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Djibouti parliament removes presidential term limits

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DJIBOUTI, (SomalilandPress) – Lawmakers in Djibouti on Wednesday approved an amendment to the constitution that paves the way for the president of the Horn of Africa nation to run for a third term.

Industrials

Djibouti’s parliament voted unanimously on the constitutional reforms which remove term limits, cut the presidential mandate to five years from six, create a senate and abolish capital punishment.

President Ismail Omar Guelleh’s second term expires in 2011 and speculation has surrounded his plans for a third mandate.

Djibouti, a former French colony which separates Eritrea from Somalia, hosts France’s largest military base in Africa and a major U.S. base. Its port is used by foreign navies patrolling busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia to fight piracy.

Dubai World has a deep-sea base at Djibouti port, which serves as the principle access point for goods entering and exiting land-locked Ethiopia. [ID:nLDE62L1LZ]

Last month, Guelleh told Reuters China would be Djibouti’s biggest investor next year and in 2012 and that he planned to make Djibouti port the biggest hub in the region at a cost of nearly half a billon U.S. dollars. [ID:nLDE62K0FE] (Reporting by Abdourahim Arteh, Editing by Richard Lough and Charles Dick)

source:Reuters

Vacancy Anouncement: UNPD-CSI Somaliland

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The following is a vacancy announcement by UNPD, who are seeking a qualified consultant to conduct a tracer study of Somaliland Civil Service Institute (CSI) graduates and report to the SIDP project manager for a period of five weeks. CSI is responsible for human resources development in Somaliland.

I. General Information

Title of Consultancy:
Impact Tracer Study, CSI Somaliland

Type of Contract:
SSA – Special Service Agreement

Duration of the assignment:
5 Weeks

Duty station:
Nairobi, UNDP Somalia Office

Expected places of travel:
Hargeisa, Somaliland

Supervisor:
SIDP Project Manager

Anticipated presence at UNDP premises:
Intermittent presence with frequent travel to Somaliland

Date of Issue:
April 12, 2010

Closing Date:
April 26, 2010

II. Objectives of the assignment

The Somaliland Civil Service Institute (CSI) is a Public Sector Training Institute established in May 2005. The institute trains Somaliland civil servants, private sector employees, local governmental and non-governmental organizations staff. CSI was previously hosted by the University of Hargeisa but in December 2009 it moved to its new centre in the city center, built with support from UNDP. CSI focuses on developing the capacity of the employees in the areas of public financial management and accounting, public administration, information and communication technology – among others. The institute also provides tailor made training programmes to both public and private sector employees.

Nearly 70% of the CSI operational cost is supported by UNDP. The remaining 30 % comes from Government of Somaliland (25%) and the CSI itself (approx. 5%) . Average operational cost is close to $180,000 per year. An exit strategy developed jointly by UNDP and CSI indicate the Government of Somaliland will gradually take over the CSI recurrent costs. In 2013, CSI is expected to be fully supported (100%) by the Government of Somaliland

More than 1250 civil service employees have been trained by the Civil Service Institute since it opened in May 2005. The Institute provides a series of short work related/ performance improvement courses including management, leadership, accounting, statistics, book keeping, expenditure management, etc. The training courses offered by CSI are primarily tailored to respond to the needs of government institutions based on assessments undertaken by the Civil Service Commission.

An evaluation of the impact of the training interventions undertaken by the institute is needed to determine the impact it has made on the capacity of the government institution to deliver social services. This evaluation will lay the basis for design improvements in the institute’s human capacity development approaches.

III. Scope of work

The major tasks and responsibilities of the consultant comprise the following:

  1. Conduct a tracer study of CSI graduates, where they are currently working and what they are doing.
  2. Assess the impact the 4 years training has made in improving the capacity of key Government institutions, in terms how better equipped staff are on the basis of the training they have received.
  3. Assess the relevance of the training provided by CSI to the country’s administrative, management and development requirements.
  4. Evaluate the overall capacity of the CSI to deliver the skills and knowledge required by Somaliland Government institutions, and suggest improvements.
  5. Determine the level of commitment of Somaliland institutions to human resource capacity development, including the incentives provided to trained staff.
  6. Highlight any constraints inhibiting staff performance in key public institutions and their causes, and suggest how they should be addressed.
  7. Evaluate the partnership between the Somaliland Civil Service Commission, the ministry responsible for labour and the CSI, and suggest how this partnership can be enhanced to provide better human resources development for Somaliland

IV. Monitoring and Progress controls

The consultant will report to the SIDP project manager. The assignment witself will be supervised by the SIDP project office in Hargeisa, Somaliland.

V. Final product/deliverable

  1. An inception report within 7 calendar days of the start of the assignment
  2. A Draft Report within 21 calendar days of the start of the assignment
  3. A Final Report within 14 calendar days of receipt of comments on the Draft Report

VI: Review/approval time

SIDP will provide written comments on the Draft Report within 10 calendar days of receipt of the draft to assist it revision. Approval of the Draft Final Report or comments for further improvement will be communicated to the consultant within 14 days of receipt of the Draft Final report.

VII: Qualifications

Development and Operational Effectiveness

  1. Ability to evaluate the impact of training interventions on institutional capacity development
  2. Strong research and analytical skills

Education

  1. Advanced degree in Public Administration/ Human Resource Management

Experience

  1. At least 10 years experience in Public Administration/ Human Resource Management

VIII: Other information

UNDP Somali Institutional Development Project will (i) provide the consultant with all information relating to all training conducted by the Somaliland Civil Service Institute, and (ii) assist the consultant to contact the relevant people in Somaliland government ministries and agencies.

Interested and qualified candidates are requested to submit electronic application by visiting http://jobs.undp.org/. The closing date for receipt of applications is 26th April 2010.

Applicants are required to fill a P11 Form and submit it together with Curriculum Vitae on the online application.

Find the P11 Form for Fixed Term Contract Holders on this link:
http://www.so.undp.org/index.php/Download-document/42-P11-form-for-fixed-term-and-ALDs.html

Women & Somali Nationals are strongly encouraged to apply

UNDP will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.

New Generation Of Somali Pirates Emerging

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A new generation of well-organised Somali pirates is targeting ships and aims to use ransoms from hijackings for further criminal activities, a senior ship industry official says.

Seaborne gangs have already increased their attacks in recent months, making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships, including tankers and dry bulkers, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

Better weather is expected to lead to further attacks.

Jan Kopernicki, president of the UK Chamber of Shipping industry association and also vice president of Shell Shipping, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, told Reuters an “industrialisation of piracy” was taking place.

“It certainly seems from the shipping industry point of view that it’s a more structured and organised approach that is developing and that is worrying because it’s much more in the area of solid criminality,” he said in an interview.

Kopernicki, who was appointed UK Chamber of Shipping president last month, said there had been a “substitution” of groups involved.

“The first generation pirates have been succeeded by a second generation which are different and from different groups and from what I understand connected differently,” he said.

“I absolutely don’t want to suggest this is linked to terrorism from what I am aware of.”

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The previous generation of pirates had divided up ransoms to fund their villages in Somalia, Kopernicki said, adding there was better-organised use now of mother ships and small speed boats known as skiffs.

“We are now seeing structured organisation with material apparently being brought down a supply line to supply these boats and skiffs,” said Kopernicki, who leads Shell’s shipping business.

“The impression we have is that the money flows are leaving Somalia and going into criminal elements.”

West Africa

Foreign navies have been deployed off the Gulf of Aden since 2009 and have operated convoys, as well as setting up a transit corridor across dangerous waters. But their forces have been stretched over the vast waterways, leaving ships vulnerable.

While West African pirates have not attracted the same amount of international attention as their Somali counterparts, maritime analysts say they pose an increasing risk in a region with weak surveillance and a growing number of oil finds.

Cameroon’s state oil company said last week crude oil production fell by 13 % last year in part because piracy off the coast cut investment.

“The situation in West Africa is beginning to have the elements that would give concern of a copy cat developing more generically in that area,” Kopernicki said.

Shell declined to comment on how many vessels the group had operating off East and West Africa citing “security reasons”.

Kopernicki said consultation on “an urgent basis” was needed between governments, the military and industry to review plans for protecting merchant traffic off West Africa to ensure the situation did not escalate. “We are early enough in the piece to be able to do something constructive.”

Source: Reuters

Seven Questions for the Kulmiye Party of Somaliland

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HARGEISA (Somalilandpress) — Kulmiye party of Somaliland is positioning itself as a party of change but its policies are ambiguous.

The International Crisis Group cautioned against holding elections in Sool where the largest number of potential new ‘voters’ were registered last year although Sool’s turn-coat politician, Ahmed Abdi Habsade argued that no voter registration had taken place in Sool & Sanaag regions.

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The following list of questions for Kulmiye are intended to trigger a debate on, among other issues, the direction of the party, its relationship with UCID party, and how it has so far addressed the breach of Code of Conduct for Political Organizations by other parties.

1-How would KULMIYE party solve the fraud in voter registration that led to the postponement of elections in Somaliland?

2- Will KULMIYE consider the possibility of forming a coalition government with UCID led by Faysal Ali Warabe if the need arises?

3- In an interview posted on YouTube , KULMIYE leader has told Ahmed Hassan Awke, the Somali newscaster, that Somaliland Vice President, Ahmed Yusuf Yasin, had urged his sub-clan to vote for UDUB Party, Somaliland’s ruling party. Does KULMIYE leader consider the Vice President’s remarks a breach of the Code of Conduct for Political Organizations?

4- If KULMIYE were given a chance to introduce electoral reform, what would it do to reduce the possibility of electoral stalemate that has bedevilled Somaliland since 2007?

5- KULMIYE party leader, Ahmed M. Mahamoud Silanyo blamed President Dahir Riyale Kahin for the assassination of Osmaan Yusuf Nuur who was commander of the 12th division of Somaliland Military in Las-Anod last year. Does this mean KULMIYE leader has lost faith in Somaliland judiciary?

6- Why has KULMIYE fallen short of addressing the Somaliland government’s policy of ignoring and threatening traditional leaders of pro-union constituencies in Sool region?

7- Will a KULMIYE-led government hold talks with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia?

Written by: Liban Ahmad, 14 April 2010
Libahm@gmail.com
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Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial

SOMALILAND: Landmine Incident Kills Two

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HARGEISA, 14 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – A vehicle owned by Halo Trust was hit by a landmine killing two people and wounding others. The incident took place on Monday in Dabagorayaale, Togdheer region.

Two of Halo Trust local staff were killed and other were wounded and taken to Hargeisa hospital.

Reports say the vehicle was carrying a team working on removing mines from the area. It is not clear the cause of the incident but witness told Somalilandpress that the vehicle was on its way back the camp when the mine exploded. “The road was cleared before and people normally use it, I don’t know what happened” said one of the residents.

Halo Trust did not officially talk about the incident and how this happened specially after the areas was marked as “save” from landmines.

“It could  sometimes happen that we do not know about  one or two of them specially when we are working in vast areas but this is really shocking” said one of the Halo Trust staff.

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Landmine incidents are a major problem in Somaliland. Due to long history of wars in the region, the country is still suffering the impact of thousands of landmines and other explosives.

Halo Trust is one of the International Organizations working on removing landmines in Somaliland. Their work covers all the regions and most of their operations were successful but such incident specially places where the organization said they cleared from the landmines can bring a question if the other places are save or not.

Somalilandpress

Abaarso Tech: Somalilandpress sits down with Jonathan Starr

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In an exclusive interview with Somalilandpress, Mohammed Ibrahim had the pleasure to ask questions Jonathan Starr, the co-founder and Managing Director of Abaarso Tech, a non-profit organization and boarding school in Somaliland.

Mr. Jonathan, an Economics graduate from Emory University, is also the founder of Flagg Street Capital, a private investment company that manages more than $170 million of investor assets. Before he found Flagg Street, Mr. Jonathan worked as an analyst at SAB Capital and Blavin & Company.

Jonathan says the aim of Abaarso Tech is to offer world class education to people of the Horn of Africa not only to those in Hargeisa.

The following is the full audio of the
interview: [audio: starr.mp3]

Photo: Daniel teaching physics (Abaarso Tech)


Somalilandpress, 13 April 2010

Dahabshiil Receives Mayor's Award

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LONDON (Somalilandpress) — Dahabshiil, the UK’s leading money transfer provider to the Horn of Africa, has received the Mayor of Tower Hamlets Award for excellence in the community.

The award, presented by the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Councilor Ahmed Adam Omer, recognises Dahabshiil’s dedication and outstanding contribution to the local, national and international Somali community over the last 40 years.

Councillor Ahmed Adam Omer said: “I’m delighted to present Dahabshiil with the Mayor of Tower Hamlets Award for excellence in the community.

“Dahabshiil is a fantastic example of how businesses can integrate responsible business practices into mainstream operations, while benefiting its customers, the environment and its employees.

“Dahabshiil has been a pillar of our community for more than two decades and it’s great to see an African business thriving and having such a huge impact throughout the UK and internationally.”
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Dahabshiil, which has 200 locations in the UK and an expanding network of more than 24,000 agents and branches in 144 countries worldwide, is committed to supporting the Somali community around the world and invests more than 5% of its annual profits into community regeneration projects involving the development of schools, hospitals, agriculture and sanitation.

In the UK, Dahabshiil sponsors a range of events, including the Somali Week Festival, where it helps to promote understanding and integration through Somali art and culture, and the Somali Youth Sports Association, which promotes sportsmanship and competition among players within the UK and in Europe.

Abdirashid Duale, CEO of Dahabshiil, said: “We are honoured to receive the Mayor of Tower Hamlets Award for excellence and it underlines our commitment to trust and community responsibility.

“We are extremely proud of our corporate citizenship philosophy and will continue to work on improving our initatives and develop new ones.”

The award ceremony, held on Monday 12 April at Dahabshiil’s UK headquarters in Tower Hamlets, was attended by Mayor Ahmed Adam Omer, Dahabshiil CEO Abdirashid Duale and members of Dahabshiil’s staff.

Dahabshiil employs more than 2,000 people across 144 countries and has provided money transfer and cash facilitation for international aid agencies.

Over 95% of the International Organisations in Somalia, including the United Nations, World Health Organisation, World Bank, Oxfam and Save the Children, rely on Dahabshiil to provide payment services for their staff, contractors, government institutions and partner NGOs.

Abdirashid Duale added: “Transferring remittances is a lifeline for many people in the developing world whose friends or family live abroad and regularly send money home.”

Source: Dahabshiil, 13 April 2010

Somaliland Flag On The Highest Mountain In South East Asia

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Malaysia, 13 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – The Educational Trip to Sabah (ETS) which was scheduled from 13 – 20 March 2010 successfully concluded its mission. It was organised by the Student Support Services Department (SSSD), Student Representative Council (SRC) and International Student Council (ISC) with the support from PETRONAS Group Corporate Affairs (GCA), PETRONAS Education Sponsorship Unit (ESU) and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP).

The objectives of the programme are to familiarize students with the incredible diversity of the eco system, understand its importance and enhance the love for it; and encourage a caring society by reminding students of their responsibility towards the surrounding community through community service activities.

ETS was participated by 36 students comprising 26 international students from 26 different countries including Cambodia, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Somaliland, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Timor Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen; and 10 local students. The only Somali in the group was Ahmed Mahdi of the Towers university, a Somalilander (see pictures).

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The programme started on 14 March 2010 when all participants visited Sunday Market at Gaya Street (also known as Pasar Tamu) and Sabah Museum. In the evening, the ETS group went to Kudat Traditional Rungus Longhouse and visited the “Tip of Borneo” where the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea meet.

On the second day, the ETS group went to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Matunggong in Kudat. The ETS group was warmly welcomed by the teachers, staff and students of the school. The activities organised were sharing sessions and various educational games with the school students. In the evening, the ETS group departed to Aristo Kinabalu Resort in Kundasang.

On the third day, the ETS group departed to Kinabalu National Park. Before they started climbing at 10.30 a.m., a few participants were interviewed by the print media and television stations such as the Daily Express, the Borneo Post, Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) and Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad (TV3) about the programme. Later, a cameraman from TV3 followed the group to climb Mount Kinabalu. At about 3.30 p.m., the group reached Laban Rata and spent a night there.

The final step of climbing the mountain was on 17 March 2010 at about 2.00 a.m. when they started climbing the summit. The highlight of the programme was when all the ETS participants successfully conquered the peak of Mount Kinabalu at about 5.30 a.m.. History was made when one group consisting of 27 nations reached the peak of Mount Kinabalu at one time. All participants proved their determination and courage to conquer Mountain Kinabalu which stood at 4095 meters (13,435 ft) above sea level.

On the fifth day, the ETS group visited PETRONAS Sabah/Labuan Regional Office (KKRO). They were given a briefing on PETRONAS operations in Sabah. It was a very enlightening session. At 2.30 p.m., the ETS group was invited to meet Assistant Youth and Sports Minister of Sabah, Datuk Jahid Jahim at his office.

On the sixth day, the ETS group visited Universiti Malaysia Sabah and they were warmly welcomed by its Student Representative Council Exco members. In the evening, the ETS group went to an orphanage home known as “Darul Bakti” at Kota Belud. The group organised various activities including motivational sessions with the 50 orphans.

On the last day, they went for a tour of Tuanku Abdul Rahman Park and Sapi Island before returning to Kuala Lumpur with sweet memories and wonderful experience.




Why Drone Attacks in Somalia is ill-advised ?

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HARGEISA, 13 April 2010 (Somalilandpress) – According to recent media reports, the US administration of President Barack Obama is considering to use drone attacks as the least option to help the Transitional Government in Somalia to defeat the insurgency. However, attacking few foreign Jihadists is one thing but targeting a factional leader such as Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys will not help bring peace but make matters worse.

There is no doubt if drones are used to attack the insurgency in Somalia many innocent lives could be lost. Unlike ground operations, drone attacks cannot be too careful to limit the death of civilians.

The conflict in Somalia is different from the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan where drones have been deployed to target the insurgency or its leaders. Unlike in Pakistan and Afghanistan where drones scour the terrain to target individuals who may hold key to ending the conflict, in Somalia, there is no one or two individuals whose killing will end the insurgency or the insecurity in the country.

Somalia has many crises including insecurity in the country to tackle. Nevertheless, if the Transitional Government was not busy with matters unrelated to nation-building, it would have needed neither drones nor forces from other nations to help establish peace and security.

The Transitional Government does not seem to want to establish peace and security using the resources at its disposal and the funds it had received from around the world. Since its arrival at a time when global disgust with senseless fanaticism has been at its peek, the TG had never been lacking international support or funding which has been squandered. There are always things other countries can help a nation which has to rebuild itself from the calamity of civil war, but no government should look to other nations for everything.

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Without doubt, a government’s affinity to its people is generated from its actions. Somalis everywhere are witnessing that the Transitional Government is adrift. It is manifesting greed, ineptness and increasingly inward looking. If the TG had sincerity or purposefulness it would have found the way out of its (the nation’s) crises. Other than its utter dependency on other nations, there were avenues open for the TG to pursue to establish peace and security.

The Somali people have ample reasons to be frustrated with the lack of progress and the ever deepening crises of our nation. Whatever transitional administration was the outcome of over a dozen peace meetings during the civil strife nothing is happening or improving for the nation and the politics had been same or similar.

Somalis are from an open society where everything can be known sooner or later. For instance, within the TG, everybody knows who is doing what and who is pulling the strings. In the beginning many Somalis had high hopes that the Government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed could be different. They could not be more wrong. One year on the support of the TG has never been lower.

If the Transitional Government had endeavoured to gain the support of its people it would have needed neither drones nor forces of other nations to make or keep the peace and the TG has no one other than itself to blame. Not to mention, the contemplated use of drones to attack the insurgency is ill-advised. It may not help but damage the TG itself. It might precipitate its collapse.

Written by:
Abdullahi Dool
Hornheritage@aol.com

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Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial

Somaliland: Time Of Trial

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The Horn of Africa’s unsought status as one of the most volatile regions in the world is underlined by the deep-rooted conflict in Somalia and the endemic tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea. This makes even more impressive and welcome the progress of the self-declared independent state of Somaliland in creating a stable, rules-based government. However, an electoral crisis now threatens to derail this achievement. Somaliland’s political leadership has the main responsibility in solving it, but constructive support by the international community will be vital in ensuring that the territory continues to defy the trend of conflict that has damaged its neighbours.

Somaliland, a former British protectorate, declared its independence from the rest of the Republic of Somalia in May 1991, following the collapse of the military regime in Mogadishu. It remains unrecognised by any country in the world. Yet Somaliland has followed a very different trajectory from much of the rest of the “failed state” of Somalia.

A process of political, social and economic reconstruction has brought security and relative stability. Somaliland’s incipient democracy has drafted and approved a new permanent constitution; smoothly handed power from one president to another; and held three peaceful elections. Yet the democratic transformation is far from complete, and recent developments could see Somaliland slip back towards the kind of instability and lawlessness experienced in the rest of Somalia.

The immediate crisis stems from the failure to hold elections even with the expiry of President Dahir Rayale’s term in May 2008. The latest in a series of postponements came in September 2009, when the two opposition parties threatened a boycott over reported fraud that they charged made the official voter-registration list unusable. An escalation of the dispute was averted only by an agreement to delay the vote, revamp the discredited electoral commission and refine the list.

Behind these problems lies a persistent winner-takes-all political culture, in which wide-ranging attempts to manipulate the political process have corrupted governing institutions and undermined the rule of law. A failure to protect democratic institutions now could open the door to the remobilisation of militias and a violent conflict. This would be a tragedy for a polity that has done so much to avoid being drawn into the Horn of Africa’s maelstrom of war and destruction.

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There is a double challenge here for Somaliland’s political actors: in the short term to resolve the electoral crisis, and in the long term to improve the political culture. It will require Somaliland’s political parties to democratise, and open up political space for other organisations to contest local elections; and its electoral institutions to be professionalised and depoliticised.

A regional example

The international community should lend encouragement to the Somaliland government as these processes take place. The British government in particular should make close monitoring of Somaliland a regular part of its policy towards the Horn of Africa.

There are also three immediate steps that European Union member-states can take to support Somaliland’s democratic process and help it find a way out of its electoral crisis.

First, Somaliland’s international supporters should provide technical assistance, financial support and political cover to the new national electoral commission (NEC) – which, though crucial to the process, lacks experience. This would be invaluable in enabling the NEC to do its work effectively and resist political manipulation.

Second, the international community should dispatch international election monitors and help train additional local observers who can work in insecure rural areas, to ensure that the entire electoral process is free and fair.

Third, there is a profound lack of voter education and civic awareness, which highlights the importance of instilling democratic values in Somaliland’s younger generation. Here, international supporters can assist in the preparation of materials on democratic practices and election laws for schools and local communities.

In a violent region that has been the source of so much bad news Somaliland remains a place of exemplary if incomplete stability. It still has the potential to be a model for state reconstruction, and can play an important and progressive role in the fight against piracy and extremist Islamism. Somaliland must be given the help it needs to succeed.

Source: OpenDemocracy

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