Dummies for Somali Politics: Part two - Rudy-drops

[rudy-Diiriye]

Reason for part two split - forum only accepts 1000 character per posting!!

 

Non-Traditional Donors

The glaring absence of non-traditional donors, such as Turkey — which has made significant and tangible contributions to the reconstruction of cities such as Mogadishu in recent months — from the Board suggests that perhaps the real intention of the London conference was to diminish Turkey’s influence in Somalia and impose a West-friendly regime to ensure that Western companies and corporations benefit the most from the reconstruction project.

 

Since the Board will not only decide how money is used but where, it could decide to undertake projects that are most beneficial to countries represented on the Board (i.e. Britain, France and the European Union), rather than allow for more open and competitive bidding for projects.

 

Some analysts feel that the London conference was hastily convened to influence a conference on Somalia being organised by the Turkish government in June, which might have come up with alternative solutions that may not have pleased Western governments.

 

Many Somalis have welcomed Turkey’s aid to Somalia, partly because Turkey is seen as a “neutral” partner, and as a secular Muslim nation, is culturally more acceptable to Somalia’s largely Muslim population.

 

Neoliberal Model

The dominance of traditional Western donors in the Joint Financial Management Board also suggests that the development paradigm being pushed in Somalia will be aligned to the Western neoliberal model that calls for increased liberalisation, deregulation, privatisation and cutbacks.

 

However, this model cannot work in Somalia where regulation is actually needed to stabilise and revive the economy and where state institutions are either non-existent or too weak to regulate markets and the economy.

 

The London conference, while purporting to come up with a “Marshall Plan” for Somalia, also failed to recognise that a Marshall-like plan can only work in countries (like post-War Germany) that already have well-established institutions and industries that can be revived through an injection of funds. Somalia has neither.

 

While businesses such as mobile phone companies are thriving in Somalia, they are not regulated or taxed, though an informal system of taxation has developed whereby “taxes” are paid to faction leaders, local administrations, Islamist groups, port militias and armed men at roadblocks.

 

The lack of an established tax regime in the country and the absence of regulatory bodies means that industries operate informally, even when they are highly profitable.

 

While Somalis are known for their entrepreneurial culture and their ability to take risks, the injection of donor funds (most likely followed by the recruitment of Western companies to deliver services and infrastructure) could cause a sudden volatility in the economy, and fuel resentment of foreign-owned businesses.

 

Chatham House analyst Adjoa Anyimadu told the Guardian: “There’s already a lot of scepticism from parts of the Somalian community about the reasons for the sudden focus on Somalia and the reasons behind the UK’s interest.

 

“The potential for things to go wrong is high, for the population to feel they are being undermined or invaded by foreigners.

 

“Al Shabaab has little credence with many Somalians but a foreign intervention could create a common enemy.”

 

Africa’s Role Underplayed

The London communiqué is not completely silent on the role of African countries in Somalia’s recovery, but their role is mostly confined to the area of security, terrorism, in particular.

 

There is reference to the achievements and sacrifices of “Amisom and other forces” — and an endorsement of the UN Security Council’s decision to expand the mandate and raise the troop ceiling of Amisom — but Uganda and Burundi are not mentioned by name, nor are Kenya and Ethiopia cited for their recent efforts in removing Al Shabaab from the country.

 

Nor is there any recognition of Kenya having borne the brunt of the Somali refugee crisis by hosting the largest refugee population in the world for the past 20 years.

 

It seems as if Britain and Prime Minister David Cameron decided to hold the London conference to take the shine off the work done by African countries in bringing about stability to the country, and to take credit for work that had already begun long before they decided that Somalia needed the world’s attention.

 

This is not to say that an international conference focused on Somalia’s myriad problems was not needed. But it has managed to make the process about the West’s involvement rather than Somalia’s rescue.

 

Ali Ghedi, an MP in the current government, says that by expanding Amisom’s mandate, for instance, the international community showed that it was not ready to build local capacity or invest in an effective Somali army.

 

Home-Grown Ideas

Harper, who covered the London conference for the BBC, is of the opinion that the Somaliland example of a home-grown democracy “has demonstrated that, when left to themselves, Somalis can form a viable nation-state.”

 

Somaliland (which is not internationally recognised) is located on the northern edge of the Horn of Africa and declared itself independent of the rest of Somalia in 1991. It has since emerged as the most peaceful region in the country.

 

Harper added: “Time and again, delegates at the (London) conference insisted that this was not about telling Somalis what to do, that it was about helping Somalis do it for themselves.

 

“But the outcome appeared to do the opposite, with plans for outsiders to play a central role in monitoring the economy, dealing with Somalia’s security issues and ensuring that the political transition ends in August.

 

“It seems that the ‘international community’ cannot help telling Somalia what to do, an approach that has backfired over the past 20 years, and possibly made the situation worse than it might have been if Somalia had been left to its own devices.”

 

Rasna Warah is a columnist with the Daily Nation in Kenya. This article was first published by The EastAfrican weekly.

 

Rasna -- Right on the money!! Rudy

[burahadeer]

keeping turkey in the dark:D.... just get the damn thing out,you all have enough contracts.