By Abdirahman Omar Osman (Eng. Yarisow),
engabdirahman@gmail.com
On February 8, 2017, Somalia witnessed a radical
transformation—completely altering a landscape that had been relatively
unchanged since the collapse of the government of Siad Barre in 1991.
The election of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
(Farmajo) has changed the way the world sees Somalia. For the first time in
recent history, the people of Somalia banded together in a show of full
confidence in a president, something that has been unthinkable since the
country gained its independence in 1960.
The review of the provisional constitution is going
very well as the Ministry of Constitution is tirelessly consulting with key
stakeholders including all segments of the society, Federal member states and
politicians. The Ministry of Telecommunication has begun the process to bring
the management of Somalia’s .SO domain to the country. A number of key
legislations are ready to be tabled at the parliament soon including
Anti-Corruption legislation and other key tasks that are necessary to holding
one person one vote elections in 4 years time. Public Finance Management and
the unification of tax revenues throughout the country is underway. The Ministry of Interior is in the process of
implementing reconciliation to heal the wounds of the communities. There are
countless reasons for why Somalia’s new direction brings hope for the success
and prosperity of the country.
Diplomacy and support
There is tremendous renewed interest among the
international community in enhancing diplomatic relations with Somalia after a
long lull of resignation. Apart from high level visits, the President received several
official invitations to a wide array of countries during the first two months
of his presidency.
The new President’s leadership has also secured direct
support from a number of countries that will change the lives of ordinary
people. Development partners have offered a lot of goodwill in the face of
drought—the President secured over $65
million from the UAE alone and further pledges from Saudi Arabia and Qatar in
drought assistance. In
addition to bilateral partners, the Federal Government has moved to mobilize
multilateral organizations as well. Through this partnership, the OIC is now
providing over 1.1 million citizens with food aid during the month of Ramadan.
With UN support, the Federal Government has also
successfully engaged Somali citizens to contribute; the droughts committee was
established, which is the first Ministry dealing with humanitarian affairs in
Somalia’s history. Somali citizens have raised around $ 6 million toward
drought relief.
Security
Besides budgetary support, the London Conference on
Somalia on May 11, 2017 facilitated the adoption of Somalia’s security
architecture with the full support of International community. The Security
Architecture is in place following consultations of key stakeholders including
regional Federal member states of Somalia’s leaders. Since the conference, a Mogadishu
Security Plan has been endorsed by the cabinet, and a joint security force of
1500 soldiers have been trained to start stabilizing the capital city of
Mogadishu.
From January to April, the Government paid all
salaries and food stipends to soldiers—another first—proof that President Farmajo has embraced
security as his first priority. This has facilitated regular patrols and
security operations—it is no wonder that we are experiencing the most peaceful
Ramadan in recent history!
Because the President and his government have full
support, confidence, and mandate from the public, al-Shabaab are threatened,
and have increased their asymmetric warfare by targeting soft targets and
killing civilians. Yet in spite of this, many of their leaders are considering surrender,
and a number of low- and mid-level al-Shabaab fighters have already defected to
the Federal Government. An Al-Shabaab leader in the Mudug region surrendered to
the Somali National Army in Beledweyn district of Hiiraan region, while another
al-Shabaab leader in Lower Shabelle region was killed by the Somali National
Army. Over 8 senior militias of al-Shabaab have also been killed in Sakow,
Middle Jubba region, Jubbaland, Somalia.
Fighting corruption
The Federal Government has also prioritized closing the
loopholes that facilitate corruption. Through this ongoing process, Somalia
successfully increased revenues without increasing taxes. Citizens see the
direct benefits to this, as with these additional funds the Federal Government
was able to self-finance Mogadishu Security Plan.
This sets a track record for a mutually agreed
partnership agreement, which sets out the expectations for citizens and
government alike to be more accountable and transparent. It also demonstrates
to the international community that direct support to Somalia will be properly
utilized—for example, the EU and the Ministry of Planning of Somalia have
signed direct support agreements on a number of projects. Somalia’s National
Development Plan (NDP) is the blueprint for the countries’ priorities that
donors are now aligning their support to become Somali owned and Somali led
process.
Development
The recent National
Development Plan (NDP) has also attracted the support from the international
community. On
May 27, the Federal Government of Somalia and the EU signed a number of
economic agreements to implement development projects worth 48.4 million Euros.
These projects will support
economic development and good governance, and will be implemented by the EU across
Somalia. Citizens will see the commitment of the Federal Government to
investing in the development of the entirety of Somalia, rather than just
particular areas.
Conclusion
The President’s vision to hold one person one vote in
4 years is real and the plans and strategies are in place such as establishing
constitutional court, implementing multi party system, completing the review of
the provisional constitution and implementing the democratization process that
are necessary to prepare the country a universal election of one person one
vote. The President’s theme of Nabad iyo Nolol (Peace and Life) is gaining the
momentum as citizens are also working very hard to support the Federal
Government of Somalia and they believe the genuine desire from their leaders to
bring peace and life together. While there is still work to be done, the
progress that the President has made in his four months in office speaks
volumes for what we can continue to expect from Somalia. Yes, Somalia has a new
direction—it is on the road to hope!
H.E. Abdirahman Omar Osman (Eng. Yarisow)
Minister of Information of the Federal Republic of
Somalia
engabdirahman@gmail.com
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