HE Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud Silanyo has issued a Presidential Decree # JSL/M/XERM/249-2249/012014, in which he appointed a new Governor for Togdheer region, a new Governor for Selel and a deputy Governor at the same time replacing the Governor of Selel and his deputy, filling position of the Governor of Togdheer region after the former one quit the position.
The Press Statement which released by the official Presidential Spokesperson Ahmed Saleban Dhuhul read as follows:-
In accordance with Article 90 and Article 110 of the Constitution of the Republic of Somaliland and the need to fill the vacant position with a qualified person for the which plays a n important role in serving our national interests.
I do hereby appoint to the following positions
1.Mr. Mohamed Muse Diriye to be as of today the new Governor of Togdheer region
2.Mr. Abdirizaq Waberi Rooble to the post of the Governor of Selel region
3.Mr. Abdikadir Aden Yusuf to the post of the Deputy Governor of Selel region.
I do hereby replace and relieve of all duties Mr. Abdillahi Farah Maydhaneas the Governor and Mr. Ali Allale Riyale as the deputy Governor of Selel with immediate effect and that they should transfer the offices in an orderly manner to the newly appointed officials.
At the same time I do hereby on behalf of the Government of Somaliland take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Governor of Selel and the deputy Governor for the servitude to the nation.
Somaliland Youth Taking part in the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) Birth Day Fesitval
By Abdirahman Mohamed Dirye
Somaliland has being an Islamic country for millennium at the least. The mosque with two Kiblas of the direction towards the Jerusalem still there exists intact.And the lavish celebrations of the birth of the prophet Mohamed (PBUH) were a great sin to miss ever since ; the country’s body of Ulimo the clergy trained in the hands of Sufist orthodox Islamic approved the virtue but when Somalia entered abysmal political turmoil everything including religion werecorrupted for material gains rather keeping religion intact. The Mowlid Nabi, the prophet’s anniversary memorial birth were ridiculed by Saudi exported cults as ‘heretic’. Later years, mysterious mini-leaflets locally known as Risalad of unauthorized source were distributed among ordinary folks to change their mind on the Mowlid, the fool mobs followed as a result of some Iftar program donated by Saudi sinners to clear off their heinous sins; the prophet’s commemoration were held in clandestine since the Wahdad’s advent, the pioneer, incubator of Somalia’s evil ideology, militancy, and terror infrastructure.
But societal shift occurred this year. Their justification for banning is not compliant to the scripture was found out. Sorry depicting religion as scientific discovery, but the things were rerouted to original context unlike the myths imposed on us.
Timoweyne’s, the genuine Somali Muftis, of financial sources of collecting some sheep to keep preaching and Qasid , set of prayers and Allah-praising songs , from their fellow sisters were prohibited by the Wahabi cult who engaged in proselytizing impoverished society to their twisted, radical dogma: much like trinity church, they introduced Islam, a religion Somalia was familiar with for millennium minimum, in new face dividing the fundamental creed into three novel straits: Divine Ones ( Ilaah Ulaahiya), Divine Worshiping, and etc to confuse the masses. Anyway, the books they refer are even unavailable in Saudi Kingdom libraries.
Somalia’s Sufists tried to resist the newly invading cult upon their country but they couldn’t because of huge budget they get from Oil Arabia. Somalia became target and dumping ground for any modernist cult, the cult wealthy founders live as far as Pakistan and Morocco and praise idiot followers in Somaliland . If you go to Hargaysa, you pray in the newly built mosques, you hear their fairytales of Pakistan, a country of 10% of its population are Hindus and Sikhs and yet Pakistanis are preaching in Urdu to Somalis! When Somalis did learn Urdo or Hindi Others are by bankrolled and underwrote by Saudi businessmen.Subjugated Imams are preaching politics rather than verses or Hadith and want to prevent any foreign investor from coming into Somaliland. For instant, Swiss investor probably a Muslim as I heard, went from home country with the persuasion of his Dutch citizen of Somaliland origin to establish poultry firm in Hargaysa. Less than 6 months of his stay, he was, unfortunately and brutally murdered while shopping at Star Caféby false heaven seeker of twisted mindset whose Imams told him to keep Somaliland at the stone age era by eating the black things Arabs in prehistoric age used to inflate their flat bellies: dates and black.
The news of the murder wildly spread all across the investment forums of the world. Somaliland though never realized the magnitude of the disaster suffered further isolation.
There only one true preacher unfunded by anyone else but self-sufficient is Adan Siiro, May Allah Save His Soul. His Friday sermons are relevant, not about what Saudis in medieval era are doing, and uninfluenced by biases or other factors. His enemies not just make name-calling and swearing but always try to make character assassination to silence and divert him from the truth.
This year begun with phenomenal changes: Al-Shabab finally met their waterloo, on the other hand, the force of truth and neutrality made their voice heard by restoring Mowlid Nabi, a big day for all Muslims, bigger than 18 May or anything else we celebrate.
Some greedy Sheikhs never being trained in Pakistan tribal dirty areas or Saudi third-rate Madrasa converted to Wahabism for incentives and outlawed any activities that venerate the prophet to please their underwriter of oil firms in Arabia after Siyad Barre’s ouster. Somalis de-cultured and entered decadence .Nevertheless, many memorial ceremonies of the prophet in Somaliland were held in nation-wide untainted by fear or intimidation this time and it is very encouraging sign for the first time the birth celebration is held openly without of any fear from Islamists’ backlash and God Willing will continue next year and forever.
The Islamic World unified in the prophet’s respect except where few followers of Wahabism who prefer Sheikh Abdi Wahab over the prophet! Are you one of them? Love the prophet, not Sheikh Godanits or his ilk whose religion is only 15 years old from Pakistan where he embraced his cult founder Mr. Ibrahimi, a blind man from Saudi King who fell in love with creating cults.
The brief arrest today of many leaders and activists members of the Union for National Salvation (USN), the main opposition parties’ coalition, and altercations that would have resulted, clearly reflect the intensification of the campaign of repression led by the current political regime against any dissenting voice in Djibouti. FIDH and LDDH strongly condemn these acts.
« The regime condemns, imprisons and harasses political opponents, independent journalists and human rights defenders in alarming proportions, » said Karim Lahidji, FIDH President.
On 16 January 2014, a dozen leaders of the USN and an unknown number of activists who were celebrating the first anniversary of the creation of the opposition coalition were briefly arrested and detained at the Nagad administrative detention centre where clashes would have erupted between detainees and the police injuring several people. Following these arrests, the USN headquarters located in Q4 was attacked and vandalised by unidentified persons.
These events occur in a climate of increased police and judicial repression against opposition parties, independent journalists, and human rights defenders. Since the beginning of December 2013, dozens of opposition leaders and activists have been arrested and some even sentenced. Further, custody of arrested militants frequently extends beyond the legal duration permitted, sometimes up to 11 or 17 days as was the case for Oumar Waberi and Mohamed Gadito Chehem. Although these two activists were finally acquitted thanks to their lawyer, many others remain in detention for having asserted their opinion, and have not been effectively assisted by their counsel. Acts of torture, as well as other inhuman and degrading treatment, are regularly reported in detention centres in Djibouti and several militants have died in custody in recent years, including the latest, Mohamed Elmi Rayale, an USN activist who died in Gabode prison on 29 August 2013.
« Every day I visit detention centres and go to the court to try to legally assist arrested prisoners of conscience, but my access to those in custody is constantly denied, which is a flagrant violation of Article 10 of the Constitution guaranteeing the assistance of a counsel » says Zakaria Abdillahi, LDDH President and one of the few Djiboutian lawyers trying to provide legal assistances to members of the opposition, journalists, and human rights activists.
Because of the legal assistance Mr. Abdillahi provides, and because of his denunciations of abuse of power, he is harassed, put under surveillance, and receives death threats. In fact, any dissenting voice is subject to this type of police and judicial harassment.
FIDH and LDDH urge the Djiboutian authorities to put an end to the repression of human rights defenders, and to comply with its national and international obligations to respect human rights, in particular civil and political rights. Our organisations call upon the African Union, the European Union, and influential diplomacies, including those which hold military bases in Djibouti (France, USA, Japan, etc.) to challenge the Djiboutian authorities to respect fundamental freedoms.
THE MAIN REASONS FOR HARGEISA WATER SHORTAGE AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
BY SAAD MOHAMED QAWDHAN
Hargeisa is the capital city of Somaliland and has a rapid growing population. According to the UN (2013), the population of Hargeisa is around 1,000,000. That is six times more than the population of Hargeisa in the 1970s.The principal water infrastructure for the city was built in the 1970s, and is not only aged and dilapidated, but also cannot meet the growing demand for clean, potable water. Furthermore, as the above population figure indicates Hargeisa water infrastructure was designed to accommodate around 150,000 people not 600,000. That said Hargeisa’s limited water availability is a critical shortcoming in essential service delivery, and seriously impedes the right to water access and local economic development (UN,2013).
Clearly, Hargeisa needs six or more water infrastructure in order to meet international minimum standards for urban water consumption and improve the lives of Hargeisa residents. Hargeisa has four main Boroughs (Gaan Libax, Dumbuluq, 26 June and Iftin). Each and every borough needs one water infrastructure similar to the one the city posses now (Ceelka biyaha Shiinaha). The current water infrastructure is not even enough for one of the four main boroughs of the city. This clearly shows that people of the city are in desperate for clean water.
The main question is why it took so long to increase the water capacity of Hargeisa since the 1970s. Is it because the water resources of the city and in the region are far and hard to reach or is it because the government and NGOs have no means and capacity to increase the water infrastructure. Another possible and grave explanation for the failure could be a negligence due to the fact that someone (i.e ministry of water) is not delivering their duties and responsibilities, hence failed to predict and forecast that the population of the city is growing and need more water infrastructure.
WATER AVAILIBITIY IN SOMLAILAND
In Somaliland, water availability is naturally a seasonal issue. Having extremely low rainfall (250 mm per year on average) and much higher potential evaporation (over 2000 mm per year), the country is characterized as water-scarce. Much of the country has arid or semi-arid climate due to the extremely low and variable rainfall, which is often unreliable.
This indicates the need for more rigs in and around of all cities of Somaliland rather than relying solely on the rain. The water-scare is not only limited to Hargeisa but effects the county as whole in similar or greater scale. For example, severe droughts interrupted by devastating floods occur frequently resulting large size starvation and killing thousands of animal. Any sign of drought are received with dread and worry.
CONCLUSION
Currently, it appears that it is beyond the government’s power to increase the water capacity of Hargeisa and whether this is the government’s lacks resources, corruption or it is simply beyond their means is open to debate and critics are hungry for answers and it is beyond the scope of this report. However, the recent water shortages demonstrations in the Capital (Hargeisa) has further cemented the deep frustration of the residents of Hargeisa in getting clean water. Therefore it is time for the government, NGOs, Public, Diaspora and everybody to get together and find a lasting solution for this deeply ingrained water problems. Then and only then Hargeisa, which is a fast growing city fir both economically and population will meet international minimum standards for urban water consumption and improve the lives of Hargeisa residents.
Community activism is acknowledged as being a core component of the work of women’s rights and human rights organisations. As a strategic and long-term endeavour, it carries the objectives of understanding the social, political, cultural and economic contexts within which women’s rights activists work, and seeking to actively change or enhance the viability of working in these environments. Community activism also bears the objective of deepening links with local grassroots communities and understanding the needs within these communities; and thirdly, it is critical for activists to nurture deeper understanding among various stakeholders and interest groups regarding their work, objectives and vision.
The Community Activism Guides (CAG); four papers developed by SIHA network were as such not the work of an individual, nor the organisation alone, but rather, the result of months of conversations, interactions, interviews, and discussions among the SIHA research team and many generous members who comprise the organisation’s network. These papers are the outcome of a qualitative research study that was conducted between November 2011 and July 2012 in four countries in the region: Somaliland, Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
In each of these four countries, the research team conducted interviews with many different groups of stakeholders, ranging from influential individuals in the community, members of local government, traditional leaders and elders, religious leaders, state officials, women leaders of non-governmental organisations and community based organisations, and various compositions of focus groups. This qualitative research process drew richly on various methods, including informal conversations, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions.
The outcomes of this research process –are reflections of the challenges and desires communicated to us by all the men and women who generously shared their work and narratives of struggles with us. Much of what have emerged as activism strategies within these papers is, therefore, a direct outcome of the inputs given to us, complemented by critical analysis on our part. In other words, we have tried as much as possible to retain the organic content drawn from the research process, and hope that each of you shall hear your voices reflected with sincerity in these pages.
While the issues that women in the Horn of Africa are dealing with appear to be remarkably similar across countries, there are, however, many nuanced differences in the ways in which women’s rights and human rights activists approach these issues and are responding to the same issues in each country. For instance, in all four countries, activists are confronted by questions of the law, both customary and formal, which manifest differently depending on the cultural and political environment.In Sudan, criminalisation of personal behaviour and corporal punishment such as flogging and stoning to death of women continues to pose serious challenges to the humanity of women and the realization of women’s human rights. Both these laws are an evocation of deeply patriarchal Islamic doctrines naturalised into formal laws. But while Sudanese women are seeking to challenge these repressive legal regimes through very public campaigns and advocacy, often facing harassment, intimidation and even death, their counterparts in South Sudan stand at a more ambivalent position with regards to women’s human and legal rights. For while a constitutional review process and various state interventions there seek to guarantee certain rights to women, customary law remains the ‘living’ law, undermining the values of constitutionalism, and continue to prevent women from accessing real power to participate in politics, let alone write more gender-positive laws. In Somaliland, the problems with the law relate largely to who can or cannot access legal redress, and also the conflict between customary law and formal law. Thus, while laws exist that ought to promote the rights of all women, those women deemed as belonging to minority groups have virtually no access to legal and judicial protection or remedy, even where such institutions exist and function. In Ethiopia, the Charities and Proclamation Law (CSO Law) of 2005 has imposed far-reaching restrictions on the work of human rights and women’s rights organisations, and many organisations have had to redefine their work, reconsider their strategies and reconceptualise the ways in which they could still achieve their objectives. The barriers created by this law have nonetheless spurred new and ingenious strategies for community organising. But such ingenuity is not restricted to Ethiopia alone, for one of the most significant observations from this study is the ways in which women’s organisation and activists continue to seek creative, resourceful and inspiring ways of overcoming the many hurdles they face on a day to day basis in the course of their work.
Yet a number of significant challenges to community activism and organizing around human rights in all four countries persist, and are a reflection of the inherent weaknesses of women’s rights organisations in relation to existing complex political, cultural and social situations. These issues are intertwined, and are discussed in relation to each other in the sections below.
The NGOization of the women’s movement is a term used to describe the formation or proliferation, not of NGOs per se, but of particular kinds of NGOs. Such NGOs have been associated with a backlash against a feminist agenda and principles which were critical in the organisation of women’s movements not just in Africa, but globally. The rapid rise of NGOs from the early 1990s under political and economic liberalisation and, as Sonia Alvares (2008) notes in relation to Latin America, through the promotion of more politically collaborative and more technically proficient feminist practices were what triggered what she calls the NGO boom. This boom challenged and ultimately unsettled the hybrid identities of many feminist NGOs in that region, leading some of them to place empowerment goals and a wide range of movement-oriented activities on the strategic back burner. They were replaced on the front burner with “demonstrable impact”, short-term projects, large scale workshops and forums, and more overt participation in the policy arena.
In other regions, as Aida Touma (2008) shows, NGOization became visible as women moved increasingly into project-oriented work, delivering services to women, focusing on issue of violence against women and personal issues. Those kinds of activities have resulted in organisations moving away from their own constituencies, from mass organization, and becoming more professionalized and technocratic. The results are the activists are vanishing away from the women movement little by little. This has created a huge gap between the discourses used by NGOs in analysing the situation and the real activism on the ground (Touma 2008). The gap between the grassroots women and the elite women providing leadership in organisations and movements continues to drive deep wedges between women in the Horn region, and the ability to mobilize and organize masses of women when it is crucial and needed is being lost.
The elitism of the women’s movement, observed particularly in Ethiopia and Sudan, also bears a big cost for the specific objectives of pursuing a progressive women’s human rights agenda that is independent of other elite forces and sections in society. In Sudan, this is particularly evident in relation to the extent of influence which the fundamentalist Islamic regime has been able to fund its own cause by compromising numerous NGOs through the leadership, to champion a reactionary, anti-woman agenda. In a funding environment in which traditional funding channels have been deliberately frustrated and restricted, many women’s organisations, desperate for survival, have found themselves at the mercy of the state. It is for this reason that feminists are facing a serious backlash in their attempts to organise against punitive, misogynist laws, and why cultural pundits are experiencing a resurgence of life as scared and intimidated communities retreat further and further away from perceived threats from the ‘international community’ represented locally by NGOs.
A final dimension of the challenges we observed in the course of this study is what could be read as a failure of the women’s movement to see and respond to emerging dynamics that are directly impacting on the status of women in the region which include religion, state politics, international and regional dynamics and corruption. This failure is also manifesting in the relative diminishing of the women’s movements as a relevant political and social force, and poses serious challenges for the work towards empowering women to claim their rights. Women’s machineries in all four countries under the study are increasingly being co-opted by the state, and the leverage of the movement to lobby, petition, advice, and influence policy is substantially weakened.
These are issues that women’s movements must once again take seriously if they are to become effective and survive. Feminist NGOs in the Horn region must, as Alvares (2008) notes in relation to Latin America, begin to place movement work on the front burner. They must seek to rearticulate their agenda and create new bridges, or fortify existing ones, not only within the feminist field, but also with other civil society and social movement activists. This, as suggested in the Community Activism Guides, entails the work of committed documentation and archiving of our struggles, dedicating more resources to critical research activities, sharpening our knowledge of our political and social contexts, and most of all, seeking to once again reconnect with the organic struggles in our communities.
Lyn Ossome is a researcher based in the Political Studies Department at Wits University, Johannesburg. A feminist scholar and activist, her research work has spanned the East, Southern and Horn of Africa countries, where she has also served in consultative and advisory capacities within a number of civil society organizations. Her research interests are in the areas of feminist political economy, land and agrarian studies, postcolonial studies and African politics, on which she has written several journal articles, book chapters and opinion pieces
Commenting on the statement issued by the Egyptian prosecutor’s office regarding the Al Jazeera English journalists they are detaining, Al Jazeera spokesperson Osama Saeed said, “The accusations against our journalists do not stand up to scrutiny. Our detained team had been working in Cairo for some time and people can still watch their work online.
It was all of the highest journalistic standards and integrity, as has been all out output since the start of the momentous events in Egypt three years ago.
“The prosecutor’s measure of issuing a statement like this is unusual, as it looks like a prejudgment on an ongoing investigation. Claims that anyone has ‘confessed’ are rejected by our journalists and legal team.“We have been overwhelmed by the global calls for our journalists to be released and the Egyptian authorities would be well advised to take heed.”
The Newly appointed Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia His Excellency Abdi Weli Sheik Ahmed Mohamed has in the past hour announced the formation of his cabinet in a low level ceremony held in the Presidential Palace locally known as Villa Somalia.
The PM speaking during the ceremony said, “The formation and naming of new cabinet Minsters was done after broad consultations and lengthy deliberations with the various stakeholders in the federal government of Somalia and most important of all one hundred percent approval of His Excellency Hassan Sheik Mahmoud the President of the Federal Government of Somalia, and on his behalf I do hereby urge Members of Parliament to do the same by approving appointed minister in the newly formed Cabinet.
The newly named cabinet is made up of 25 Cabinet Ministers with an additional five State Ministers and composed of 25 Deputy Ministers:-
The Names of New Cabinet Ministers and their Portfolios
Minister of Internal Affairs and Federal Hon Abdullah Goodah Barre
Minister of Finance Hon Hussein Abdi Halane
Minister of Defence Hon Mohamed Sheik Hassan Hamud
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Abdurrahman Dualeh Beyle
Minster in Charge of National Security Hon AbdiKarim Hussein Guled
Minister of Education Hon Ahmed Mohamed Guraase
Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport Hon Yusuf Ali Amin
Minster of National Planning Hon Said Abdullah Mohamed
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Hon Farah Sheik Abdul kadir
Minster of Energy and Water Resources Hon Jama Abdi Mohamed (Oday)
Minister of Information Hon Mustafa Sheik Ali Dhuxuloow
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Hon Said Mohamed Qoorsheel
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs NIman Sheik Ismael
Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Hoh Mohamed Ibrahim Haji Aden
Minister of Agriculture Hon Abdi Mohamed
Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Hon Khalid Omer Ali
Minister of Culture and Higher Education Hon Dualeh Aden Mohamed
Minister of Commerce and Industry Hon Aden Mohamed Nuur
Minister of Public Works and Rehabilitation Eng. Nadiifo Mohamed Osman
Minister of Gender and Human Rights Affairs Khadiijo Maxamed Diiriye
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Hon Mohamed Alow Baroow
Minster of Minerals Hon Da’ud Mohamed Omer
Minister of Livestock, Environment and Parks Hon Salim Aliyow Ibroow
Minister of Health General Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud
Minister of Religious Affairs and the Deputy Prime Minister Hon Ridwan Hirsi Mohamed
The List of the Ministers with State Portfolios and those of Deputy Minister can be seen below
The fifth round of the ongoing dialogue talks between Somalia’s federal government and Somaliland were resumed on 16, Thursday 2014 with delegates representing both sides sat face to face in a conference room in Istanbul, Turkey.
Mr. Hani Torun Turkish Ambassador to Somaliland and Somaliland speaking at the start of the talks said, “The talks had a very Good start considering the eagerness of both sides to talk and which a good sign is and we hope that they can continue this dialogue in order to achieve their mutual interests,
Turkish government initiated the first round of talks between the two sides to ‘open dialogue’ in Ankara on 13th of April. The talks concluded with a memorandum of understanding known as the ‘Ankara Communiqué. The Ankara Communiqué consisted of seven points which both side agreed.
Somaliland Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hon Mohamed Bihi Yunis leading the SL delegation said, “Somaliland is ready and has been ready for a while” reiterating that the conclusion of the talks will be “Somaliland and Somalia living side by side as neighbors and brothers as two countries as it has been over the last two decades.
Hon Bih stated, “The Government of Somaliland welcomes the commitment of the government in Mogadishu to the continuation of the Somaliland-Somalia dialogue but at the same time strongly reiterates that our sovereignty was irrevocable and non-negotiable came with a cost in form of the spilling of the blood of innocent Somalilanders, he warned against the misinformation tactics used by SFG official with the intent of mislead western and other world officials and which usual purported that Somaliland will at some time in the near future to the federation, that kind of thinking insults the intelligence of Somalilanders.
“Somalia stands to benefit from an independent Somaliland and it’s beyond reasonable doubt that Somaliland has strategic and political value considering its post- conflict reconstruction and state-building process and, in doing so, Somaliland has contributed the region to be peaceful and stable”, Hon Mohamed Bihi said.
Somaliland Foreign minister said, “We are willing to look and review the previously agreements such as the shared airspace which unfortunately didn’t yield results in terms of breakthroughs from both SFG and GoSL.
A deadlock became evident when SFG authorized an airplane to land within Somaliland’s territory breaking point seven of the Ankara Communiqué. This prompted the decision by GoSL grounding all UN flights in and out of the country. This issue was resolved on July 7th – 9th2013 in Istanbul which both parties held further talks to rectify the situation.
An agreement was reached which was to create a joint-control body which manages both airspace based in Hargeisa however this was reneged by the SFG which in an act of deception went ahead and discreetly signed another agreement with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in contempt of the Ankara Accord.
The former Somalia’s Interior and National Security Minister Abdikarim Hussein Guled who has previously had led the SFG delegations told the media that the both sides will discuss issues including the unity of the country.
The Former Security Minister said, “We are focused on seeking a United Somalia and discuss and find ways to resolve what happened in the past just stopping short of assuming responsibility for the atrocities committed against the people of Somaliland,
Further engagements between the two side’s delegates will cease for next three days in order to give them time to prepare their respective agendas until the resumption of the next meeting which is due next Friday.
SomalilandPress.com
Click the Link Below to watch the Press Briefing Clip
EU, IGAD, ETHIOPIAN ROAD COMMISSION & SOMALILAND ROAD AGENCY OFFICIALS BRAIN STORMING DURING THE MEETING
By Goth Mohamed Goth
The Minster of National planning Dr. Sacad Ali Shire opened the second meeting of the Regional Steering Committee tasked with overseeing the construction and doing feasibility studies of the Berbera corridor which currently serves both land-locked Ethiopia and Somaliland and has the potential to become a regional trade hub was held today at the Ambassador Hotel, Hargeisa.
Regional Steering Committee is head by Prof Hassan Ali Osman who heads Somaliland Road Authority and Mr. Fuad Ahmed Hussein, the personal advisor of the Minister of Public works is comprised of two officials from the EU, one from IGAD, Ethiopian Road Commission representative and, Ministry of National planning and the Berbera Port Authority officials.
Dr. Sacad Ali Shire speaking at the meeting said, “On behalf of the people of Somaliland I do hereby extend our appreciation to the committee for the hard work and progress that they have achieved in the last 14 years, we all know that Somaliland and its neighbors stand to benefit from this joint venture and once upon the completion it will change the economics of the whole region.
The Team had previously assessed the condition of the road links between Berbera and Addis Ababa, the Berbera port facilities, the Hargeisa and Berbera Airports and established current and future demand. Although current demand along the corridor is relatively average it’s expected to change in the near future, the consultants anticipated that reconstruction of the area and the growing export of livestock will encourage increased traffic. The Team also compared the costs and advantages of Ethiopia using the port of Berbera with those of competing ports, including Djibouti, Assab, Massawa, Mombassa and Port Sudan.
Once the demand studies were completed, specialists prepared recommendations for the improvement of the corridor transportation networks, including upgrading the Harar-Jijiga and Jijiga-Togochale roadways in Ethiopia and bridging of several flood channels.
The second phase of the project is to evaluate the cost and the scope of the work which required for the construction of the transport corridor which extends from Berbera –Tog wajaale which is expected to commence in June, 2014 and the awarding of the constructing contract to a suitable firm.
The Berbera – Hargeisa -Addis Ababa transport corridor is expected to be a major catalyst for trade and economic development. To support these objectives, the EU has appointed GAUFF Consultants to assess the feasibility of upgrading the port and transportation links supporting it, including the Berbera Corridor Highway, the Berbera and Hargeisa Airports and the Ethiopia-Somaliland border crossing facilities.
The improvement of this international trade route provides significant potential for increased revenues to both Somaliland and Ethiopia. To foster and monitor this trade, team had also evaluated the current capacity of the customs system and prepared recommendations to reduce smuggling between Ethiopia and Somaliland and streamline customs procedures. Among the recommendations, Team members suggested the revision of tariffs to meet current changes in the market value of goods and the use of pre-shipment inspections for higher valued items. The Team then assisted customs officials in establishing separate procedures for goods in transit and drafted improved enforcement regulations.
Troops from the EU Naval Force warship FS Aconit intercepting a group of suspected pirates off Somalia in March 2012. Multinational naval patrols in the area have been partly credited with reducing incidents of piracy.
Piracy at sea has hit a six-year low, thanks largely to a steep drop in attacks by Somali pirates operating in the Indian Ocean, according to a new report by the International Maritime Bureau.
Wed January 15, 2014
The EU Naval Force warship FS Aconit intercepting 10 suspected pirates off Somalia in March 2012. Multinational naval patrols in the area have been partly crediting with reducing incidents of piracy.
Originally published on Wed January 15, 2014 11:16 am
Piracy at sea has hit a six-year low, thanks largely to a steep drop in attacks by Somali pirates operating in the Indian Ocean, according to a new report by the International Maritime Bureau.
The maritime watchdog says there were 264 strikes against shipping worldwide last year — a drop of 40 percent since attacks peaked in 2011. And there were just 15 attacks off the coast of Somalia; by comparison, that same area saw 75 attacks in 2012 and 237 the year before.
“The single biggest reason for the drop in worldwide piracy is the decrease in Somali piracy off the coast of East Africa,” Pottengal Mukundan, IMB’s director,said in a statement.
The report credits “a combination of factors, including the key role of international navies, the hardening of vessels, the use of private armed security teams, and the stabilizing influence of Somalia’s central government” for the decrease.
In November, the United Nations and World Bank issued a report saying that pirates operating off the Horn of Africa had netted as much as $413 million in ransom payments between 2005 and 2012. The most famous incident there, the seizure of the MV Maersk Alabama, occurred in 2009. The capture of the container ship inspired the film Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks.
According to the IMB report issued Wednesday:
“[More] than 300 people were taken hostage at sea last year and 21 were injured, nearly all with guns or knives. A total of 12 vessels were hijacked, 202 were boarded, 22 were fired upon and a further 28 reported attempted attacks. Nigerian pirates were particularly violent, killing one crewmember, and kidnapping 36 people to hold onshore for ransom.”
The report says Indonesia has bucked the trend, accounting for 50 percent of all reported attacks in 2013, but that they were generally “low-level opportunistic thefts and not to be compared with the more serious incidents off Africa.”
It also said that 19 percent of all attacks worldwide last year occurred off the West African coast. Nigerian pirates, who accounted for 31 of the region’s 51 attacks, being “particularly violent.”
