Somalia can rebuild quickly, but needs a stable government

Somalia can rebuild quickly, but needs a stable government

Somali would once again become a centre of trade between Africa and the rest of the world. Picture: Reuters

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Andrew Molefe
Mogadishu, Somalia- Col Paul Lokech, commander of the Ugandan contingent serving in the African mission in Somalia is either an eternal optimist or a very naive man. He believes that despite recent setbacks, like the severe drought that has caused famine in the country with an estimated 750 000 people at risk of dying in the next four months, according to the UN, the country can still pull itself from the brink and become a major continental power.

The famine, when it began in June this year, went largely unnoticed by a world obsessed with deposing Muammar Gaddafi, thus losing the chance to turn the tide on one of the greatest human tragedies of our times.

South Africa, through its aid agency Gift of the Givers (GOFG), was one of the first countries, if not the first, to respond to the humanitarian needs of a people of a country thousands of kilometres away.

At the last count, the GOFG, had received about R40m, mostly from SA corporates and individuals.

Lokech is confident that Somalia will became the first country on the African continent to emulate the Asian Tigers and that this could be achieved quickly, because Somalis, who are extremely hard working, are able to turn their negatives into positives in the quickest possible time.

Last month, the Ugandan-led UN mission dislodged al-Shabaab, an Islamic terror movement that has waged a 21-year war against the people of Somalia that killed millions, displaced even larger numbers and created a refugee crisis around the Horn of Africa.

Lokech said that now that al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliated outfit had been forced out of town, the transitional government now controlled 95% of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, which has been the epicentre of terror in the war-torn, drought-ravaged country.

“Al-Shabaab now controls small pockets of the capital and they are running scared,” he said. “Now is the time for the people of this beautiful country to rebuild their lives.”

Within weeks of al-Shabaab fleeing the city, there are now visible signs of reconstruction of infrastructure which was put to waste over a 20-year period.

This has resulted in Mogadishu’s collapse of governance, the breakdown of law and order, descent into anarchy and economic meltdown.

In the absence of any resemblance of government, the Somali tribesmen organised themselves into tribal clans, something Lokech said only happened because people living in fear will always organise themselves with relatives, brothers, uncles and cousins to ward off possible threats.

Now the people need stronger and more effective security as the integration of forces opposed to each other, something Lokech concedes will take time.

“Professionalism requires proper training and prepares the soldiers both physically and mentally. Remember, not long ago, these people were killing each other and now they have to fight for the common cause.”

This, according to the colonel, will finally be achieved, setting the nation on a course of reconstruction. Just last week, Somali leaders, who had more than 10 attempts at forming a government in the past, held a three-day conference to plan the road map leading to elections next August and to write the new constitution.

The people from outlying areas, some of whom travelled many dozens of kilometres just to reach Mogadishu and possibly food aid, are now sleeping easier in their “tented cities”, that mostly lie hidden in bombed buildings of Mogadishu.

“They are able to come into Mogadishu to access food aid and medicine. Just over a month ago, al-Shabaab would have made their lives a living hell,” said Lockech. As we left the Ugandan camp near the pristine beaches and Aden Ade International Airport, people rebuilding their beach front properties taken from them by terrorists and turned into barracks for al-Shabaab’s ragtag army.

The Somalis are a special breed. The time in which it takes to rebuild a house, is nothing less than phenomenal, according to Lokech.

“But they need time to regain confidence in the transitional government and the permanent one expected to be in place next year.

“How do they know that al-Shabaab is not coming back?

Besides, Somalia has some 3300km of coastline, among the longest anywhere in the world.

Kick the pirates out and ships from across the world will dock and resume trade.

Somali would once again become a centre of trade between Africa and the rest of the world.

andrewm@thenewage.co.za