Questions the Foreign
Minister Dr. Beileh must answer
By
Members of Somalia’s Foreign Service
We acknowledge that in public service,
it is not proper to breach confidentiality but where the national interest is
concerned everything takes a second place. We cannot remain silent when the
service we love & cherish which we render to the nation wilts & withers
on our eyes.
26 years with the African
Development Bank and with a PhD in economics obtained in 1982 from Missouri
University, in January 2014, it seemed a good choice for the President and the
PM at the time to appoint Dr. Abdirahman Duale Beileh as Foreign Minister. So
what went wrong? Owing to lack of experience in Public Service and devoid of the
values needed in Public Service, he would complicate matters at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, diminish and shrink the Foreign Service and run the MFA to the
ground.
Cutting money from struggling embassies
To the dismay of serving Somali
Ambassadors, the Foreign Minister would insist to cut money from the meager budget
of the struggling embassies. For instance $8,000 was cut from the 1st quarterly
(January – March) of the Permanent Mission in New York. From the embassies in
Baghdad and Islamabad $20,000 was cut separately from their 3rd
quarterly (July – September). One of the worst cases was enacted on the embassy
in Tripoli whose ambassador was denied their entire 2014 budget, because the
embassy was up until the start of the civil war in that country, one of ten
African embassies, the Libyan government (dating back from Qadafi era) used to
foot the rent of their chancery and residence with small maintenance fee. The way
utilized to obtain the money from the ambassadors was tantamount to bullying.
However, there was one exception who, stood up to the bullying. As soon the
Foreign Minister started haggling over how much he wanted to cut from his 2nd
quarterly, the Ambassador looked him in the eye and told him sternly: “if you
cut one cent from my quarterly, I will go back to my station and convene a
press conference.” In the face of this threat, the Minister relented and stayed
well clear of the path of this ambassador. The question is: What happened to
the cuts amounting to over $400,000 which was accruing in a bank account only accessible
by the Minister? This is not the reason we join Public Service. The reason we
join Government Service is to make a difference.
Marauding gangs who indulge in illegalities
Foreign Service employees must
have the values, culture and qualities needed to serve in public institutions
such as patriotism, probity, selflessness; love of nation & service oriented.
At MFA, to everyone’s disappointment the Foreign Minister brought one after the
other 22 members of his relatives to the Ministry who acted like marauding
gangs. They bullied their way and indulged in illegalities and on stripping
everything. The biggest offender was the one who ended up, the manager of the
Foreign Minister’s office. This person arrived at the MFA with the wrong
mindset and values repugnant to the ones needed in Public Service. This
particular individual labored under the warped idea that he must make as much
money as possible within the “one year” his uncle was Foreign Minister. But unlike
the private sector, the MFA is not the place to make money, since it has little
else other than paper work. His idea of making money was to indulge in all
sorts of illegalities. During his last days at the Ministry before he fled the
country, it was reported that he bullied the visa officer of a friendly embassy
whom he threatened he will be thrown out of Somalia if he did not provide 20
visas.
Neediness uncharacteristic to high office holders
A Foreign Minister should act
like a prince not a pauper who asks and begs money from anyone. Post a long
conflict, our country may be in bad shape, but Somalia is potentially a very
rich nation. After all, it is situated in one of the most strategic locations
in the world. It has the longest coast in Africa. Not to mention it has unimaginable
riches beneath its soil and in its 200 nautical miles continental shelf. When we
are in the Public Service of our nation, we must hold our heads high with dignity. Unfortunately, the following is an
embarrassing incident. In a meeting when the ambassador of a friendly country
mentioned that he was expecting a ship bringing food for displaced Somalis, the
Foreign Minister jumped on the opportunity and requested to get some of the
food. He retorted that it was for a school he built in Awdal. When the ship
arrived the Foreign Minister got a one month food for 2000 displaced families. No sooner was the food given than it was
laden on a boat to Zeila and then to Borama where it was sold for US $500,000. This
was beyond the pale. It was stealing donated food to our weakest and poorest citizens.
One may wonder how it was known especially where the food was taken and sold
and how much it fetched. This information can only come from the trusted
relatives he brought to the MFA. One may also wonder why he needed to surround
himself with these relatives and the answer is: He needed them because of his
lack of confidence and insecurity. Nevertheless, it should be a lesson that no
holder of public office should surround himself with relatives, but only by
those whose presence in the work place is justified by merit.
Unexplainable behavior and actions
He loves to make patriotic lyrics
for songs but his deeds were anything but patriotic. Deeds speak louder and
last longer than any song. The Foreign Minister displayed hatred towards (1)
Those from his predecessor’s community.
(2) Those from the PM and (3) Those from the President. He would argue that
the capital should be moved from Mogadishu. He blames that the 20 year absence
of government was caused by the people in Benadir, the region the capital is
located. He advocated unless the capital was moved from Mogadishu, Somalia will
neither get better nor move forward. He utters: “Ambassadors in 6 out of the 7
IGAD countries were from the President’s clan.” He thought his “positions
sharing” formula would change all that.
A Foreign Service should be inclusive not tribal
A Foreign Service should be
inclusive and representative of a nation’s citizens from different regions and
communities but it should not be tribalized. The Foreign Minister was planning
to introduce a formula which he dubbed “Shax”
(chessboard) which would tribalize the service. He would argue: “we must have equal
share of positions by 4.5 formula.” His motive was solely to get more of his relatives
into the service. One day however, he was challenged on this matter by a
diplomat who was waiting for posting after a recall. The Minister lectured the
diplomat that he should wait his posting after the approval of his “equal
sharing plan.” Then the diplomat responded: “If you are genuine of this sharing
why everybody in your office is from your clan?” The Minister who was angered
by the veracity of the argument told him to get out of his office.
Mischief Making
What Somalia desperate needs is
reconciliation not more conflict. The Foreign Minister is known to have meet
with the elders and politicians of a certain clan and told them that their MFA
“quota” was taken by the clans of the PM and the President. The aim of this
mischief making was to win over their sympathy and support at cabinet meetings and
in Parliament.
Total disregard for protocol matters
No government can take protocol
matters lightly without paying a hefty cost to its prestige. When you disregard
protocol you are not endearing yourself to anyone. The problem is you lose
respect and you will not be taken seriously. You could be ridiculed and looked
at in a funny way as people who are not fit to be in government. For that
reason, at the forefront of what we do at the MFA is protocol since we are the
custodians of the nation’s protocol. It can be said that the respect accorded
to a government by other governments derives purely from its observance of
protocol or the lack of it. Unfortunately, the Foreign Minister has shown
antipathy and allergy towards protocol matters. He looked at protocol officers
similar to the middle men in the business world whom he must cut off. He would
bypass and disregard advice and suggestions coming from the protocol. In a
bizarre way, the Foreign Minister also behaved as though the ambassadors of
other countries were his counterparts and not their Foreign Ministers. He
endlessly quarreled over protocol matters with the MFA’s then Chief of Protocol
who was a veteran diplomat whom the Minister eventually sidelined and given
another department.
Haplessness and undiplomatic ways
Other than his neediness during
meetings with ambassadors and officials from other countries his ways were
hapless, undiplomatic and sometimes offensive. The following is one of the most
shocking. One evening after dinner he shocked the host ambassador who
represented the country most committed to help the endeavor for Somalia’s
wellbeing and development by saying “who thought 3 months ago, Beileh will come
to this hell.” No wonder, not long after this dinner meeting, the ambassador
sought transfer and went back to his country. Probably, he saw no point in
remaining in a country where its Foreign Minister says was hell. Let alone
someone bestowed on one of the highest positions of our nation; it should not
elude any of our nationals that whether Somalia is hell or the Garden of Eden,
it is our country. It is the only country to which we can proudly claim to be
ours. We could not possibly tread Elgab (a rundown area in the center of our
capital) with Manhattan which is one of the most expensive real estate on the
planet. Because, Elgab is ours, Manhattan is not. One day, if we Somalis are
united and work together, we can develop Elgab more beautiful than Manhattan.
To do so we must first believe in ourselves and in our country and feel proud
of the beautiful country, the Almighty has given us.
Worthy Foreign Ministers build and thrive not diminish their Foreign
Service
In order to leave behind a
lasting legacy, Foreign Ministers are known to embark on building, booming and modernizing
the service they preside over. Not to mention nowadays a nation’s Foreign
Service is used as the indispensable tool to promote investment, trade,
industry, culture, generate, generate employment, and prosperity as well as to look
after one’s overseas expatriates and Diaspora. Rather than rebuild the Ministry,
the Foreign Minister ruffled and messed things up, degraded and impoverished the
service and did the undesired.
Hasty closure of nine embassies without consultation
According to the experiences
cultivated in the diplomatic world, it is very easy to close an embassy but
very hard to reopen it. Also in the diplomatic world, nobody closes an open
window, let alone a door. One of the cardinal tasks of the MFA is opening doors
and building bridges. In January 2014, at the time of his appointment, Somalia
had 39 Embassies which many of them survived 20 years without government.
Nevertheless, rather than find solution to the difficulties, safeguard the Service’s
continuity, and ensure its wellbeing the Foreign Minister embarked on diminishing
the Service. Without consultation with anyone, out of the blue, he ordered the
closure of 9 Missions. The embassies he ordered their closure were the ones in
Germany, Burundi, Rwanda, Libya, Syria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Tanzania, and
Zambia. In Kuala Lumpur, the Somali Ambassador, who only recently presented his
credentials, came to know the news of the closure of his embassy when he was
called at the Malaysian MFA where he was given a copy of the Foreign Minister’s
letter to his counterpart explaining that the closure of his embassy. Many at
the MFA suspect that the Foreign Minister was acting under the instruction of a
foreign country to shrink the Foreign Service of his nation. Little did he care to know that some of the embassies
he was closing such as the ones in Germany and Tanzania were open for 50 years
through thick and thin, mainly thin because of a protracted conflict. Before
embarking on embassy closures, he never bothered to ask why they were opened in
the first place.
The attempted closure of the embassy in Burundi was insensitive and
unwise
Another of the Foreign Minister’s
ill judgment was his attempt to close the Embassy in Burundi, a nation which not
only we have one of the closest brotherly and historical ties but which its
army is actively engaged in peace building in our country. The Burundi
Government which gives a kinship treatment to our mission in Bujumbura because
of the deep historical relationship between the two countries was dismayed by
the attempted closure. It was however salvaged by a joint communiqué signed in
October, 2014 during the visit of the former PM. Unbothered by the fact that
the reason he was offered the post was to find solutions not create problems,
the lame argument he put up for his closures was always: Where is money? His behavior
was more of an accountant who only looked at the cost of things and not at the
value. One of the diplomats who was frustrated by his lack of care for the service
complained that “The Minister knew the price of all things and the value of
nothing.”
A poisonous environment was created
No one should make the people or the
institution they were entrusted to lead, build and prosper worse off. It was
not especially a pleasant experience to work with him. At first everybody at
the MFA was hopeful that he will bring the leader who brings a positive energy
that encourages team work, unity of purpose and harmony among the work force which
unlocks their potential and blooms the service. What no-one thought was that he
will personalize things and factionalize the people and diminish the
opportunity he was given to build the institution at the MFA. Unfortunately, he
would fight with everyone over everything. He had the mistaken view that foreign
visits may involve money and he was the only person entitled to such visits. Like
the relatives he brought with him, he had values contrary to the ones needed for
public office. He did not understand that in Public Service everything we
handle belongs to the nation and not the individual in the Service who only deserves
decent salaries. For that matter, if ever funds were handled by overseas visiting
official; it must be disclosed and taken immediately to the treasury.
An unmistakable case of human trafficking
On 19 December 2014 ten persons
who were not employed at the MFA were sent to Ankara ostensibly to train
for the Data Center. The purpose of the Data Center which was funded by the
brotherly Republic of Turkey for the MFA is to preserve the information and
secrets of the Ministry and its embassies. The ten persons should have been
genuine MFA employees whose character and honesty have been vetted, and not
illegal immigrants. At the heart of this illegality are two men which the
Minister is responsible for their action. They are the manager of the
Minister’s office and the acting Permanent Secretary. On 19 December, 2014, the
two even used the Foreign Minister to personally send off the ten at the
airport in the glare of the national media. Little did the public who watched
the drama on their sets know that the ten, the Minister was sending off were
illegal immigrants. It was unfortunate that the Minister himself told to the
media that the ten were MFA employees. However, it is not clear whether or not
the Minister knew he was being implicated in human trafficking. On that day,
his trusted relatives which he brought to the Ministry let him down and made
him look bad, in the face of the nation.
A tribute to Turkey for its ongoing support for Somalia
We avail ourselves this
opportunity to say few words about the Republic of Turkey’s ongoing brotherly
support for Somalia. A Genuine feeling of concern of brotherhood cannot be
faked or manufactured. Our nation is heavily indebted to the ongoing tangible and
meaningful support of the brotherly Republic of Turkey which is the country
most committed to helping Somalia’s development, progress and the wellbeing of its
people.
Most damaging of all was destructive counsel from the relatives
The Foreign Minister’s most
crippling and debilitating problem at MFA was that he will heed and act on
anything the relatives he brought with him would tell him no matter how adverse
or damaging to him, to the Ministry or the country. When they told him, “We
cannot get our agenda ahead as long as the Permanent Secretary remained in his
post, he simply told the PS that they could no longer remain together at the
Ministry and he should leave. The PS, a veteran diplomat whose experiences was
benefiting the MFA quit with terrible consequences to the Ministry’s budding and
blossoming functions and its ongoing progress. This could not happen in the
past when the Somali state was intact. Permanent Secretaries were beyond the
whims and fancies of Ministers. However, there is hope that the Government will
soon close down this loophole for once and for all. What was the agenda of the
Minister’s relatives which they couldn’t get ahead? It was simply to indulge in
illegalities with the sole goal to enrich themselves. The Minister and his
relatives acted as though they were entitled to everything and they could do
anything at MFA because they felt it was their clan’s share in the Government.
Since the departure of the PS, the Minister’s relatives who for sure got their
way and enriched themselves beyond their wildest dreams are seen sporting with
new expensive cars and other must have toys. The Ministry shall require
rebuilding from the next Minister who is appointed in the coming reshuffle.
Postscript
The Offices of the Audit General
and the Attorney General of the Government are both investigating the abuse of
power and the wrongdoings committed by the Minister, and the individuals in his
team who indulged in illegalities.
Before the release of this information politician, ambassadors, MFA
employees, MPs and senior officials have been widely consulted.
In consultation and collaboration by
Members of Somalia’s Foreign Service
30 December, 2014
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