(Reuters): 1. Embattled Somali PM tells ministers to resign if they are unhappy 2. Terrorism fears cripple "rotten" aid system in hungry Somalia -expert
Embattled Somali PM tells ministers to resign if they are unhappy
Mon Nov 17, 2014 3:09pm GMT
MOGADISHU Nov 17 (Reuters) - Somalia's prime minister told cabinet ministers
on Monday to resign if they are unhappy, intensifying a dispute which has
stymied efforts to rebuild the country after decades of war.
More than 100 lawmakers loyal to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud have put
forward a parliamentary motion to sack Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed.
Tensions between the two boiled over last month when Ahmed reshuffled the
cabinet and sidelined one of Mohamud's main allies.
Western donors who have promised to help rebuild Somalia's battered
institutions fear Mohamud's push to oust a second prime minister in less
than a year will weaken the government in its fight against Islamist rebels.
Somali media websites on Monday said about 14 cabinet ministers have sent a
letter to the prime minister's office asking for his resignation.
Ahmed said the letter has not yet been received and dismissed calls for him
to step down.
"Cabinet ministers should continue their work for the people and they should
be cautious of being ... used for destroying the law and governance," the
prime minister said in a statement.
"The prime minister is ready to accept the resignation of any minister who
wants to resign," the statement added.
A parliamentary debate on whether to sack Ahmed descended into chaos last
week after his supporters blew whistles and shouted out slogans, forcing the
speaker to halt the session.
Donors had planned a major conference this week in Copenhagen to showcase
Somalia's political progress and appeal for more funds.
But the United States said last week it would boycott the conference because
of the political infighting, while the United Nations and the European Union
have issued statements warning the quarrelling will deepen political
tensions.
Nicholas Kay, the U.N. envoy to Somalia, and a delegation of Western
ambassadors met Mohamud and Ahmed on Sunday but failed to reconcile the two
men.
"The ongoing political crisis in Somalia is a serious risk to further
progress," Kay warned after the meeting in a statement. (Reporting by Abdi
Sheikh; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by George Obulutsa/Ruth Pitchford)
Terrorism Terrorism fears cripple "rotten" aid system in hungry Somalia
-expert
Mon Nov 17, 2014 4:26pm GMT
By Katy Migiro
NAIROBI, Nov 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Aid workers in Somalia, which
faces worsening hunger three years after famine struck the country, believe
the humanitarian system is "rotten" and are hamstrung by fears of being
prosecuted for aiding terrorists, an expert said.
Last month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on a rare visit to the Horn
of Africa country said three million Somalis were in need of humanitarian
aid.
Aid workers blame drought, renewed fighting and a lack of humanitarian
access for the crisis which has raised questions about what has been
achieved since a 2011 famine killed 260,000 people.
"We have been struck by a palpable sense of malaise amongst many of the
Western humanitarian actors ... that the system is rotten," said Professor
Daniel Maxwell from Tufts University's Feinstein International Center.
"The aid system generally corrupts both recipients and providers," he told a
debate on lessons learned from 2011.
Somalia is attempting to rebuild itself after two decades of civil war and
lawlessness, triggered by the overthrow of dictator Siad Barre in 1991.
Despite gains, the federal government still largely relies on an African
peacekeeping force to fend off attacks by al Shabaab Islamist militants the
United States and others have designated terrorists.
RENEWED WARNINGS
Most Western aid groups are still based in neighbouring Kenya, although
there have been efforts to return since the government pushed al Shabaab out
of many southern Somali towns.
Delivering aid to Somalia remains a major headache due to violence,
kidnapping and corruption. In 2010, a U.N. panel of experts said up to half
of food aid to Somalia was being diverted to corrupt contractors, al Shabaab
and local staff.
Maxwell said many aid agencies were fearful they would be punished by
donors, blacklisted by the United Nations or ruin their reputations if they
admitted to aid being stolen.
Under U.S. laws, which criminalise material support to terrorist
organisations, inadvertent aid to al Shabaab - for example by paying them
the taxes they routinely demand for access to the worst-afflicted
communities - could result in 15 years in jail.
Aid workers at the debate organised by Rift Valley Institute researchers
agreed they were too late to respond to the 2011 famine and expressed fears
the same mistake could be repeated.
The famine, caused by failed rains, conflict and a ban on agencies
delivering food in al Shabaab territory, ended in 2012 with better rains and
ramped up aid.
In 2014, the same cocktail of drought, conflict and lack of access has
sparked renewed warnings from agencies.
Maxwell called for agencies to make more use of indicators of looming
disaster like the price of food and livestock.
If rates fell below a certain level, it should trigger an automatic response
from aid agencies to start using money already set aside, rather than wait
until people are starving.
"Early action actually saves money, it doesn't cost money. But it requires
that money be sitting there and be ready to go," Maxwell said. (Reporting by
Katy Migiro; Editing by Katie Nguyen)