of full-fledged functioning central government. No tools for background checks are in place for civil service recruitment, and nobody could be sure whether a candidate for government job belongs to Alshabab or foreign intelligence service. That is why there is a dangerous situation of not knowing who works for the Somali government of today, from the highest office in the land to the lowest ranking employee with any government department or public sector. It is a fatal oversight failure again in Somalia’s statehood.
It isn’t a crime or liability for being a refugee elsewhere in the world, given what had happened in Somalia for people to flee for their own safety, but it is a gross negligence on the part of the government of the day to disregard security vetting of its employees and their background checks.
Click the link below to read about the short modern history of Somalia in order to flush out distortions by the likes of Abdikarim Hussein Guled.
https://ismailwarsame.blog/2021/07/01/abdikarim-hussein-guled-caught-in-lying-about-somali-history/
https //amazon.com/author/ismailwarsame
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