Monday, November 15, 2010

With Time Running Out, New Somali Cabinet Brings Hope of Progress

Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, 1 Nov. 2010
Photo: AP
Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, 1 Nov. 2010
Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed's newly unveiled cabinet is being praised as a lean and potentially effective group to help him rebuild Somalia.  But many fear it may be too late for the technocrat-heavy group to make any progress. 

Less than two weeks after taking office, Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has named his cabinet, which he believes can unite the country's fractious government.

Mr. Mohamed's list included a majority of technical experts, indicating a departure from politically appointed cabinets of previous Somali administrations.

The prime minister's proposal also made good on his desire to streamline the Somali government.  The team includes 18 names, a major cutback compared with previous prime minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke's team of 39.   Among the 21 offices cut by the new Premier was the Ministry of Tourism, a seemingly unnecessary job in a country which has seen two decades of near-constant war.

The new cabinet, which Mr. Mohamed called "lean, but capable" has retained only two members of the previous government: Minister for Finance and Treasury Hussein Halane and Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar.

A U.S.-based Somalia Observer at Purdue University, Michael Weinstein, said the proposed cabinet is a step forward for Somalia.

"If you look at it from one viewpoint this is probably the most competent and least corrupt cabinets that has ever been named.  It also is weighted  towards Sheikh Sharif.  If this had happened when the Djibouti agreement was made you might have even had the prospect of success," Weinstein said.

But Abdullahi has drawn internal criticism for his disregard of the clan-based 4.5 system on which the Somali government has been built.  The transitional constitution requires the government to share power among the country's four major clans and a coalition of minority groups.

Since his appointment by President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed one month ago, Mr. Mohamed insisted that his cabinet appointments would be based on ability rather than clan affiliation.

The new prime minister has drawn heavily on the Somali diaspora to help lead the embattled government.  Though born Mogadishu, Abdullahi Mohamed is an American citizen and spent the past 20 years outside Somalia, living in New York and teaching at a local community college.  Many of his cabinet appointees hail from similar backgrounds.

The cabinet also makes room for members of Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, an armed group that joined the government in the fight against al-Qaida-linked insurgents al Shabab nearly two years ago.  The group has been given two posts in the new government, including the key Ministry of Interior and National Security.  Many see the inclusion of Ahlu Sunna, which had been previously excluded, as a critical step in fighting the rebel threat. 

But despite the high hopes for Mr. Mohamed's new cabinet, some feel it comes too late to make any difference.  The U.N.-backed administration was tasked with establishing a permanent government by 2011.  Weinstein says the mandate will have to be extended if the government has any chance of fulfilling that promise.

"The unanswered question is: are they really serious - the donors - about having a permanent government come August and how in the world are they going to do it.  How does this new government fit into that?  You would have to have an extended mandate for this government to be able to actually see if it can accomplish anything," Weinstein states.

The terms of the 2009 U.N. agreement require the Mohamed government to hold nationwide elections and a constitutional referendum by August of next year.

The list of cabinet appointees goes to the Somali parliament for approval or rejection.

Somalia has been without a functional government since 1991. Insurgent group al-Shabab controls much of southern and central Somalia and the Transitional Federal Government relies on international peacekeepers from the African Union to maintain control over parts of Mogadish voa

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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