By MOHAMED ABDULLAHI MOHAMED (email the author)
Posted Monday, March 14 2011 at 00:00
Last week marked 100 days since I took office as Prime Minister of Somalia, and this anniversary provides a good opportunity to take stock of what we have achieved as a country.
Securing the people is any government’s primary task.
Presently, a long awaited nation-wide offensive against the extremist insurgency bedevilling our country is underway, led by the Somali National Forces and supported by troops of the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (Amisom).
The fullness of time will reveal the final outcome of the these battles, but initial results have been encouraging.
Prior to the offensive, the government controlled 60 per cent of Mogadishu, providing a safe haven and rudimentary services to 80 per cent of the city’s population.
The current push has enlarged this zone considerably thanks to the courage, skill and sacrifice of both our national security forces and Amisom troops.
Our efforts to re-establish peace and stability continue apace.
My government has successfully organised two cabinet-led reconciliation missions between fighting groups in the central regions.
The first helped stop violence between Galmudug and Puntland, and the second focused on the conflict between Galmudug, Ximin and Xeeb.
The government continues to work towards a more comprehensive resolution of the Somali conflict.
An urgent task when we took over, was to transform the government so that it is fit for purpose.
With the approval of both parliament and the President, I appointed a small team of 18 technocrats to the Cabinet, in the process reducing the number of ministries by 21.
Another crucially important task was to secure public finances and develop a culture of accountability and transparency.
My government has made huge strides in this direction. For the first time in two decades, we have a national budget which governs all public expenditure.
The central bank has been re-opened, an anti-corruption commission set up and audit and accountability systems streamlined.
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