Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas Plans Constitutional Government by August

[Samsung]

Somalia PM Plans Constitutional Government by August

 

 

 

Somalia's Transitional Federal Government is making preparations to hand over power to an elected government in AugustThe surprising development is being engineered by a Somali-American technocrat intent on ending his native country's reputation as a failed state.

 

Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali is a man with a mission.

 

The Harvard-educated Ali could easily go back to his wife and four children and his career as an academic in the United States. A month ago, he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt that killed two of Somalia's top sports officials.

 

Instead he has chosen to take on what some might call “mission impossible,” returning stability to Somalia after more than 20 years of lawlessness and conflict.

 

Just a few months ago, southern Somalia was in the grip of drought and famine. Much of the countryside was controlled by al-Shabab, an Islamic extremist group that refused to allow Western aid agencies to provide life-saving food aid. As a result, thousands of Somalis died.

 

Today, al-Shabab's grip is broken, due partly to public anger at their callousness, and partly to a African Union-led military force that hit them when they were at their weakest.

 

A few weeks ago, al-Shabab fighters were forced to pull out of their last few positions in Mogadishu. Prime Minister Ali sees the political vacuum created by al-Shabab's departure as an opportunity for his U.N.-backed government, which until recently was seen as weak, corrupt and incompetent.

 

"We gained a lot of territory from Shabab. They're on the run, and Somalis came to understand they have no tolerance," he said. "They don't have a Somali agenda. Their agenda is an obnoxious agenda. Shabab lost the hearts and minds of the Somali people. They lost the battle and also lost the war."

 

Ali and his crew of Western-educated technocrats are racing against the clock to create a constitutional government for Somalia by August, when his administration's mandate expires. Two weeks ago they finished drafting a new constitution.

 

In technocratic form, Ali expresses confidence that he can succeed where others have failed by strict adherence to a timetable.

 

"We have a 'road map.' You know why previous governments failed was because they never had a framework that guides them, that takes them from where they were and to where they want to be," he said. "Now we have a framework. The road map has benchmarks, timelines and deadlines of doing specific jobs. That's why we've succeeded."

 

The next steps include forming a convention of elders to select a constitutional assembly that will ratify the constitution. The assembly will then choose members of a slimmed-down parliament that will elect a speaker and a president by July.

 

The new government would then be ready to take power by August, when Prime Minister Ali's mandate expires. It's a tall order, but he says the progress made in the past few months suggests it can be done.

 

"Nobody would have thought seven months ago that the whole city of Mogadishu would be secured and safe," he said. "We are a proud country with rich history. We'll get out of this mess and hopefully in the near future you will have a Somalia at peace with itself and its neighbors."

 

Ali says al-Shabab may continue for some time to be able to stage sporadic terrorist attacks like the one this week that killed two members of parliament. But he envisions a state that within five years will become a solid member of the community of nations, something that has evaded Somalia for more than two decades.

[xiinfaniin]

End the Transition, Pass the

Draft Constitution.

 

May 03, 2012

 

Hamadhán is my native town, I must allow it that honour, but it is the vilest of cities.

In ugliness its children are like its old men, and, in reason, its old men are like its children.

 

Those are the famous lines of Hafiz, Abú’l-Fal al-Hamadhání, surnamed Badí ‘al-Zamán (the Wonder of the Age) satirizing his native place, the city of Hamadhán.

 

As if al-Hamadhání’s pointed verses were not enough to make the point of people of Hamadhán’s churlishness, his instructor, Ibn Fáris, eloquently summarized the uninspiring character of Hamadhán and its people in a rhetorical question. ‘Why should I not ', asked he, 'offer a sincere prayer for that city where I had the good fortune of forgetting all I ever learned?' And forgetting all we ever learned is what we Somalis are doing today. Since our central government fell, our cities and country pillaged, and despite the vivid embarrassment and humiliation our people face on a daily basis, we are still practicing petty politics as we always did. We never fail to squander every opportunity that knocks our doors. We cannot see forest, as it were, for the trees. As Somalia enters a new season of hope, the petty politicians and the shortsighted clannish leaders are once again dominating the airwaves to confuse the issues and mislead the Somali people. This time, the target of their collective attack is the new draft constitution. It is even sadder, I must say, that some religious leaders are jumping the gun, issuing incomplete verdicts and resorting to empty Islamic rhetoric.

 

Today’s opposition against the effort to transition the country from the current transitional status is sadly in line with how we Somalis always reacted to any major effort that was undertaken to address the Somali tragedy. Whether that effort was initiated by the Somalis themselves as the case was with Mogadishu’s Islamic Courts, or externally organized as was the case in the 1992 International effort led by the US, the Arta conference of 2000 and the political process that produced current TFI political framework, our reaction and the ultimate outcome were the same.

 

Today we complain about the AMISOM presence, decrying the apparent UN and neighboring countries’ influence on our internal affairs. Yet we forget it is we that enabled, and in some cases compelled, others to intervene. We forget that it is we that destroyed our cities, raped our women, displaced our innocent people, and forced them to leave their homeland. We forget that the largest refugee camp in the world exclusively houses Somali people---majority being women and children. That is to say, when we Somalis were left to our own devices, we have shown no mercy to one another. We can blame all we want, and whom we want, but our current status is a direct result of our own deeds and attitude. It is in that hard truth of Somali people’s inability to resolve their conflict, or even manage it, that current process of transitioning the country must be viewed and supported. Ditto the draft constitution. Ditto the roadmap. We cannot avoid going back to our old ways of internal squabbles and continuous sabotage. Somalia cannot avoid it. Surely Somali people can hardly avoid any more setbacks.

 

Recent public discourse about the draft constitution has not been encouraging. Instead of objective critique and measured appraisal, draft constitution has been subjected to a deliberate demagoguery and rabble-rousing intended to mislead and misinform the general masses. This is partly the result of TFG’s lack of coordinated effort to disseminate information pertaining to the draft constitution. But it is also clear that politicians and previous warlords who participated in the utter destruction of Somalia and its people are beginning to reappear in different clothes, dwelling on generalities to dismiss the draft constitution as the work of ‘non-Somalis’. We must understand the intent of these politicians is to derail the process, and delay the transition in the hope that more opportune time will come to boost their chances to grab political ‘power’ again.

 

The cost Somali people will incur as the result of their political calculation and scheming does not matter to these politicians. There are also those with genuine concerns about both the legitimacy and process through which the draft constitution is produced. Their inputs and suggestions need be voiced and incorporated during the constituent assembly deliberations. But

one thing must be understood: if the draft constitution is a critical component of the process to

end the current transitional status, as I think it is, we must do everything possible to have the soon-to-be selected constituent assembly debate it, amend the clauses that need amendment, and adopt it in time to meet the deadlines of the imposed political calendar. We must do so just in time to select parliamentarian members, so a non-transitional government can be formed by August 2012.

 

Some do, and will, have misgivings on the draft constitution. But our national priority should be to get out of the transitional status. We must also remember that come 2016 this draft constitution will be up for ratification. If the time does not permit a comprehensive review now, or ambiguity arises on certain clauses between now and then, the Somali people will have another chance to look closely at the constitution, amend and ratify it. Put it differently, Somalis must not forget what is at stake in the road map process. As London Conference made amply clear, the world has come to the conclusion that Somalia cannot be denied government anymore. The policy of containment has miserably failed and spectacularly backfired. Piracy, terrorism, and reoccurring war-induced famine proved to be too much to bear for the international community. The cries of suffering Somali people seem to have finally been heard. The Turkish government has brought more aid and attention to Somalia, and is showing continued interest in helping us recover and construct the country. Somalia’s political stakeholders have turned a page and agreed on a set of principles to move forward with the political process. Somaliland government and TFG talks (technical glitches notwithstanding) are being undertaken first time since the fall of central government. To sustain these positive developments, it must be understood, TFG must meet a set of political benchmarks toward ensuring that the transition is ended on time. With these positively converging forces/events, Somalia has a remarkable chance to stand on her feet, be a normal country and proud nation again. That is where the importance of the draft constitution lies. It is part of the road map process. And this is the contextual background with which any honest public discourse should be conducted.

 

We must end the tumult against the draft constitution, and defuse the unnecessary public outcry. Pass the draft constitution---we can amend it in four years time. But we cannot let current opportunities to end the transition slip away.

 

http://www.wardheernews.com/Articles_12/May/Liban/03_End_the_Transition_Pass_the_Draft_Constitution.html

[Somalia]

The Harvard-educated Prime Minister who left a comfortable life in America to help his country is presiding over the most functional government since the fall of Siad Barre. He has clearly proven himself to be the necessary man to take Somalia beyond the transition and into a permanent government.

 

This is a time for the nation to come together and spoilers shouldn't be allowed to ruin it.