Hargeisa (Somalilandpress)- At 1755 on 12 April 2010 a HALO Land Rover carrying four HALO staff returning from work at Dabogoroyaale minefield to their camp in Dabogoroyaale village initiated a PRBM-3 anti-tank mine. Two staff members – Driver Hussein Abdi Muhumed and Deminer Yousuf Xirsi Bashe – died as a result of injuries sustained during the blast. HALO deminer Hassan Dol Ali and section commander Abdirahman Ismail Aden sustained injuries.
The vehicle was driving on a track very well-used by HALO for hundreds of times and for which there was no information to suggest the presence of mines. Investigations by HALO, the police and the Somaliland Mine Action Centre are underway.
This is the first mine incident resulting in deaths, in HALO’s ten years of mineclearance in Somaliland.
While the police investigation continues into this case, no further public statements can be made.
General information about HALO’s Somaliland Programme can be found at www.halotrust.org
Liboi, 17 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Suspected members of Somalia’s Al-Shabaab militias have for the second time this month raided Kenya’s border town of Liboi.
The heavily armed gunmen barricaded and attacked several positions within the remote settlement, some 18km from Somalia’s porous-ragged border, witnesses told Saturday Nation.
Northeastern provincial commissioner James ole Serian could not be reached for comment. The gunmen stormed two local hotels and a number of business premises during a two-hour raid.
Several shots
According to residents, the gunmen were not confronted by the Kenyan forces who were reportedly manning the border at the time.
“It was shortly after 1am when the gunmen raided our town, they have attacked several places, including Ali-arif and Abdi-adoon hotels,” a witness told us on phone from Liboi Town.
“They have fired several shots; however, there were no casualties and there was destruction of property,” he added. The gunmen left behind a bomb and ammunition.
Early this month, Al-Shabaab fighters attacked a contingent of General Service Unit near the Kenya-Somalia border. Kenya has thousands of troops on the border.
HARGEISA, 17 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – A new programme is targeting about 800 primary and junior high school students in northwestern Somalia’s self-declared republic of Somaliland with HIV/AIDS messages for the first time.
“The children’s ages range from seven to 19. Of course, most of them are not sexually active now – we targeted them for several reasons … every student comes from a family and he will pass the message to his family. Also, they are the next generation at high risk of HIV,” said Mohamoud Hassan Abdillahi, executive director of Somaliland Health and Social Care Organization (SOHASCO).
The messages, which SOHASCO hopes will eventually raise awareness in thousands of people, included information on how HIV is transmitted and how to prevent infection, as well as the extent of the epidemic in Somaliland; an estimated 1.4 percent of people are infected.
“I was only aware of sexual intercourse transmission of the disease, but now I know three ways that HIV/AIDS is transmitted – illegal sexual intercourse, giving blood to someone without checking, as well as using sharp elements such as the knives, used in traditional operations,” said Abdirasak Hussein Hashi, 19, of Sheikh Bashir primary/intermediate school.
HIV advocates have praised the campaign but many local people are less pleased that their children are being introduced to sexual matters at such a young age.
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“I don’t like students to be taught about HIV/AIDS; when they reach the mature age, they have to be instructed in Islam [so as] not to do the behaviours of high risk, such as adultery,” said Ali Jama Abdi, father of a child. “In our religion it is not allowed for children to be taught what is considered as shameful.”
According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), policies to reduce the vulnerability of children and young people to HIV cannot be implemented without the full cooperation of the education sector.
Although some of SOHASCO’s messages could be perceived as stigmatising people living with HIV by their use of terms like “illegal sex”, “immorality” and “adultery” to describe how HIV is transmitted, this is the only acceptable way of passing on such information in conservative, Muslim Somaliland. Messages intended to reduce stigma were also included.
“Our slogans were carrying messages like, ‘Stop HIV/AIDS’, ‘HIV/AIDS is very dangerous to every human being, including whites, blacks and Muslims’, ‘Abstinence is the best way of avoiding HIV/AIDS’ and ‘Together we can stop HIV/AIDS’,” Abdillahi said.
SOHASCO said teachers also experienced difficulties. “The teachers know about HIV/AIDS, but their problem is that they do not have the materials, and the subject is not in the syllabus,” said Hassan Jama Abdillahi, principal of Gacma-Dheere School. “It [HIV education] is a crucial step that obliges us to protect our youth from the dangers of this disease.”
According to the Somaliland National AIDS Commission, an HIV education syllabus is being drafted and will be included in school curriculums by the end of 2010.
HARGEISA (Somalilandpress) — A Kenyan parliamentary delegation visited Somaliland last year and was led by Farah Maalim, the Deputy Speaker of the Kenya National assembly.
The aim of the delegation was to study the economic, political and humanitarian situation in Somaliland. They were to report their findings and recommendations to the Speaker of the National assembly who, if he approved their report, would transmit it to the House Business Committee for allocation of parliamentary time for the House to debate it and make a decision. The report is before Parliament awaiting debate and approval.
This was not the first Kenyan parliamentary delegation to visit Somaliland. Between December 19 and 26, 2006, Mr Paul Muite, led a Kenyan parliamentary delegation on a fact-finding mission to Somaliland, at the invitation of its leadership. The initiatives are a reflection of positive obsession by the people of Somaliland to achieve recognition by the international community as an independent and sovereign state among the international community of nations.
Lack of international recognition has negatively affected Somaliland. The Republic of Somaliland cannot do business with other governments and multi lateral organisations.
Nor does the government of Somaliland have access to the kind of bilateral and multilateral financial assistance that would assist in the reconstructions and the development of the country.
The absence of international banks has tied the hands of Somaliland private sector. Bedsides foreign investors are reluctant to do business in a country where the validity of their agreement with the government is legally questionable.
Uncertainty
Somaliland travel documents are not valid for international travel and this adversely affects businesspersons, students and scholars. Majority of Somalilanders in the Diaspora are reluctant to return home under conditions of such uncertainty.
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The Maalim delegation has made the recommendation that the Kenya government should develop a framework for limited engagement with Somaliland to promote trade and enhance security in the Horn of Africa. Kenya has provided this regional leadership in the creation of the Transitional Federal Government for Somalia and in the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that settled the Sudan conflict.
The indigenous homegrown strategies which have brought reconciliation, peace and stability in Somaliland can provide lessons from which Kenyan, Igad and AU can learn and adopt and apply to Somalia to end hostility and war.
The delegation acknowledged in their report to the Kenya Parliament the accomplishments of the government and the people of Somaliland. These include the consolidation of civil administration which now covers 90 per cent of the country’s disciplined arm, police force and a stable currency.
The government and the people of Somaliland have consolidated democracy through a multiparty electoral system and creation of viable and accountable democratic institutions. If Parliament approves the report of the parliamentary delegation, it will send appropriate signal to the government of Kenya to engage with Somaliland and to lead the campaign for the recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as a full member of Igad, AU and the United Nations.
Complex crisis
Kenya should lead the way in open and direct engagement with the Republic of Somaliland. The security of Kenya has been complicated by piracy in the Gulf of Eden and the Indian Ocean and this has direct bearing on international trade and peace in the region.
Kenya should use its immense influence in Igad and AU to put pressure on Somalia to renounce the notion of “a Greater Somalia” and Somali expansionism through the recognition of Somaliland.
This would offer a lasting solution to the complex crisis in Somalia and in the north-east region of Africa.
By Peter Aringo —The writer is a former Alego Usonga MP.
HARGEISA (Somalilandpress) — A high-level British and French diplomatic officials have arrived in Hargeisa for consultations over the holding of forthcoming general elections in the country and to strengthen ties, Somalilandpress has learned on Friday.
The British delegation was led by Mr. John Marshall, deputy ambassador at the UK embassy in Addis Ababa, held private discussions with the Speaker of lower house of parliament, Mr. Abdirahman Mohamed ‘Irro’, as well as the chairman of National Electoral Commission (NEC) and members from the three political parties.
Mr. Marshall, discussed a range of issues including security, forthcoming elections in Somaliland, and the role Somaliland’s 82-seat House of Representatives could play in the democratization process.
The British visit was preceded by a four-member delegation from the French embassy in Djibouti and was led by Mr. Dominique Decherf, French Ambassador to Djibouti and Mr. Thierry Choinier, the first secretary of the French Embassy in Djibouti. The other two members, Mr. Banos Robles Bernard and Mr. Jacques Sabrot were from the French Ministry of education and the Ministry of Culture respectively.
The French delegation has met with the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Abdirahman Osman Adan. The two sides discussed ways of working towards strengthening ties between Somaliland and France in the fields of security, development, education and culture. They have also discussed the forthcoming elections and the French delegation plans to meet with all political parties as well as the NEC. The delegation said they were also in the country for a fact-finding mission and were accompanied by Somaliland Representative to France, Mr. Ali Ismael Hassan.
French Diplomats
Somalilandpress has learned that, the French want Somaliland’s high-tertiary institutions to include French in their education curriculum as well as presenting French culture and identity through the support of their Maisons de Culture (culture centres), which Mr. Jacques Sabrot is leading. The French diplomats also insisted that they would help Somaliland build strong education capacity and infrastructure.
In recent times, Somaliland has been developing strong ties with France, it was three weeks ago when Somaliland Liaison office in Paris was invited to the all exclusive French-speaking, the International Organisation of La Francophonie for it’s 40th anniversary. In late 2009, Somaliland business communities as well as members of the government were also invited to Djibouti to meet with French companies.
The British and French delegation came just days after the NEC has announced the general election will be held in June and that all three parties have signed the agreed date.
Photo: British diplomats with Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Irro.
HARGEISA (Somalilandpress) — A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in the main hall of Ministry of Labour in Hargeisa on Thursday for Fairland University, a private university based in Uganda.
The head of the new establishment in Hargeisa, Mr. Abdisalam Isse Farah who spoke there gave a brief history of Fairland University and private-education in Uganda in general.
Mr. Farah stated that the Fairland University is among 22 private institution in Uganda and that it was established in 2001 and has six campuses in Uganda.
He also stated that the university is partnered with other continental leading institutions such as the University of South Africa, which is among the top 20 ranked universities in Africa. It also has linkages with leading universities in South Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania.
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Fairland University will be offering certificate, diploma, degree and post-graduate courses in Economics and Management services, Education and sports, Law, Science and Technology and Art.
The Vice Education Minister, Mr. Ismael Mohamud, who was also present welcomed the new institution but warned them they must meet education requirements of Somaliland and that very soon his ministry will be establishing a committee that will review all education institutions in the country. He said all institutions will have to meet their tertiary institution requirements in order to continue their operations.
In August of 2009, the National Council for Higher Education of Uganda issued a notice to the Fairland University accusing them of lack of sufficient infrastructure and human resources and warned them of taking new students.
Fairland University is now part of growing number of private universities in Somaliland including a number of colleges and universities from neighbouring Ethiopia. Despite the growth of education, many local and international analysts question the quality of education in the country.
Other guests in the ceremony included vice-mayor of Hargeisa, Mr. Mohamed Abdullahi, Spokesman of UDUB party, Mr. Ali Gurey, vice-chairman of UCID party, Mr. Adan Mohamed Mire, as well as members of parliament and the Gurti.
HARGEISA 15 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – A court in Somalia’s northern breakaway region of Somaliland sentenced three people to death on Wednesday and ordered the deportation of four foreigners for four bomb attacks on the security forces, court sources said.
Five people were killed in the attacks between November and January, including four police officers killed in a single attack in January.
Somaliland is proud of its relative stability, compared with the anarchy further south, but the attacks were a reminder of its vulnerability to radical militants.
The four foreigners — two Ethiopians, an Eritrean and a Sudanese — said they were not involved in the attacks, but the chairman of Berbera Regional Court ordered their deportation. Police sources said at the time of the blast in January that an explosive device had been left among milk cans near a mosque in Las Anod near the Puntland border.
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Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab — a major rebel group in Somalia — hit Somaliland and Puntland with synchronised suicide blasts that killed at least 24 people in October 2008.
A row has been simmering between the Somaliland president and opposition parties over delays in elections, and analysts said this could trigger a re-arming of clan militias and new violence for al Shabaab to exploit.
But in a surprise announcement on Tuesday, Somaliland’s National Electoral Commission said the presidential poll would take place in June.
DJIBOUTI, (SomalilandPress) – Lawmakers in Djibouti on Wednesday approved an amendment to the constitution that paves the way for the president of the Horn of Africa nation to run for a third term.
Industrials
Djibouti’s parliament voted unanimously on the constitutional reforms which remove term limits, cut the presidential mandate to five years from six, create a senate and abolish capital punishment.
President Ismail Omar Guelleh’s second term expires in 2011 and speculation has surrounded his plans for a third mandate.
Djibouti, a former French colony which separates Eritrea from Somalia, hosts France’s largest military base in Africa and a major U.S. base. Its port is used by foreign navies patrolling busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia to fight piracy.
Dubai World has a deep-sea base at Djibouti port, which serves as the principle access point for goods entering and exiting land-locked Ethiopia. [ID:nLDE62L1LZ]
Last month, Guelleh told Reuters China would be Djibouti’s biggest investor next year and in 2012 and that he planned to make Djibouti port the biggest hub in the region at a cost of nearly half a billon U.S. dollars. [ID:nLDE62K0FE] (Reporting by Abdourahim Arteh, Editing by Richard Lough and Charles Dick)
The following is a vacancy announcement by UNPD, who are seeking a qualified consultant to conduct a tracer study of Somaliland Civil Service Institute (CSI) graduates and report to the SIDP project manager for a period of five weeks. CSI is responsible for human resources development in Somaliland.
I. General Information
Title of Consultancy:
Impact Tracer Study, CSI Somaliland
Type of Contract:
SSA – Special Service Agreement
Duration of the assignment:
5 Weeks
Duty station:
Nairobi, UNDP Somalia Office
Expected places of travel:
Hargeisa, Somaliland
Supervisor:
SIDP Project Manager
Anticipated presence at UNDP premises:
Intermittent presence with frequent travel to Somaliland
Date of Issue:
April 12, 2010
Closing Date:
April 26, 2010
II. Objectives of the assignment
The Somaliland Civil Service Institute (CSI) is a Public Sector Training Institute established in May 2005. The institute trains Somaliland civil servants, private sector employees, local governmental and non-governmental organizations staff. CSI was previously hosted by the University of Hargeisa but in December 2009 it moved to its new centre in the city center, built with support from UNDP. CSI focuses on developing the capacity of the employees in the areas of public financial management and accounting, public administration, information and communication technology – among others. The institute also provides tailor made training programmes to both public and private sector employees.
Nearly 70% of the CSI operational cost is supported by UNDP. The remaining 30 % comes from Government of Somaliland (25%) and the CSI itself (approx. 5%) . Average operational cost is close to $180,000 per year. An exit strategy developed jointly by UNDP and CSI indicate the Government of Somaliland will gradually take over the CSI recurrent costs. In 2013, CSI is expected to be fully supported (100%) by the Government of Somaliland
More than 1250 civil service employees have been trained by the Civil Service Institute since it opened in May 2005. The Institute provides a series of short work related/ performance improvement courses including management, leadership, accounting, statistics, book keeping, expenditure management, etc. The training courses offered by CSI are primarily tailored to respond to the needs of government institutions based on assessments undertaken by the Civil Service Commission.
An evaluation of the impact of the training interventions undertaken by the institute is needed to determine the impact it has made on the capacity of the government institution to deliver social services. This evaluation will lay the basis for design improvements in the institute’s human capacity development approaches.
III. Scope of work
The major tasks and responsibilities of the consultant comprise the following:
Conduct a tracer study of CSI graduates, where they are currently working and what they are doing.
Assess the impact the 4 years training has made in improving the capacity of key Government institutions, in terms how better equipped staff are on the basis of the training they have received.
Assess the relevance of the training provided by CSI to the country’s administrative, management and development requirements.
Evaluate the overall capacity of the CSI to deliver the skills and knowledge required by Somaliland Government institutions, and suggest improvements.
Determine the level of commitment of Somaliland institutions to human resource capacity development, including the incentives provided to trained staff.
Highlight any constraints inhibiting staff performance in key public institutions and their causes, and suggest how they should be addressed.
Evaluate the partnership between the Somaliland Civil Service Commission, the ministry responsible for labour and the CSI, and suggest how this partnership can be enhanced to provide better human resources development for Somaliland
IV. Monitoring and Progress controls
The consultant will report to the SIDP project manager. The assignment witself will be supervised by the SIDP project office in Hargeisa, Somaliland.
V. Final product/deliverable
An inception report within 7 calendar days of the start of the assignment
A Draft Report within 21 calendar days of the start of the assignment
A Final Report within 14 calendar days of receipt of comments on the Draft Report
VI: Review/approval time
SIDP will provide written comments on the Draft Report within 10 calendar days of receipt of the draft to assist it revision. Approval of the Draft Final Report or comments for further improvement will be communicated to the consultant within 14 days of receipt of the Draft Final report.
VII: Qualifications
Development and Operational Effectiveness
Ability to evaluate the impact of training interventions on institutional capacity development
Strong research and analytical skills
Education
Advanced degree in Public Administration/ Human Resource Management
Experience
At least 10 years experience in Public Administration/ Human Resource Management
VIII: Other information
UNDP Somali Institutional Development Project will (i) provide the consultant with all information relating to all training conducted by the Somaliland Civil Service Institute, and (ii) assist the consultant to contact the relevant people in Somaliland government ministries and agencies.
Interested and qualified candidates are requested to submit electronic application by visiting http://jobs.undp.org/. The closing date for receipt of applications is 26th April 2010.
Applicants are required to fill a P11 Form and submit it together with Curriculum Vitae on the online application.
A new generation of well-organised Somali pirates is targeting ships and aims to use ransoms from hijackings for further criminal activities, a senior ship industry official says.
Seaborne gangs have already increased their attacks in recent months, making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships, including tankers and dry bulkers, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
Better weather is expected to lead to further attacks.
Jan Kopernicki, president of the UK Chamber of Shipping industry association and also vice president of Shell Shipping, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, told Reuters an “industrialisation of piracy” was taking place.
“It certainly seems from the shipping industry point of view that it’s a more structured and organised approach that is developing and that is worrying because it’s much more in the area of solid criminality,” he said in an interview.
Kopernicki, who was appointed UK Chamber of Shipping president last month, said there had been a “substitution” of groups involved.
“The first generation pirates have been succeeded by a second generation which are different and from different groups and from what I understand connected differently,” he said.
“I absolutely don’t want to suggest this is linked to terrorism from what I am aware of.”
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The previous generation of pirates had divided up ransoms to fund their villages in Somalia, Kopernicki said, adding there was better-organised use now of mother ships and small speed boats known as skiffs.
“We are now seeing structured organisation with material apparently being brought down a supply line to supply these boats and skiffs,” said Kopernicki, who leads Shell’s shipping business.
“The impression we have is that the money flows are leaving Somalia and going into criminal elements.”
West Africa
Foreign navies have been deployed off the Gulf of Aden since 2009 and have operated convoys, as well as setting up a transit corridor across dangerous waters. But their forces have been stretched over the vast waterways, leaving ships vulnerable.
While West African pirates have not attracted the same amount of international attention as their Somali counterparts, maritime analysts say they pose an increasing risk in a region with weak surveillance and a growing number of oil finds.
Cameroon’s state oil company said last week crude oil production fell by 13 % last year in part because piracy off the coast cut investment.
“The situation in West Africa is beginning to have the elements that would give concern of a copy cat developing more generically in that area,” Kopernicki said.
Shell declined to comment on how many vessels the group had operating off East and West Africa citing “security reasons”.
Kopernicki said consultation on “an urgent basis” was needed between governments, the military and industry to review plans for protecting merchant traffic off West Africa to ensure the situation did not escalate. “We are early enough in the piece to be able to do something constructive.”
