By Osman Awad

When it comes to Somaliland politics, the tipping point of dispute is inevitable. Since 2005, the executive branch and parliament had a wonderful relationship. The relationship is basically related to the interests between them. The ‘you scratch my back and I will do yours’ relationship which means you do a favor for me and I will do a favor for you. The minister of state has said on a recent speech he made in Liverpool UK “we as government have passed on the parliament of 45 different rules and regulations with our trick and skills since the parliament has been elected”.

Each entity has its own responsibility. The parliament bears full responsibility for success or failure of that branch, same as the executive; but even before he was elected this current government, the chair of the parliament has eagerly supported the president.

The day dissent occurred within justice and welfare party (UCID); the current government blindly holds up the chair of the House instead of playing the neutral of the party dispute, which was part of the problem.

However, the time has come. The bribery, deception and paying-off have been ongoing.  Who knows, who is right and who is wrong, but the question is who cares? Do the Somaliland citizens care? Is the civil society aware on the reason behind the conflict? A lot of questions have been asked.

The dispute has nothing to do with the interest of the people, but is exclusively the interest of the politicians. It is between executive apparatus and the leaders of the house of legislatives. They are not fighting for propose of the interest of the Somaliland citizens. They are selfish and they do not care about those who are elected, whether they are the executive branch or legislative branch.

 Their first mandatory of two branches is to provide and delivery service to the people of Somaliland. The parliament has failed to fulfill their mandatory; more than one hundred laws are still bending up and needs to create bylaws. For example, the penal laws that our justice systems have been using is the one we had inherited from the Dictator Mohamed Siyaad Barre.

As the rumors say, after the executive branch paid the large amount of money, the legislative branch had submitted two opposing motions concerning on amendment of parliament laws. In addition, we are aware of the ongoing dispute between the chairman of the parliament and his deputies who are looking for the chance to overthrow him.  

The executive branch has failed to fulfill its own responsibility. The poverty has been deteriorated; the public service has got totally worst. For example, more than half of the Hargeysa residents are suffering without water. Hospitals are getting more horrible day by day, the students do not have an adequate education except those who are going a privet schools.

Those who elected these two branches have to do something about it, whether they condemned their action or confront with them.

What lessons as Somaliland, wannabe country, moved in political turmoil?

“Don’t be afraid of being scared. To be afraid is a sign of common sense. Only complete idiots are not afraid of anything.” 
― Carlos Ruiz Zafón

You may feel little offended when you read the title, but it’s rightly fit for the ongoing recipe of disaster—it is crisis if you care about it—indeed, few idiots not just manipulated their bootlicker MPs but politically raped them openly, it is the case if ones are narrow-minded and greedy, they  compromise values including religion because the latter is not just paint like beard or similar of which they  paint their faces like football fans, but it is a set of values people exercises in the critical time. however; Unlike Somalia’s bogus parliament whose country has burnt down to ashes flying over neighboring countries ,  reduced  to breeding ground of terrorism; epicenter of major unprecedented famine, and turned to pockets of hostile small counties fighting to death, Somalilanders built what seemed a Westminster model Parliament which holds televised, lively debate with free press thus became an envy of  all Somali speaking masses across the world but Hirsi’s degrading remarks against women while in Liverpool’s fund raising party“ couple of wives gave milk….,”  which he meant and vowed to return the two puppet deputies at the his behest or dismantle the entire Parliament of Somaliland with millions of Government money marked the end of epoch of good days of genuine of democratic Parliament.

For the last few days the ugly scenes of MPs who were said to get 70,000 USD each to remove their Hon. Speaker has been frequently appeared in the TV screens all over the world. So is Somaliland MPs becoming replica of Somalia’s All-You-get-Supermarket Parliament which guys, good or bad or terrorist whatever, can buy whatsoever they want? Or are they even worse? The parliament is  last institution to be corrupted and financially raped with funds more needed to built maternity centers in Garadag and Oodweyne where women deliver babies in the open air and die of bleeding  or rush to hundreds kilometer distant Adna Maternity Hospital in Hargaysa to add burden if they afford.

Somaliland is notorious for buying criminals off, not uprooting them, and appeasing militants and sometimes rewarding them high governmental posts until they get Jihad job or Saudi business. Ahmed Godane has been state guest in Somaliland until the budget of the establishment of dark caliphate has arrived from Arabia and Islamists’ cartels in Somaliland.

While many people blame Hirsi alone the carpetbagger in Hargaysa, the so called immoral MPs of underfed underpaid, whom lavishly fed in the VP’s House yesterday with mind-boggling promises of becoming ministers next election before the Reunification Talks end are the sole problem.

The MPs are poorly trained and poorly paid rendering them unable to buy Khat, “Somaliland’s brewery”.

Hirsi, however, has installed mortar guns on civilian cars to wage Jihad war against Riyale’s government to hijack the country and do what he is doing now. He was so desperate to rule as Mullah Omar of killing fields of Kabul, few days before the election. He was most wanted man in Somaliland next to Godane. The former had run to Buroa to avoid imprisonment.

The Late Samuel Doe of Liberia  the naive leader

 Saddam’s happy beginning and fatal ending from history book is this of which has parallel to us:  

In 1976, Saddam rose to the position of general in the Iraqi armed forces, and rapidly became   the strongman of the government. As the ailing, elderly al-Bakr became unable to execute his duties, Saddam took on an increasingly prominent role as the face of the government both internally and externally. He soon became the architect of Iraq’s foreign policy and represented the nation in all diplomatic situations. He was the de facto leader of Iraq some years before he formally came to power in 1979. He slowly began to consolidate his power over Iraq’s government and the Ba’ath party. Relationships with fellow party members were carefully cultivated, and Saddam soon accumulated a powerful circle of support within the party.

Putting your differences aside, what this does quotation picture? People in Eastern Buroa say “imagine Somaliland without Hirsi” he automatically became King Abdalle of Jordan.

President Silanyo is not just ailing but contracted a “simple stroke” or brain tumor, according to credible foreign newspaper which has access to his medical files. Dementia, age-related, symptom as well is seen. Such illness you can walk but one can be brain dead unable to run his life properly.

Hirsi’s bribery of the ignorant MPs is the first step towards consolidating power. Will donors ever accept to help elections of no rules? The situation went from bad to worst since Cohen’s reign.  

Immediately after his entrance into the presidential complex with great fatigue and yet putting smart on his face and showing tolerance to the press, President Silanyo gathered millions of dollars from clannish sources to bribe MPs to unjustly sack the General Persecutor, Jurist Omane who only met him during oath-taking ceremony. God bless him. He left the judiciary system functioning.  Sooner the little Hirsi took the lead whom many thought would be a friendly nurse to the president unlike the wrong impression begun to fire the Head of Police and the President of Intelligence whereby altered the formal structure of the modern government by including Sheikh ministers, ex-Madrasa, Hawalas assistants, and janitors to make it look more like Mullah Omar-led Taliban theocracy rather than being more West-style democracy of modern features of government. To justify his disorder, he stated his tribe— probably he meant for his cult or coterie— was out of the system.

More recently, the self-declared president Mr. Hirsi was in the UK in disguise of fundraising parties  but actually taking cooperate kickbacks and millions of dollars of advances from “dubious” oil companies to use it as campaign funds in the next election while his people including underfed MPs dwells in squalor . he overhead that Hon. Speaker Erro has removed the mines besides him slightly with little noise, namely the two deputies, and demoted to mere MPs which they accepted until the Little the self-declared president uttered his nonsense remarks to put some spicy into….. And then he flew back like his mother has passed away leaving his Adoptive father Silanyo uncared though his primary assignment is friendly nurse’s “ job” who must accompany him even to graveyard! Locals refer to him as “The Shadow of Silanyo”. Because whenever the president appears in TV, the Little Hirse boys bet on him  “wherever he goes, Hirse is always there!” see? Bold one devoid of moral values performs any mean task.

This guy who took huge space of my writing behind all the political upheavals Somaliland has experienced and continues to experience in the immediate future.  This tiny wannabe country under besiege of all enemies is unpredictable in the months to come.  Media was already muted out of fear or of hand-lubricating, Parliament is the last intact institution to alert nationals in case of ill-omen but its hope has dashed yesterday. How do we foresee if some things go wrong? If Somaliland begins to collapse, God forbid that! It would fall apart unnoticed because malnourished people are singing “ dhulkeena nimcaa fadhidda…..” .

it is not long time when their deeds turned to be different from their words. It was not even political drama, where whips of the ruling and opposition parties were showcasing their controversial positions over the newly-introduced changes on the road taxation. But, it was manipulative pretentions designed to squeeze the government in to narrow corner, forcing it to extend its hand under the table. As Somalis say, you cannot do massaging with dry palms, so the government was too smart to read the signs without words. Sorting things out with the defying members, it had succeeded to get this tax-increasing bill go through parliament.

To see the shifting positions of the MPs, or hardline critics thumping up later to the government, is not a surprise to public, though it could be a political suicide to Wadani Party when its Mps found themselves melted in the lines of Kulmiye party. When there is no fundamental ideological division, and sense of conscience, political chameleons are common. That is why the spectrum colours of the representatives is bound to match the dominant paint of the background.

Following that approval, the credibility of the representatives turned out nothing more than a fading perception. When their hot debate and critics on the increasing rate of road tax, proved to be a hollow drama.

It is the dhameel time; when the Yes-of parliamentary members has a dollar value. It is what the noise and quarrel raging in the representative house is all about. I do not know whether Abdirahman Irro got jealous of the men who used to share the stage with him, or whether, putting the deputies in the audience floor is intended to be first maneuvers of his political experiment. If that is that, he made a big mistake, because only fools start the action at their homes.

If the whole thing depends on changing the rules of the house, others can do it too. It is too early for Irro to celebrate. While Bashe and his friend want to tell the boss that game is not over yet, as defeated members are struggling to get in to their feet again. Nothing will satisfy them, till the badge is being stripped off from the chairman. In this regard, Kulmiye party should help their colleagues step up to the podium of the house.

If you look the other side, Wadani Party has voiced their apprehension on the prospects of the game. Their big fish is struggling for his political life as the water level is getting down, when out-letting taps of the pool are switched to the hands of government-backed members. Responding to that threat, Mr. Buba, who thinks himself as one of the most active figures in the orange shirts, is now pleading to Silanyo. With soft tone, Mr Buba has chosen the right words to persuade Kulmiye’s Khomeini in to stopping the backfire of his party.His message was direct,as he singled out Hirsi as the source of the trouble.

I am not sure whether Guurti got fed up with the noisy neighbourhood,or afraid of being the victims of this epidemic. They did not show up, when Irro was doing what he did to his chairmates. So they better stay away from this pointless hassle, and let the other side finish what Irro had started. They should let the rules decide the results, instead of attempting to make compromises outside the formal system.

We, the people have nothing to fear. Because we have nothing to do with the ongoing squabbles. No one is fighting for us or speaking about the problems we share as a society. With one voice, we should tell them to keep their troubles from the streets.

By:Garyaqan Mohamed Ahmed Abdi Ba’alul

( waddi12@hotmail.com)

10 -13 February, 2014

A mission consisting of the Minister of National Planning and Development, Minister of Justice, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, State Minister of Education, Deputy Minister of Health, Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, Director General of the Ministry of Education, Deputy Chairman and current acting Chairman of the Good Governance Commission, Director General of the Presidency, Director of the Civil Service Institute, the Coordinator of Public Finance Reform, the Planning Department heads of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade, and advisers to the Civil Service Commission and Civil Service Institute held a meeting in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia from 10 – 13 February.  They were joined by representatives from UK Department for International Development (DFID), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the World Bank, the European Union and UNDP.

The meeting was organized and supported by DFID and was facilitated by experts from the UK National School of Government International.

The purpose of the meeting was to assess progress of the Civil Service Reform, learn from the experience of other countries and accelerate the pace of the reform. Following two days of intensive discussion, the key decisions made include:

1.      To set up a Secretariat to support the Civil Service Reform Committee appointed by the President.

2.      To create a National Reform Committee that is responsible for coordinating the various public sector reforms underway including Justice Sector Reform, Public Sector Reform, Civil Service Reform, Decentralisation, Security Sector Reform, and Public Finance Reform.

3.      To amend and apply the Civil Service Law and use Presidential Decrees to fill gaps until amendments are approved by parliament.

4.      To develop a human resources development plan which involves regular functional-based training for all public servants from ministers to junior staff.

5.      To assign the Good Governance Commission the responsibility to oversee the implementation of the Civil Service Reform.

6.      To appoint and Preparatory Committee to act immediately on the decisions taken at the meeting.

Somali women and women from all communities in the UK and around the world are outraged and condemn the speech made by Somaliland Minister of Presidency Hersi Ali Hassan at a public gathering in Liverpool on the evening of Saturday 1^st February 2014.  Somali women activists urge the British government and the international community to condemn the Minister’s statements.

In front of Somaliland’s President Ahmed Siilaanyo, and of hundreds of people from the Diaspora community and the UK, the minister bragged about how he would make his political rivals ‘’cough up goat’s milk’’.

His exact words were: “I come from a goat herding family.  A man in my family who was a goat herder used to practice his wrestling skills on his two wives and two children after he drank a lot of goat’s milk. He would have one wife on each side of him, and a child on each leg, and then he would throw them to the ground”. The implication of his story is that each woman is worth only a half of a man, and each child worth only a leg. 

After Hersi had received loud cheers from his audience he continued: “One day the man went to the city and wrestled with a lion man. He lost the wrestling match and coughed up goats milk”. His words were directed at the Speaker of the House Abdirahman Cirro who recently dismissed his two deputy speakers. Hersi was comparing the two dismissed deputy speakers to the two wives and comparing himself to the lion man.  After more loud cheers Hersi concluded: “We shall see who coughs up goats milk.”  The Minister’s reference to “coughing up goat’s milk” is a common way of issuing a threat, and adds to the many threatening phrases used against women and children in a conflict region where the risk of sexual attacks and violence is high.

The statistics on violence against women and children in Somaliland are disturbing. The Somali Human Development Report 2012 describes Somalia as “one of the worst countries in the world to be a woman”.  Female genital mutilation/cutting is commonplace; domestic violence is a serious problem; and 70% of reported cases of rape and sexual violence occur in internally displaced populations. The Minister of Interior Ali Mohamed Waran-Ade reported on Friday 27^th September 2013 that rape cases are on the increase in Somaliland.

According to Abdikadir Ahmed Mohamed, programme manager of the Baahi Koob Centre in Hargeisa, rape is on the increase in Somaliland. 104 cases of rape were reported in during the first four months of 2013. In 2012, out of 195 rape cases reported to the police, 67 were children. 30% of reported cases were gang rapes and 55% of the victims were under 15 years old.  According to the United Nations, there were at least 1,700 cases of rape in IDP Camps alone in 2012 in Somalia.  In Somaliland women and girls do not go out to get bread from the corner shop after 6pm.  57% of women do not feel safe from violence in their communities. 47% of women believe that insufficient victim support and access to justice discourages reporting of sexual assaults and violence against women and children.

Only two days after the minister made his ‘’goat’s milk’’ threat, his government banned Universal TV Channel from Somaliland for broadcasting Faaliyaha, a comedy show ridiculing Somaliland President Siilaanyo. But to this day the government has failed to condemn the actions of Minister Hersi.

The Minister’s ‘’goat’s milk” threat is real, and it incites hatred against women and children. His words violate their human rights. In light of this, we call urgently for his resignation to protect women and children from further violence.

The UK, the EU and the International Community place great importance on improving conditions for Somali women. They seek to promote gender equality, to empower Somali women, and to reduce the levels of violence they face.

Somali women in the UK therefore urge the British government to condemn the statement by Minister Hersi, who frequently comes to the UK.  We call on the British government to make it clear that Minister Hersi’s inflammatory, dangerous and sexist language has no place in democratic politics.

Amina Souleiman

Empower Group

Sheffield