Hiiraan Online Editorial - Read in Somali Language
Monday, October 18, 2010
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President Sharif and the new PM
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Hiiraan Online wishes to congratulate Mr. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo” on the occasion of his appointment as the new Prime Minister of Somalia. However, in light of the numerous problems facing the nation, the PM will have a short political honeymoon, and needs to hear, consult and listen to the multitudes of people worried and concerned about the gravity of the situation in Somalia. To continue with the business as usual mentality of the TFG by a professional of his caliber will no doubt exacerbate the dissolution of the nation into smaller and weaker regional enclaves.
Widespread Skepticism:
To many Somalis and Somalia observers, the nomination of the PM by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed appears to be a last ditch effort to resuscitate the fledgling Transitional Federal Government (TFG) whose mandate is set to expire in less than one year. This widely held public skepticism is largely due to endless infighting, ineptness, indifference and the fact that the TFG and its AMISOM forces control less territory today than was handed them when they took office less than two years earlier.
It is also undeniable that little progress, if any, has been made in the TFG mandate and particularly on the critical national security arena, national reconciliation, and constitutional development. The government is largely absent and is incapable of addressing the intolerable humanitarian crisis that exist all over the nation and the absence of basic necessary governmental services.
Fortunately, the Somali public is generally well aware of the formidable foreign financed foe that the government faces; however, the TFG has time and again shown little evidence that they are truly serious and honest about ending the prolonged national conflict in Somalia. It seems to so many that politics in Somalia no matter who is at the helm is sadly about power, prestige and self aggrandizement and not about public service.
Looming National Crisis:
In addition to the ongoing war with the extremists, the new PM also inherits a nation largely dividing itself along clan lines with the formation of additional regional enclaves. The latest groups forming regional governments include Galmudug, Xibin & Xeeb, Hiiraan State and others pursuing the same strategy including groups in Jowhar and the politically volatile region of Kismayo.
Thanks to the Obama Administration’s recent policy change towards Somalia, it appears that the US is inadvertently, if not by design, accelerating the breakup of the central government into smaller regional authorities by empowering regional governments. This policy change designed to provide so called peace dividend to these self styled regional governments will no doubt gravely endanger the restoration of a united and peaceful Somalia but instead will empower new regional warlords. The Prime Minister can help restore the image of the TFG leadership to become a reliable partner for peace with the international community and end their constant infighting which many believe is the main cause of the international misgivings that may potentially hasten the breakup of the nation.
The Chinese say, in every crisis, there is an opportunity!
So, one may ask, given the condition that Somalia finds itself, what can the new PM do to change the situation in Somalia?
For starters, the new PM cannot continue business as usual! He can begin by asking the president and the parliament to allow him to run the affairs of the government he is made in charge. Without a clearly defined distinct role for the president and the PM, a new conflict is bound to happen as it always does in Somali politics. Secondly, the Prime Minister should form a smaller, leaner, technocrat dominated government, in which several ministries are lumped together into one. For example Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Learning; Ministry of Finance and Treasury, Ministry of Health and Social Affairs to name a few.
The Prime Minister will leave a lasting legacy for Somalia if he pushes Somalia’s permanent statehood process forward by establishing national commissions filled with knowledgeable Somali technocrats to help address the following outstanding national issues for his government:
- Constitution Review Commission: to review the contested draft national constitution and refine it for adoption by the parliament before August 2011.
- Permanent Statehood Commission: to review the mandate of the TFG transition process and provide guidelines and strategies to prepare the nation for permanent statehood.
- National Reconciliation Commission: to identify strategies to reconcile the long standing and ongoing conflicts in Somalia.
Without a doubt, the Prime Minister of Somalia at this critical juncture in our history should come up with drastic solutions to take Somali’s intractable problems head on. To go along with the business as usual mentality of the TFG will no doubt dampen the dimming spirits of the few supporters remaining in the TFG camp, and will embolden the process to divide Somalia into regional clan fiefdoms.
Hiiraan Online Editorial
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