Since the current government beats the former speaker of the parliament his Excellency Jawari, the parliament was losing its supremacy. The functions of the parliament are:-
- Representation: Which means , the federal parliament notably the house of the people is responsible the crowd, while the upper-house is intended to represent the regional states
- Legislation: This is landmark duty which is assigned by the MPs to perform. After the former speaker Mr. Jawari was kicked out, the new speaker his Excellency Mursal accelerates and speeds up the legislation.
- Oversight: This is also paramount function. Regrettably, the parliamentarians neglected and abnegated due to the influence and transfix from the government
Southwest Administration demands CARETAKER!
For the last months there is blatant and ample political conflict among the federal government and the regional states. The federal government tended and behaved to paralyze and demoralize the leaders of the regional states. President Farmajo offered further concessions to the Ethiopia and Eritrea for the sack of isolating and prevailing the regional states. In this regard, the federal government meddled the upcoming election in this regional state and they already impressed to resign the former president of the southwest administration his Excellency Sharif Hassan. After the resignation, the federal government deployed troops in the ground. Additionally, the federal government is restricting and bluffing on the candidacy of the former Alshabab commander Abu Mansoor.
The government pressured the electoral commission in southwest administration to bogus and boycott of Abu-mansoor’s candidacy, but the committee persisted to allow Abu-Mansoor to compete the election as longest he followed the procedures and filled the requirements. This political jockeying postponed twice the election supposed to hold in BAYDHABO, the temporary capital of southwest. The third term is dated to hold the state election in 19 this month. As longest there is no president in the region since the resignation of the former president, the speaker of the regional parliament was the acting one. According to the rules of procedures of the southwest regional parliament says” when the president of the southwest regional administration sacks the job, then the speaker of the parliament takes the acting for 30 days. And within these 30 days, the parliament must elect a new president” so, now the 30 days of the mandate is over. So, the parliament is demanding a caretaker before the election.
Bloated governments are dominating the political landscape in Somalia!!!
If we observe and follow up the Somalia national budget in 2018, over %70 is allocated administrative issues such as salaries, running costs and there are no much developmental programs. The other disaster issue is, the politicians are just collecting the public money and putting on their pockets recklessly without caring to their own people. Furthermore, the unemployment rate in the country is getting high while the churning out graduations are increasing and there is no plan from the government, especially the ministry of planning to tackle and handle the unemployment which rife among the country.
Political infighting contributes and serves hemorrhage!
The resilient rift among the political leaders in Somalia fizzle outs the people. The Somali people had been suffering for the last three decades, and they are fed up any new conflict.
On the other hand, there is a new conflict between the new speaker of the parliament MURSAL and the federal government. This conflict begins after the parliament committee of finance which has the mandate to oversight the ministry of finance, presented a report which declares a complaint towards how the ministry spent 42 million US DOLLAR from the 2017 budget and the justifications of the minister. After this report was presented in the plenary meeting, immediately the federal government embarks leveraging and intervening the business of the parliament specially the finance committee which presented this provocative report. After days of hectic, the finance committee was fired. This peculiar and unprecedented intrusive action which is new to the internal politics shocked and stunned among the people.
The speaker of the parliament Mr. Mursal was away at those days for official business, the first deputy speaker of the parliament Mr. Muudey was dislodged the committee. After the speaker arrives in the country instantly engaged profoundly the latest issues within the parliament. The speaker publicly says” the firing of the committee is illicit, they continue their business, the troops who are deployed in BAYDHABO, must be retreated, the Abu-Mansoor’s competition in the internal southwest administration’s election must be allowed” after this announcement from the speaker shocked the federal government. Because, they were not expecting such strong words.
Mursal accepts the motion against the president for sack of defense!
After the political difference among the speaker and the government erupted, started urgent and different meetings. The speaker received a motion signed by over 160 mps which is against the president, and this bewitched the government. Some political analysts said that, the government was preparing a motion against the speaker, so that is why the speaker received warmly the defense motion against the president for sack of prevention towards the potential motion from the government which is against the speaker and also this motion exonerates the pressure from the government side. According to the rules of procedures of the parliament, the motions should be one at a time, which, means the parliament can’t receive two motions at one time. So, the work of the government at this moment is to defend this outstanding motion rather than offending the speaker!
Keyboard warriors commence their business!
There are huge numbers of people who support the government and in the mean time; there are a large portion who criticize the government through social media platforms. They already begin to demonize the conflicting groups with different accusations.
We lack politicians who serve for posterity sake!
In Africa, especially Somalia we bemoan that we so far lack politicians who listen and consider the national interest. Currently, our politicians are caring only their personal interest regardless willy-nilly the crowd. They only concentrate and focus pillaging the public moneys irrespective whether the people are dying or not. We have a severe hunger to see a time where the country is more important than individual! We need someone thinks globally and acts locally. We need to depart from politicians who tended and behaved embezzlement. Because, when a conflict arises, the government’s services depreciate and the corruption appreciates. Because, the government focus on to unplug the motion against it so as to commute the pressure from the parliamentarians.
Monopoly of ideas, monolithic and cannibalism are overarched the political arena in Somalia!
Unfortunately, the politicians when they are campaigning the election period, they offer remarkable and tremendous pledges, but when they take the lead, they instantly divorce and format the pledges. Moreover, they become the same or even worse than their predecessors. If we observe and immerse the current president’s pledges, he says” if I take the office, I will defeat Alshabab within two years, also if somebody tells us a car with explosion materials, we pay him/her 100,000 US DOLLAR”. So, where are the beautiful promises from the president? The security is exacerbating and getting worse and worse. Furthermore, this new political crisis within the branches of the government namely, the Legislative and the Executive branches can dilute and paralyze the hope for one man one vote in 2021 election.
The new conflict among the federal institutions are blessing the regional states, the naysayers and at the same time demoralizes the crowd and the well-wishers
The regional states were encountering a solid and permanent pressure from the federal government since elected the current government in 2017. Additionally, when the transformation was occurring the horn of Africa countries, the pressure was increasing. Because, the president of Somalia his Excellency Farmajo was playing a critical and pioneer role to this transformation.
The president engaged deeply to re-build a good relationship with the neighboring countries specifically Ethiopia and Eritrea. Because, these two states tended hosting the dissidents of the Somalia government. As the president announces” during the BLUE ECENOMY conference which takes place in NAIROBI last month “The reason that we are deeply interested to have a positive relationship with the neighboring countries is, to close the doors and deplete the relationship between these countries and our regional states”
So, the president was focusing only isolating the leaders of the Somalia regional states. So, currently, the regional states are delighting as longest a fresh conflict breaks within the federal institutions. Because, this conflict gives an opportunity the leaders of the regional states to relax their seats, and in the mean time unburden the pressure from the federal government!
Potential consequences from this fresh conflict
This political infighting can cause and propel:-
- Delay of the upcoming election in 2021: Because, the government gets busy how to disband the motion
- Security fragility: Because, the government like this time defocuses the security tightness as longest they are fully engaged the motion.
- Public backlash: Because, the crowd are fed up and tarmacked such chronicle conflicts and they are no longer accept such reckless actions
- Intervention from the outside: Because, if there is no internal solutions, the world intervenes the business
- Deepening the feud among the politicians: Because, everybody is struggling to prevail the others
- Delay for the civil servant and the troop’s salaries
Way forward.
- There a drastic need for political compromise within the conflicting sides for sack of dodging political instability in the country
- The government should allow the legislatures to exercise their own business independently
- The government should abide collaboration among the legislative and the executive branches, and avoid meddling and dictation
- The government should unleash the parliament to undertake over-sighting the government’s business which is constitutional right belongs by the legislatures.
- There is an immense demand to participate the upper-house the conflict resolution process among the house of the people and the government before it gets its worst
- During such conflict times, the security becomes fragile. So, the government should take care it
- To obey both conflicting groups the provisional constitution
Anwar Abdifatah Bashir (Freelance Journalist/Political Analyst and Independent Researcher)
Email: Anwarcade100@gmail.com
Office Network Allbanaadir.com
Nairobi-Kenya
Allbanaadir@live.com
