Chimera Posted October 9, 2012 Madaxweynaha Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya Mudane Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud ayaa maanta xafiiskiisa ku qaabilay Safiirka Dowladda Hindiya ee Soomaaliya Ambasador Sibabrata Tripathia. LINK Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chimera Posted October 10, 2012 Teachers at MP institute remember Somali president as a ‘good pupil’ This is one Somali connection any Indian city would love to flaunt . The African country’s new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud trained in Bhopal to complete a Masters degree in Technical Education during 1986-88. It’s his work in education reforms that seems to have helped the 56-year-old moderate leader to get elected to the top position in the violence-scarred nation. Twenty-four years is a long period and it took the National Institute of Technical Teachers’ Training and Research (then called Technical Teachers’ Training Institute) a while to clear the dust off the old files. The records are so old that NITTTR while appropriating the illustrious alumni on its website has used his current photograph, not sure how he looked then because all those who taught him have retired. “We can’t claim that our academic grooming helped him reach the political pinnacle. He was good at studies and was appreciated by teachers because he was regular in completing assignments,” recalls N S Kapruan (78), who was coordinator of the batch of dozen-odd students and held various top positions by the time he retired in 1994. He remembers how he missed out being part of the group photograph when the 1988 batch was graduating. “I was in the university collecting mark-sheets and other documents because their visas were to soon expire.” The septuagenarian says Somalia was in turmoil even then and remembers how difficult it was to send degrees because no one was sure if it would reach the correct address. Mohamud escaped an attempt on his life immediately after taking over the new responsibility when suicide bombers struck the Mogadishu hotel where he was meeting a foreign delegation. The Bhopal institute hasn't been able to get in touch with him because after the assassination bid he has been moved to a secure location. Mohamud did a project under Prof N K Banthiya, who is now associated with a Jaipur-based private institution after his retirement. “He was a good student and nice person, and my wife remembers hosting him over dinner,” says Banthiya. LINK Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GaadhHaye Posted October 10, 2012 Chi, I like your enthusiasm and positive thinking with the Insha Allah we-will-get-out-of-the-hole mentality. Now that you are posting news (with your comments) on SOL that many countries and international organizations are visiting Villa Somalia and asking how could they help. What do you think the best strategy that the new government should adapt to maximize the benefits we get from the foreigner aid? Let me elaborate. For Example President Maxamuud prefers or perhaps WANTS that aid givers should deal with the Somali government officials directly in order to curtail the role of the NGOs. I think it is not easy to limit the culture of corruption in Somali in the short term. What I would suggest is that government should take a different policy. They have to produce a “White Paper of National Reconstruction”. In it they have to declare that they can only accept aid in the form of monetary funds (cash) ONLY if they are forced to and only from non-technological countries such as oil rich nations, but from American, EU, China, Russia, India, Australia, Canada etc we should play different game with them this time: Somalia can only accept keys for completed projects from the world. You may say beggars are not choosers; but the definition of projects in this case has slightly different dimension. They are projects the donors have already relationship with them. For example, the USA government built the watering system of Mogadishu. Ask them to rebuild it and a sewage system as a bonus. Do not ask them another single cent. China please renovate the trans Somalia road from Beletweyn to Burco and rebuild the National Theatre. Do not ask them another cent. EU re-builds all schools and furnishes them. EU revisits the Barbara Hargiesa road and Baraba Buroa road. Italy though member EU should revisit the road from Garowe to Bosasso. Approach Russia this time with different attitude! Not military hardware this time, mate. Renovate Degfeer plus asphalted road to Kismayo. For India give her the renovation of the road from Mogadishu to Baydhaba or from Mogadishu to Beletweyn. Use the help from Turkey for the development of agriculture and fishery. We have to come up with projects with target dates. If a country hires NGO or sends its own entity we must not intervene. Again the government should avoid as much as it can to receive cash from the donors. It is not like they owe us anything but if they get into the hook and ask us how they could help rebuild Somalia, our position should be "we accept only keys from friends". What do you think? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chimera Posted October 10, 2012 The way I see it, the Federal government should divide the current assistance in four categories: Institutions -- This is where the West's assistance would be most vital, because there is no doubt that they have the best and most efficient institutions in the world that directly benefit the common civilians and are capable of withstanding a serious crisis. This could be in the form of training lawyers, judges and administrative clerks Infrastructure -- This is where attracting China comes into play, remember they were doing in Somalia decades ago what they are doing in other parts of Africa today. There was something that attracted the Chinese to Somalia above all other African countries, and we need to find out what that was and re-kindle that interest. However Turkey is currently building alot of important stuff as well. Security -- This should be entirely a Turkish program, not just to make sure there is a unity in military hardware, but also a unity in military mindset. We do not want conflicting military ideologies in the new armed forces that will result in a fragmented military. Only certain branches such as the special forces, paratroopers, border-force etc can be allowed to receive training from the best of the best, regardless of ideology. Economy -- Here we should welcome all investment and aid, but there has to be a deadline with regards to allowing 'food-aid', preferrably in 2016. Four years is enough to see bumper-harvests annually in the country. Somalia is not even at 10% of its potential, we should make ties with at least 180 countries, from Mongolia, to Chile, to Iceland, not just the usual suspects such as China, Europe or the Middle East. There are hundreds of potential products in Somalia that could be exported to all of those countries. There shouldn't be any cash deposits, in no shape or form, EVER. All funds have to be on record, remember that past administrations stole $300 million from the people in the form of multi-million dollar suitcases from the Gulf, and to put it in persepective; that could have build us a project like the Tangier City Center in each of the three major cities of Somalia, and still give us spare change for a new airport: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GaadhHaye Posted October 10, 2012 We need government institutions, infrastructures, the watering and sewage systems of the major urban cities, the schools (especially vocational schools) and hospitals working ASAP. It is like how would you rebuild your own house that had collapsed 20 years ago with little or no money. Prioritization must be the rule of the day. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
