The first act of a newly elected parliament, after members have taken the pledge of loyalty, is the election of a speaker.
The parliament speaker is an elected MP
who presides the sessions of the parliament, maintains order during sessions, punishes MPs who break the rules of the house, determines which members might speak and, once bills and proposals are introduced, decides which ones are to be discussed first, to assign them to a committee whose members peruse and make changes to the bills and proposals when necessary, to put them before the parliament to be voted on.
Principally, contemporary MPs are considered to have two duties, or three when they belong to a political party. Their primary responsibility is to act in the national interest. They must also act in the interests of their constituents where this does not override their primary responsibility.
Examples of having a sincere interest for national progress include enhancing peoples’ living standard, performing acts of kindness without expecting anything in return and creating an environment that can equip communities with relevant skills and knowledge that will enable them to be self-reliant and active in the economic.
This sums up that an MP’s primary role is, at the very least, to come up with the effort to guide their conduct by sincerity –that is, to do what there are the best reasons for doing – while giving equal weight to the interests of each citizen who will be affected by what a representative does.
If every Somaliland MP is elected to observe above noble role, why the age-old tribal intrigues and streams of invective once again come into play and Kulmiye party is restlessly calling on some MPs from opposition parties to come to its side? What is the aspirational goal that led Kulmiye leadership to strike an alliance deal with MPs from opposition parties? Who will the parliament speaker serve? The presidency or the public?
Public representation is ‘not an experieental policy, but an endeavor that must be won’; a social responsibility that could dictate and design what the future for one’s constituencý and country would look like and how every elected representative is going to make that future a reality.
As they say, “becoming is better than being.”
Today Somaliland population is expecting to see a parliament that is totally different from the previous parliament in every ethical aspect.
The participation of Somaliland population in recent parliamentary and local council election proves the reality that the people of this country are in dire need of having MPs who should revive the honor of public representation; representatives who by all means prove that the legislature is a political institution with high-minded principles and innovative policies; a legislature that would leave no stone unturned in order to clean the rotten system from under the carpet; a parliament whose activity in public engagement should embody a considerable sense of connectivity that offers forms of symbolic representation, which ought to present the public with what this age requires.
Faced limitless levels of distrust from the forner parliament, the election of the speaker should be about choosing a personality that can ponder on how to make right what has already gone wrong; a person who has the ability to materialise the means that can make Somaliland stronger; an individual who has the capacity to set plans and policies that can uplift the poor; an honorable MP who can inspire the legislature with the will to act effectively and the courage to create an efficient environment where all legal institutions are accountable for their actions by re-introducing check-and-balance procedures to Somaliland’s current political system.
Picking the speaker from among the PMs is not about selecting a yes-man, who only fulfills the wishes and wants of the current Somaliland presidency. Somaliland is fed up of a parliament that always followed the directions and dictations given by the executive body.
The way in which Somaliland presidency (‘the executive) worked was not built to deliver promising results in the public interest or to foster policy innovation. Instead it was based on political corruption – that is, abuse of power, to put the context on its proper pretext.
In politics, a political alliance, also known as a coalition, is collaboration by members of different political parties, in countries with a parliamentary system, on a common goal. This usually involves formal agreements between two or more entire parties, to choose a prime minister or parliament speaker.
The coalition between the two parties,
Waddani and Ucid, is a constitutional move in the first place and, in addition a temporary agreement which, in and of itself, is not a destructive pact. Rather it is a defining mission or a motto fundamentally designed for reactivating and reinforcing measures ensuring adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality before the law, accountability to the law, fairness in the application of the law, division of government tasks among legal institutions, separation of powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty, procedural transparency, and avoidance of arbitrariness.
As the old gag goes to say, “Change is the law of life.” Change is what mostly makes people grow. The new parliament must examine how government officials work, what they do and how they do what they do. Moreover the MPs must also throw their weight behind implementing political innovation that would help government institutions intellectualise governing system, so that Somaliland’s mode of governance can grow.
Having a sincere interest for human development is what realistically plants the seeds of progress. Much like a seed, any progress must be nurtured. And much like
a plant, the progress becomes more durable as it grows. Left unattended, for any length of time, a plant begins to wither. Likewise, so progress and persistence.
Looking into and investing in following sectors are the areas where projections of change-making movements should begin:
- Invest in education and job skills training. Pay teachers more and modernize and support public schools, vocational education, community colleges, job training academies, and apprenticeships.
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Invest in innovation. Enhance governing by systemising how people work and inspire them with confidence and courage to get things done and hold them accountable.
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Identifying differences between regions.
Study regional strengths and weaknesses, support enabling and creative ideas, create
the conditions for local communities to thrive in future growth areas such as regenerative agriculture, self-reliance and knowledge-based enterprises (when the ability to do is avsilable). -
Invest in Infrastructure. Repair and modernize roads, bridges.
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Invest health. Clean common areas, keep wellness centres tidy, supply public places with better lighting and community policing so that people can feel safe.
If the new parliament will look Somaliland’s current situation in a new way and act on that new look, things may change for the better. But if the newly elected MPs begin their duty with the intenationality to look only what comes
into their pockets, it is cetain that Somaliland would miss a promising future.
By : Jamafalaag
Hargeisa, Somaliland.
