Tag: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

London conference awaits ‘vision to take Somalia forward’

Somali president expected to present plans for rebuilding military, police and justice systems, as civil society calls on nascent government to empower women and provide jobs

Part of Somalia‘s plans involve building credible military and police forces to ensure peace. Photograph: Reuters

On Tuesday next week, the UK hosts yet another big conference on Somalia, bringing together officials from 50 countries and organisations, including the UN, African Union and International Monetary Fund.

The most significant difference from last year’s London event is that instead of a tottering and discredited transitional regime, Somalia now has a fully fledged government, led by Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Elected last September, the 57-year-old professor and activist is the first leader chosen inside Somalia since the 1991 overthrow of president Siad Barre, which sowed the seeds for the country’s descent into chaos.

Next week’s gathering can be seen as a concerted attempt to bolster the Somali government‘s legitimacy as it seeks to rebuild the country after more than two decades of conflict. The conference will be co-chaired by Mohamud and David Cameron, the UK prime minister, and its main aim is to signal international support for Somalia as the new government sets out its vision. But in a setback to the UK, Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, refused British entreaties to attend on the grounds that it would not have been treated as equal to the Somali government. Somali officials, however, are upbeat.

“We hope the international partners will support Somalia’s implementation of its plans and priorities,” Nuradin Dirie, a presidential adviser, speaking from Mogadishu, the Somali capital, says. “We will be presenting plans for rebuilding the military, the police, the justice and public financial management systems. It is a vision of a political process to take Somalia forward.”

There may be some announcements of financial commitments, but those are expected to come at an EU-hosted conference in Brussels in September. Somalia will be very much on the international agenda this year. It will feature in meetings of the G8 group of industrialised countries, and the Tokyo international conference on African development, culminating in the Brussels meeting on the new deal for fragile states.

The new deal – strongly backed by countries recovering from conflict such as Timor Leste and Liberia – seeks to put poor countries in the driving seat on development strategy rather than donors. At its core are five peace- and state-building goals: legitimate and inclusive politics; security; justice; economic foundations (jobs); and revenues and services. The thinking is that unless aid focuses on peace, money will go to waste. Somalia has enthusiastically embraced the approach and now wants donors to back its plans.

Britain – which has pledged to spend £80m this year and next on aid – is on board. It has voiced support for the new deal, which seeks to align donor funds with the priorities of the recipient country, and has emerged as a strong cheerleader for the new Somali government. Last week, Britain reopened its embassy in Mogadishu, the first EU country to do so since Barre’s overthrow. Turkey is committing diplomatic and financial resources.

Somalia needs all the international support it can get. Although security has improved since al-Shabaab militants were driven out of Mogadishuby Amisom peacekeepers, the group continues to kill.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, this week expressed concern that the Islamist insurgents seem to be targeting Somalia’s legal system, after the Somali deputy state attorney, Ahmed Malim Sheikh Nur, was killed by gunmen as he was leaving a mosque after Friday prayers. The threat posed by al-Shabaab explains the urgency behind the government’s efforts to build a credible military and police to deal with hardcore elements who remain implacably opposed to reconciliation.

The Somali government says it will welcome dialogue with those who turn their backs on violence. “The doors are open to those who renounce violence [to] be part of the political process and we will take every step to include people,” Dirie says, adding that the president and prime minister want to rebuild the security infrastructure to provide law and order.

While noting the importance of peace- and state-building, civil society representatives, who attended events in London in the runup to the conference, say it is important to maintain development, particularly after the 2011 famine in which nearly 260,000 people died.

“Although the drought has ended, we need to build capacity to prepare for future emergencies, we need to invest in farming and livestock,” Aydrus Daar, executive director of Wasda, an NGO that works in the Horn of Africa, says. “There are short-term recovery projects but no three- to five-year programmes.”

Fartuun Adan, executive director of the Elman peace and human rights centre in Mogadishu, urged the Somali government to embrace civil society. “We have lots to contribute, we have been working in Somalia for the past 22 years, whereas the government is very new in its job,” she says, adding that the government should do its utmost to empower women and ensure enough jobs.

Abdirashid Duale, chief executive of Dahabshiil, a remittances company, who will take part in an investment conference following the event in London, is confident there will be jobs as Somalia rebuilds. “The young generation in Somalia is where the future lies and yes there will be jobs,” he says, “because we need people to build airports, electricity systems and infrastructure.”

Laura Hammond, senior lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies, however, says it is important not to get carried away with expectations. “The new government is a real gift to the international community and much better than it was expecting,” she says.

“But there is a danger of letting euphoria cloud our judgment. I hope people are patient enough with it and yet able to hold it to account, although international engagement has to be on Somali terms. That will be part of shoring up the government’s legitimacy.”

Source: The Guardian, UK.

Somali Government Welcomes Recognition of World Communities

Prime Minister welcomes G8 recognition of progress in Somalia

13 Apr – Source: Prime Minister’s Media Office 

His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon today welcomed the G8 statement in London praising recent progress in Somalia and emphasizing the international community’s continued support for the country.

“The Somali government has worked hard to entrench the recent progress on the political, security, economic and humanitarian fronts that we have made with the support of our international partners and I am immensely heartened to see the G8’s vote of confidence. We know we have a long way to go and we cannot make it alone but there is no turning back.”

In a statement issued in London today, “G8 Foreign Ministers welcomed the significant progress made in Somalia over the past 18 months on security, political transition and humanitarian conditions… G8 Ministers underlined the need for continued early international support to the new Somali Government.”

The G8 also pledged its political support as Somalia is set to re-engage with international financial institutions of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank.

“I am encouraged by the lead taken by the UK to support efforts to re-engage with the IFIs and the longer term process that may lead to arrears clearance. Without this we will not be able to receive sustained support from these organisations. And we understand the reciprocal obligations on us of strengthening the accountability and transparency of our public financial management systems. We look forward to making progress on this and many other critical issues at the London Conference on 7 May.”

PM hails IMF recognition of Somali government as milestone towards economic recovery

13 Apr – Source: Prime Minister’s Media Office 

His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said the International Monetary Fund’s decision to recognise the Somali government after a break of 22 years is “a major milestone in the country’s long road to economic recovery”.

On Friday the IMF recognised the federal government of Somalia, paving the way for the resumption of technical assistance, policy advice and ultimately – subject to arrears clearance – borrowing rights. The Prime Minister welcomed the news as the latest in a series of developments supporting the government’s policy of strengthening relations with its international partners.

“The President is in Turkey today for talks with Somaliland, while I am returning from a visit to Djibouti, Uganda and Burundi. In less than a month we will be attending the Somalia Conference in London. The truth is that we are rejoining the community of nations and we must continue to demonstrate, both to Somalis and the world, that we justify this newfound confidence. There is much hard work ahead.”

The IMF said its decision was “consistent with broad international support and recognition of the Federal Government,” since His Excellency President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office last September. “The new administration has since enjoyed considerable support, including from the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and many IMF member countries,” the Fund added.

Before Somalia can borrow from the Fund it must first clear outstanding arrears of approximately $352m. This issue will be at the heart of discussions at the forthcoming Somalia Conference in London on 7 May.

 

Source: AMISOM Monitoring Services

The Way Forward For Somalia

The Way Forward For Somalia
By Ismail Haji Warsame
Sept. 21, 2012

Now that the positions of the President and Speaker of the Federal Parliament have been secured with the election of enlightened politicians and with great expectation to appoint, in turn, a smart, positive, unifying, representative and competent Prime Minister as the Chief Executive Head of a cabinet worthy to meet the tasks and challenges before them, the first huge step forward would be complete. That alone would be a great achievement by itself.

What happens historically often in the context of Somali administrations though are administrative, legal and political gridlocks based on the following issues:

  1. Leaders not limiting themselves to their respective constitutional mandates, leading to constant bickering and in-house fighting.
  2. Absence of consultation, conflict-resolution and constructive dialogue among leaders.
  3. Abuse of power and public resources-lack of accountability wiping out public trust.
  4. Disregard for public opinion and aspirations of the masses.
  5. Absence of delegation of power and duties to their competent bureaucratic personnel and departments.
  6. Disrespect for the national institutions and lack of strengthening them on everlasting and permanent foundation.
  7. Disregard of the supremacy of the law and fine traditions of the Somali people.
  8. Inherent ignorance of human rights, civic and personal freedoms.
  9. Awkward relationship with the international community.

These man-made obstacles, among others, were the factors tremendously contributing to a situation where we could not hold on to the status of a nation-state, develop and adhere to the art and culture of statecraft.

The new leadership is compelled to learn from our tragic modern history of self-government in a radical approach for change of the status quo. Leaders must have national vision beyond their own Goofka (clan enclave), learn to enhance their cultural-cross abilities and travel throughout the country to be honorary house guests of families around the nation. They have to develop tolerance for different opinions and opposition. They have to try to win the hearts and minds of all their citizens. In other words, they must be fit to govern. If they could not hold to those standards, they have to admit failure, and before it is too late, return power to the people. That way a nation survives and peaceful continuity of history, government and people’s achievement are secured.

It is not as easy as it sounds though. The litmus test of leaders worthy of people’s trust is their express willingness to insure and respect that the mechanism of checks and balance of power are in place with all three branches of government playing their constitutional mandates practically and effectively. In addition, smooth operations of public services delivery and building fundamental institutions of government are the bench-mark for the first requirements of government. Public order, personal safety and protection of private properties are keys to stability and prosperity. A nation with secure borders, faithful to its creator and enjoying economic prosperity and peace with itself first is the only acceptable future for NEW SOMALIA. There is no point in keeping a leader if he or she is not up to the job. We have to fire them. To fire them, citizens must have mechanism to do so. Not having the institutions to expose leaders’ abuses and incompetency like freedom of expression, assembly and independent system of justice (judiciary) would end up in the tragic consequences we been living through for decades. We must not allow that to happen again, for if we do we would not be worthy to be the sole owners of that rich and strategic land, space and seas of Somalia.

To start with, let us count as of today what fundamental everlastings public institutions the new leaders of Somalia would like to leave behind after they are gone and how strong these institutions and instruments of government are to withstand the passage of time and turmoil. And above all, let us ask ourselves how would people of Somalia can get rid of bad leadership or even good leadership if the people so desire for a change without the country falling apart again?

While shared, the responsibilities to create and maintain good governance fall mainly on the citizens as their civic duties to bring their leaders to accountability and replace them immediately as warranted. No politician should be trusted blindly even if he or she belonged to one’s house-hold or Goofka.

Another thing worth mentioning, it is now time to rebuild a broken nation and country. Nobody is going to do hard the work for us. It is only us. Others can only help us along the way if we are equally careful and tactful.