Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali; National Salvation Plan- a must read...

[General Duke]

 

 

“No Nation rebuilding is possible without a vision and no vision is achievable without unity and collective responsibility’’ Dr.Abdiweli M Ali For 2012

[General Duke]

Continuing Security and Stabilization Program

 

It is well known fact that there can be no stability, economic or social progress without secure environment. Our priority from the offset was to secure the country and we have succeeded in achieving this goal. We have improved the overall security in the country, especially the capital city, Mogadishu, thanks in large part to the selfless efforts of our national army, in conjunction with the African Union troops. We will to continue in that direction until we secure the entire country. We will redouble our efforts by creating a well disciplined and professional security forces.

[General Duke]

Building the Human Capital

 

Reviving the state of public health and education services -- which deteriorated rapidly since the onset of the collapse of the Somali state around 90s, will be a key policy goal for my government. In order to create a well-educated and enlightened society, my government will strive to improve both the quality and quantity of its human resources, through the widespread provision of and equitable access to quality education and other essential social services for all its citizens. Obviously, this will require a substantial amount of investment and a considerable effort to redress traditional gender biases and other forms of inequalities that militate against equitable access to social services. A well-educated and innovative population that is endowed with a vibrant entrepreneurial class, high labour productivity and an inclination towards wealth accumulation should characterize the new Somali society.

[General Duke]

[Education

 

We are cognizant of the lack of viable, publicly funded institutions led by trained teachers and administrators.Education is key to preparing our youth for the challenges of tomorrow by devising the following programs:

 

- Informal education: Create short-term programs such as vocational training to enable job seekers access to job market.

 

- Formal education: The focus will be on secondary and tertiary education to prepare students with the educational foundation and tools to partake in the high skilled sectors of the economy.

 

- Building advanced educational institutions and first class research centers in the long terms, which will produce graduates capable of competing in the global market place, and enhance the country’s future productivity.

[General Duke]

Health

 

A healthy individual is key to the country’s economic growth. Without healthy workers in place, economic growth will stutter along and lag behind. By improving the nutrition and well being of the ordinary Somalis, especially children, and intervening early on, a strong and active workforce can come into fruition, which will in turn spark future economic growth.My government will promote and encourage maternal health reproductive healthcare, child survival and responsible parenthood. We will encourage and train communities to participate and sustain their personal health and well being, through personal hygiene, lifesaving skills, safe water management, health infrastructure maintenance and environmental health. Equally, we will work to prevent and reduce incidence and prevalence of preventable diseases such as malaria, dysentery and communicable diseases including tuberculosis and build capacity for research, care and counseling, provide accessible, affordable and quality mental health services nationwide, provide safe drinking water to all communities, within 0.5 kilometres of households and encourage the use of pipe-borne water in all urban houses.

[General Duke]

Establishing sound Monetary/Fiscal Policies

 

Implementing sound monetary and fiscal policies will create jobs by rekindling the livelihood sources of ordinary Somali, including the fisheries, livestock, agriculture, exploitation of known and prospective hydrocarbon and other natural resources.

 

Coupled with this is the establishment of effective taxation systems and policies. In additions to utilizing foreign aid and investment towards building institutional capacities and improve transparency.

[General Duke]

Job Creation and Sustainable Economic Growth

 

Fostering economic growth and developing effective poverty reduction strategies is the first step in the revival of Somalia.A pillar of my government’s core objective will be to undertake the process of creating well paying and meaningful jobs for the citizens of our country.While there are no concrete data, it is estimated that our country’s unemployment is well over 90%. This level of unemployment is unsustainable and could hinder the reconciliation and reconstruction process. Moreover, security and durable peace will not exist without sustainable economic growth. And to that end, we intend to match employers and job seekers by creating vocational job training schemes so that people can get into the job market quickly. We will also harness the country’s economic potential by tapping into our rich natural resources.

[General Duke]

Re-establishing our Institutions

 

Rarely do countries get the opportunity to redesign all over again their institutions, ‘the rules of the games’, and how they conduct their affairs, whether it is in the business, politics or private spheres. If that opportunity does arise, it usually involves in a major shock such as civil wars, or other internal social upheavals. Somalia has experienced one of the worst civil wars in the contemporary history and in the process lost all its institutional capacity including physical structures.

 

We have an opportunity to alter the very culture; the norms and values that brought down the central government in the first place by designing strong and well functioning institutions that can withstand future shocks.

 

We will identify, select and train ‘the best and brightest’ from our society for future public managers and senior government roles.We will create incentives to attract competent public servants and set benchmarks to measure their productivity.

[General Duke]

Rebuilding Social Trust

 

Our country has experienced 20 years of divisive civil war, pitting communities and neighbours against one another. Consequently the prevalence of profound social distrust has flourished.

 

Citizens have little faithin institutions given that they have been inactive for a long time or mismanaged. This is not only a threat to social harmony, but could increase the likelihood of the country relapsing to the era of the mindless conflict, and present a significant challenge to the country’s long-term economic growth.

 

We must rebuild trust between communities by designing an effective public policy, in particular, to build effective institutional capacity. This will be achieved by building a strong, partial and independent judicial system as an essential first step. This will be tied with the rebuilding of a disciplined, accountable security services

 

It is paramount for the government to work hard to reconnect the broken social bonds between our communities in order for us to build a more cohesive and prosperous society for the present as well as the future generations.

[General Duke]

Access and Equality

 

Inclusive policies are essential to good governance and stability. Political and economic equity must be shared for all in order to move forward. We will create income redistribution mechanisms for all members of our society especially among the poor and rural communities.

[General Duke]

Creation of a Tolerant and Well Managed Society

 

Having been subjected to almost five decades of bad governance and two decade-long brutal civil conflict, my government fully supports the Somali consensus - that there can be no other path to building a tolerant, stable, secure and well-managed country, other than through democratic governance. I strongly believe that only good governance will provide genuine opportunities for successful development, promote the ongoing democratization process and encourage balanced socio-economic development.

[General Duke]

Federalism/ Effective Distribution of Power

 

I will empower regional states to deliver services and governance. Development ought to take place on a nationwide basis as opposed to a Mogadishu-centric development. It will be necessary therefore, to devolve power to local levels so that people can have a say and control over the way they are governed as embodied in our new constitution

[General Duke]

Democratic Governance

 

Democracy, tolerance, respect for human rights and empowerment of people are essential elements in the national transformation process. Democracy is not only an end result, but also a key strategy that will lead to the attainment of the national vision. It is, therefore, necessary that the nation begins to build a strong foundation for real democracy and tolerance in order to ensure that the mistakes of the past do not re-occur.

[General Duke]

Maintaining A Quality Environment

 

My government recognizes that the environment is the repository of all natural resources, which are exploited for national development and human livelihood. Besides, Somalis have always depended on their natural resource endowment for development. In view of this, my government fully recognizes the need for a well-planned and beautiful country to promote healthy living condition for the population and attract tourists and potential foreign investors; and the imperative of sustained exploitation and utilization of available natural resources to satisfy the needs of present and future generations.

[General Duke]

Gender and Youth empowerment

 

The youth groups and women now constitute 74% of the Somali population. Empowering these groups, especially the youth who are the future of the country is key to the success and direction of the country.The creation of employment and building of the skills and capabilities of youth are primary tasks for my government. Otherwise, the youth population is likely to remain a breeding ground for civil unrest. Equally, empowering women is essential in taking the country away from the ignorance and chaos towards stability and progress.