Muqdisho (Caasimada Online) – Warar lagu kalsoon yahay oo aan ka helnay mas’uuliyiin ka tirsan Wasaarada Arrimaha dibadda Somalia, ayaa sheegaya in dowlada Imaaraadka carabta ay laashay qorsho ay dowlada Somalia ku magacaawi laheyd Safiir cusub. Xogta aan heleyno ayaa sheegeysa in dowlada Imaaraadka ay dib usoo celisay Safiir cusub oo la doonaayay in lagu bedelo kan iminka Somalia u fadhiya dalka Isutaga Imaaraadka carabta. Dowlada Imaaraadka ayaa la xaqiijiyay inay is hortaagtay magacaabida Safiirka cusub, maadaama waayadan uu sii kordhaayay khilaafka labada dal, oo gaaray heer leysu aqbali waayo Safiirada. Waxa ay xogtu intaa kusii dareysaa in dowlada Imaaraadka ay dib usoo celisay warqad codsi ah oo lagu dalbanaayay aqbalaada Safiir cusub, waxa ayna taa cirka ku toshay khilaafka labada dal. Dowlada Imaaraadka ayaa baqdin ka qabta in Safiirka cusub oo ay dib usoo celisay uu ka awood bata kan iminka ku magacaaban dalkaasi oo Siyaasad ahaan jilicsan. Dowlado dhowr ah oo ay kamid tahay Kuweyd ayaa horay u diiday in dowlada Somalia ay bedesho Safiirkeeda ku magacaaban dalkaasi, iyadoo aan la garaneynin sababta dhabta ah. Dowladaha Somalia iyo Imaaraadka carabta ayaa isku haya arrimaha Dekadda Berbera, oo uu Imaraadka Heshiis kula galay maamulka Somaliland. Ma cadda talaabada ay qaadi doonto dowlada Somalia, waxaana xusid mudan in Imaaraadka ay Somalia kala baxday Diplumaasiyiinteeda. Caasimada Online Xafiiska Muqdisho Caasimada@live.com

Somalia’s foreign minister has said DP World should reconsider its contract with Somaliland and work with Somalia’s federal authorities so the country’s sovereignty is not violated. Ahmed Isse Awad told Reuters that DP World’s agreement to develop an economic zone and port in Somaliland’s Berbera “bypassed the legitimate authority” of Somalia, triggering “misunderstanding and disagreement” that remained unresolved. Mr Award said: “We are asking DP World to reconsider these agreements, particularly the one in Berbera port since Somaliland is claiming to be a state independent from Somalia,” reported Reuters. In 2016, DP World won a 30-year concession with an automatic 10-year extension for the management and development of a multipurpose US$400m port project at Berbera, but in March, the Federal Government of Somalia declared the deal “non-existent, null and void”. Ethiopia was due to take a 19% stake in the port, with the Somaliland Port Authority holding 30% and the remaining 51% held by DP World. Last month Saad Ali Shire, Somaliland’s foreign affairs minister, claimed that the dispute risked destabilising the Horn of Africa region. Somaliland’s declaration of autonomy from Somalia has not been formally recognised. port Strategy

For nearly three decades, the holy grail of politics in Somaliland has been its quest for international recognition. Somaliland is not its own country — not officially, any way — but it wants to be. It operates with complete independence from Somalia proper, under whose sovereignty the territory technically falls, and it boasts all the trappings of a modern state: a flag, a national anthem, a currency, an army, a Constitution. But despite Somaliland’s stellar track record of stability and economic growth, the territory’s pleas for recognition have fallen on deaf ears. The international community, prioritising its own geostrategic considerations, has consistently preferred to reinforce a succession of unstable governments in Mogadishu, leaving Somaliland to fend for itself, for the most part. Political theorists hypothesise that Somaliland’s success comes not despite this international isolation, but because of it; that the absence of aid money and one-size-fits-all development plans has allowed it to develop a home-grown democracy that actually works for the community. Nonetheless, Somaliland remains desperate to end this isolation — and it just might be on the brink of doing so. Finally, global geopolitics is working in its favour. The bitter divisions in the Middle East have spilled over into the Horn of Africa, forcing governments to choose sides. Somalia’s federal government, propped up by African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Mogadishu, is aligning itself with Qatar and Turkey. This has forced Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to go searching for other Somali partners — and Somaliland can barely contain its enthusiasm. Already, even as the UAE has withdrawn from a military training arrangement in Mogadishu, it has reached a deal to build a military base in Somaliland’s Berbera port; while Emirati behemoth DP World will operate the commercial facilities there. According to one report, the UAE is now accepting Somaliland passports. It’s not just Somaliland, either: the president of neighbouring Puntland, a semi-autonomous region with much closer ties to Mogadishu, recently jetted off to Abu Dhabi for a meeting with senior Emirati officials, suggesting that it too has taken the side of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In Hargeisa, Somaliland’s booming capital city, the government is daring to dream: could the territory be on the brink of receiving their first official recognition as a sovereign entity? The worse relations get between Abu Dhabi and Mogadishu — and they are deteriorating further by the week — the more likely that seems. And where the UAE goes, other countries may follow, given the Emirates’ considerable influence in the region. The international recognition that Somaliland craves is closer than ever before. If only the poets would shut up. Poets like Naeema Qorane, who was sentenced last week to three years in a Hargeisa prison. Her crime: “anti-national activity of a citizen and bringing the nation or state in contempt”. In her verse, Qorane waxes lyrical about Somali unity; the fabled soomaalinimo, the essential Somaliness that binds all Somalis regardless of whose borders they live in. It is a concept embraced wholeheartedly by the federal government in Mogadishu, even finding expression on its flag: against a light blue background, the five points of the white star represent Somalia’s five historic regions, including territory in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. One day, Mogadishu would like to have all that back. Poets occupy an exalted position in Somali society, which until 1974 was an almost exclusively oral society. “Poets carry our heritage and our history. That’s how we send messages. Poetry is the centre of the identity of the Somali people,” said Guleid Ahmed Jama, the director of the Red Sea Centre, a Hargeisa-based cultural organisation. In the battle of ideas, poets are always on the frontline. “Poetry is an important vehicle for different political positions: some may emphasise the value of soomaalinimo whilst others might praise the achievements and independence of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland. These poetic expressions and confrontations are taken up by younger generations and play out in many different locations — both offline and across dynamic and transnational Somali social media,” said Pete Chonka, a lecturer at King’s College London and a long-time student of Somali poetry. So when Qorane, and others like her, preach soomaalinimo, Somaliland’s government interprets it as an attack on its own nation-building project — even when Qorane never mentions Somaliland explicitly. And this is deemed enough of a threat to to jail her, even if doing so means violating basic civil liberties. “I think the Somaliland government is not respecting the Constitution,” said Jama. But it’s even worse than that, he adds: to convict Qorane, the courts relied on the old Somali penal code, a legal remnant of a unified Somalia. Apparently Somaliland is not so averse to abusing the notion of Somali unity when it suits them. There is grave danger here for Somaliland. The territory is so close to achieving its ultimate goal of international recognition: is now really the time to trample on free speech, on human rights, on the rule of law — all the values which have for so long underpinned this rare success story in the Horn of Africa? President Muse Bihi may be aware of the danger, at least. Following a huge public outcry that followed Qorane’s conviction, unconfirmed Twitter reports suggest that he has now pardoned the poet. Even if true, this will not be the last test of Somaliland’s principles Somaliland is nearer to its holy grail than even before. But it doesn’t take a poet to know that sometimes holy grails turn out to be poisoned chalices. Mail & the Guardian

The dispute between the government of Djibouti and DP World runs on and on. The Dubai firm says that it still regards its concession to operate Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT) as being in force, although its employees have been forced to leave the country DP World argues that the government “unlawfully seized control of the terminal” on 22nd February and it has referred the new dispute to the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). The Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) claimed in February that the concession had been cancelled because of DP World’s poor performance, but given that this action was taken after the government had its original corruption allegations against the Dubai rejected by the LCIA, this seems unlikely. DPFZA says that it is prepared to buy DP World’s 33% stake in DCT, but the port operator says that it has not yet received any offer for its stake. DP World group chairman Sultan Ahmad bi Sulayem said: “We demand Djibouti cease its unlawful conduct and continue to work with us as partners. The cooperation has been in place for 18 years and has yielded hundreds of millions of dollars. Africa needs infrastructure and if nations can change laws to take assets it will be difficult to attract further investment.” The government of Djibouti says that it is in talks with CMA CGM over developing a new transhipment container terminal at the Port of Djibouti. CMA CGM already includes Djibouti on several of its weekly services. DPFZA chairman Aboubakar Omar Hadi said that the terminal would require initial investment of US$660M to provide annual handling capacity of 2.4M TEU, but expansion could increase this to 4M TEU. Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, he said that construction could begin as early as September and take two years. This seems a very ambitious timetable. In a statement responding to the news, DP World said: “Take notice that DP World and DCT are the lawful holders of rights in respect of the ownership and operation of the container shipping terminal at Doraleh, Djibouti, and will pursue all available legal recourse, including claims for damages, against any other entities that tortuously interfere or otherwise violate their rights with respect to the Concession Agreement.” According to DP World, its agreement with the government also gives it “exclusive rights to build and operate any other container ports and free zones in Djibouti.” Meanwhile, following its complaint in March about “sovereignty violations” by DP World, the government of Somalia is seeking to block the company from developing the port of Berbera in the Somali breakaway state of Somaliland, for which it signed a 30 year concession in May 2016. Mogadishu controls only part of its territory because of the civil war against Islamist militant group Al Shabab, but also because the breakaway territories of Puntland and Somaliland on the Red Sea coast have effectively operated as separate states for more than 20 years. Mogadishu fears that the port project will strengthen Somaliland’s independence. It already fears Ethiopian involvement in its domestic affairs, despite military support the latter has given in the battle against Al Shabab. Somalia’s parliament has now voted to ban DP World from operating anywhere in the country, which it considers as including Berbera. The government of Ethiopia has agreed to take a 19% stake in Berbera’s operating company. Addis Ababa has revealed that it has agreed to switch some of its trade from Djibouti to Berbera as part of the agreement. Djibouti currently handles 95% of Ethiopian trade and so its government is keen to open up access to alternative ports in order to provide some competition and increase its security. With the exception of Eritrean ports, which Addis Ababa does not want to use because of extreme tensions with its neighbour, Berbera and Djibouti are the two closest ports to most Ethiopians. The government of Ethiopia is also keen to encourage the use of Mombasa in Kenya and Port Sudan in Sudan by Ethiopian traders. Djibouti is highly dependent on Ethiopian trade, which accounts for about 70% of containers passing through its terminals.

Muqdisho (Caasimada Online) – Warar hoose oo aan ka heleyno ilo wareedyo ka tirsan Hay’adaha amaanka dowlada Federaalka ah ee Somalia ayaa sheegaya in Imaaraadka uu gudaha magaalada Muqdisho ku dhex fasaxay Kunteenar Hub ah. Xogtu waxa ay tibaaxeysaa in Kunteenarkasi Seddex cisho ka hor laga dhex saaray Xerada Xerada Jenaraal Gorda oo Saldhig u aheyd Saraakiisha ciidamada Imaaraadka ee iminka ka baxay dalka. Mid kamid ah Saraakiisha ciidamada Imaaraadka ee iminka ku biiray ciidamada ka amar qaata Wasaarada Gaashandhiga Somalia, ayaa Caasimada Online u xaqiijiyay inuu jiro Hub kale oo aad u xoogan kuwaa oo asbuucyadii ugu danbeysay loo iibgeynaayay goobaha sida sharci darada ah loogu kala iibsado Hubka. Waxa uu intaa raaciyay in Hubka Imaaraadka ee galay magaalada ay u badnaayen qoryaha fudud iyo rasaas noocyo kala duwan leh. Qeybo kamid ah magaalada Muqdisho ayaa waxaa lagu arkayaa qoryaha loo yaqaan ‘’Cali Shucaaca’’ oo ay magaalada soo galiyeen Imaaraadka kuwaa oo qeyb ka ah Hubka ay Saraakiisha Imaaraadka ku fasaxeen gudaha magaalada. Imaaraadka oo inta badan agabkiisa ciidan ciidan kala baxay magaalada Muqdisho, ayaa ku dhiiranaaya in qalqal amni uu ka dhex abuuro magaalada si xasilooni darro ay uga dhex curato dalka. Dowlada Somalia oo ka feejigan amni darro lagu geysto Hubka ay Imaaraadka galiyeen magaalada ayaa iminka wada qorsho looga hortagaayo Hubkaas. Si kastaba ha ahaatee, magaalada Muqdisho ayaa waxaa aad looga hadal hayaa ficilada ay ku kacayaan ciidamada calooshood u shaqeystayaasha ee horay ay u tababareen Imaaraadka iminka qaarkood lagu wareejiyay dowlada. Caasimada Online Xafiiska Muqdisho Caasimada@live.com

Muqdisho (Caasimada Online) – Xubno la aaminsanyahay inay ka tirsanyihiin Al-Shaabaab ayaa qaar kamid ah beeraleyda gobolka Gedo ka qaatay dawooyinka beeraha lagu bacrimiyo. Beeraleyda ayaa isku diyaariyay abuurka beerahooda kadib markii xilli roobaadka uu bilaawday iyagoo dawooyinka beeraha lagu bacrimiyo ka helay hay’adaha gar gaarka ee ka shqaqeeya Somalia. Maleeshiyaadka Al-Shabaab ayaa sidoo kale weerar ku qaaday xaafad kutaala gobolka Shabeellaha Hoose halkaas oo ay dadka deegaanka si xoog ah uga dalbadeen inay isku dardaraan maciishad iyo adeegyo kale oo kala duwan. Sahaayda gargaarka ayaa beeraleyda waxaa todobaadkii lasoo dhaafay siiyay hay’adaha gar gaarka. Kamal Abdi oo kamid ah beeraleyda Yaanyada ayaa sheegay in afar kamid ah maleeshiyaadka ay weerareen hoygiisa xilli uu ku maqnaa beertiisa. Waxa uu sheegay in maleeshiyaadka ay ka qaateen dhammaan daawooyinkii lagu bacriminayay beeraha,iyagoo sidoo kale kufsaday gabar yar uu dhalay oo uu, uga tagay hooyga. Hay’adaha ammaanka ayaa sheegay inay ka shaki qabaan in maleeshiyaadka ay daawooyinka bacriminta beeraha ay ka sameeynayaan qeyb kamid ah waxyaabaha qarxa. Al-Shabaab ayaa ku can baxday inay qaraxyada dhulka la galiyo u adeegsato ciidamada dowladda iyo kuwa AMISOM xilli AMISOM ay walaac xoogan ka muujisay. Dadka deegaank ayaa laamaha ammaanka ka dalbanaya inay soo fara geliyaan arrintaas isla markaana ay ka ilaaliyaan maleeshiyaadka Al-Shabaab.

Muqdisho (Caasimada Online) – Sida aan kasoo xiganay Saraakiil ka tirsan ciidamada Xoogga waxaa caqabad ay ka taagan tahay diiwaan galinta ciidamada Soomaalida ee uu tababaray Imaaraadka. Wararku waxa ay sheegayaan in ciidamadaasi ay diideen in la diiwaan galiyo isla markaana ay xuquuq ku yeeshan Wasaarada Gaashandhiga ee xukuumada Somalia, sababo la xiriira xuquuqdooda oo toos aheyd. Sarkaalka aan xogtaani la wadaagnay ee ka tirsan Wasaarada Gaashandhiga ayaa xaqiijiyay inay aad u yartahay tirada ciidamada uu tababaray Imaaraadka ee aqbalay in lagu daro Wasaarada Gaashandhiga Somalia. Waxa uu Sarkaalkan sheegay in sababta ugu weyn oo ay u diideen ay tahay in xuquuqda Wasaarada ee lasiiyo ciidamada Xoogga aysan aheyn mid joogta ah, halka Imaaraadka uu kasiin jiray xuquuq dhameystiran. Warar hoose ayaa sheegaya in Imaaraadka uu si hoose u bixin doono xuquuqda ciidamadaasi, isla markaana ay ku dhici doonto akoono, iyadoo taa bedelkeeda la doonaayo in lagu carqaladeeyo amniga. Imaaraadka ayaa Askariga ugu yar siin jiray lacag dhan 350 dollar, halka Saraakiisha maamusha ay qatan lacago kabadan 800 oo dollar, waxaana xusid mudan in xuquuqda ciidamada kale ee dowlada ay gaareyso 150 dollar oo aan joogto aheyn. Si kastaba ha ahaatee, Dowlada Somalia, gaar ahaan Wasaarada Gaashandhiga ayaa ku howlan xal u helida ciidamada uu Imaaraadka maamulaayay ee qaska ku haya magaalada Muqdisho. Caasimada Online Xafiiska Muqdisho Caasimada@live.com

Muqdisho (Caasimada Online) – Waxaa lagu wadaa in maanta oo talaado ah magaalada Kampala ee caasimada dalka Ugandha uu shir uga furmo Wasiiradda Arrimaha dibadda Urur goboleedka IGAD. Shirkaan ayaa waxaa ka qeybgali doona Wasiiradda Arrimaha dibadda dalalka qeybta ka ah IGAD. Shirka oo ahmiyad gaara leh ayaa waxaa martigelisay dowladda Uganda, waxaana looga hadli doonaa Xaaladdaha Somaliya iyo Suudaanta Koonfureed iyo Baratokoolka Dhaqdhaqaaqa Xorta ee Qaxootiga labadaasi Waddan ee gudaha dalalka IGAD. Waxaa sidoo kale shirkaan diirada lagu saari doonaa sidii loo horumarin lahaa Qarxootiga Soomaaliyeed ee ku sugan dalka Kenya. Wasiirada ka qeybgali doona shirka ayaa waxaa lagu wadaa inay wehlin doonaan Xildhibaano ka tirsan baarlamaanada wadamada IGAD, gaar ahaan qeybaha qaabilsan arrimaha dibadda. Madaxda ka qeybgali doonta shirka ayaa waxaa sidoo kale qeyb ka noqon doona Khuburo kala duwan oo ka socda Hay’addaha Caalamka, kuwaa oo khibrad fog u leh arrimaha laga doodi doono. Si kastaba ha ahaatee, shirka waxa uu imaanayaa iyadoo dhawaan uu Madaxweynaha dalka Ugandha Musavani uu ku dhawaaqay in ay muhiim tahay in xal buuxa loo helo dhibaatooyinka ka jira dalalka ku jira Urur goboleedka IGAD oo ka kooban 8 dal. Caasimada Online Xafiiska Muqdisho Caasimada@live.com

Jowhar (Caasimada Online) – Wararka naga soo gaaraya dhanka Xildhibaanada baarlamaanka maamulka HirShabelle ayaa sheegaya in Guddoomiyaha baarlamaanka maamulka Cusmaan Barre Maxamed uu lunsaday dhaqaale xoogan oo loo dhiibay. Xildhibaanada qaar ayaa sheegay in dhaqaalahaasi lagu tabaayo Guddoomiyaha, isla markaana uu ka meermeerayo xaqiijinta halka uu ku bixiyay. Xildhibaan Nuur Xaashi Warsame oo kamid ah baarlamaanka maamulka oo u waramaayay Idaacada dalsan ee magaalada Muqdisho, ayaa sheegay in lacagtaasi ay ugu war danbeysay goortii ay u dhiibeen Gudoomiyaha. Xildhibaan Nuur Xaashi Warsame, waxa uu tilmaamay in lacagtaasi loogu tallo galay dadkii uu waxyeelada kasoo gaaray Qaraxii 14-kii October ka dhacay Isgoyska Zoobe ee magalada Muqdisho. Waxa uu Xildhibaanku qiray in lacagtaasi ay aheyd mid farabadan isla markaana uu lunsaday Guddoomiyaha baarlamaanka maamulka oo isaga loo dhiibay, sida uu hadalka u dhigay. Xildhibaan Nuur Xaashi Warsame, waxa uu tilmaamay in dacwada Guddoomiyaha ay u gudbiyeen guddiga Anshaxa Baarlamaanka si wax looga qabto falka uu ku kacay Guddoomiyaha. Guddiga Anshaxa ayuu ugu baaqay inay talaabo ka qaadan dacwada ku aadan lunsashada lacagta ee uu sameeyay Guddoomiyaha baarlamaanka maamulka HirShabelle Cusmaan Barre Maxamed. Dhinaca kale, Guddoomiyaha baarlamaanka ayaa waxaa xarunta ka yaal mooshin la sheegay in xilka looga qaadayo kadib markii lagu eedeeyay xil gudasho la’aan. Caasimada Online Xafiiska Jowhar Caasimada@live.com

Hargeisa (HOL) - A large delegation from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Hargeisa to hold talks with Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi on Monday. Source: Hiiraan Online

Sanaa (AFP) - Yemen's Huthi rebels on Monday accused the Saudi-led coalition of killing their political leader, Saleh al-Sammad, in an air strike last week. Source: Hiiraan Online

Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspect from the 2015 Paris attacks, has been jailed for 20 years in Belgium over a gunfight that led to his arrest. Source: Hiiraan Online

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Two groups are telling conflicting stories about what happened at the University of Minnesota last week at an event meant to honor the Somali culture. Source: Hiiraan Online

For nearly three decades, the holy grail of politics in Somaliland has been its quest for international recognition. Somaliland is not its own country — not officially, any way — but it wants to be. It operates with complete independence from Somalia proper, under whose sovereignty the territory technically falls, and it boasts all the trappings of a modern state: a flag, a national anthem, a currency, an army, a Constitution. Source: Hiiraan Online

Abu Dubai (Caasimadda Online) – Shalay waxaa Magaaladda Hargeysa ee Caasimadda Somaliland gaaray wafdi ka socdo dalka Imaaraadka Carabta kuwaas oo kulan la qaatay madaxweynaha Maamulkaas Muuse Biixi Cabdi. Dowladda Imaaraadka Carabta ayaa Somaliland uga cudur daaratay sida loo fahmay wareysigii uu Wasiirka Arrimaha Debadda Siiyey idaacadda BBC laanteeda afka Carabiga, waxayna Imaaraadka sheegeen inay arrintaas kasoo saari doonaan waraaq rasmi ah. Dhanka kale dowladda Imaaraadka Carabta ayaa si rasmi ah uga saartay dalka Soomaaliya websitekeeda wasaaradda Arrimaha Gudaha kaasoo si Online ah looga dalban jiray Visaha, waxayna ku badashay “The Republic of Somaliland”. Dowladda Imaaraadka Carabta ayaa codsiyada VISAHA u fasaxday dadka u dhashay Somaliland, waxaana si rasmi ah liiska looga saaray dalka Soomaaliya taasoo muujineyso heerka ay gaarsiisan tahay khilaafka dowladaha Imaaraadka iyo Soomaaliya. Wasaaradda Arrimaha Gudaha ayaa gebi ahaanba Online Systemka ka saartay dalka Soomaaliya iyadoo lagu badalay Republic of Somaliland taasoo ay ula jeedo inay wanaajineyso xiriirka kala dhaxeeyo maamulkas maadaama Shirkadda DP world loo ogolaaday inay deegaanadaas maamlgashato. Haddaba halkaan hoose ka daawo sawirada aan laga soo qaaday Websiteka rasmiga ah ee Wasaaradda Arrimaha Gudaha Imaaraadka taasoo muujineyso in Somaliland lagu badalay booskii Soomaaliya. Halkaan hoose ka arag Website Wasaaradda Arrimaha Gudaha si aad xaqiiqda u ogaato https://echannels.moi.gov.ae/echannels/web/client/default.html#/fileValidity

Mogadishu (HOL) - Somali officials have said that they've detained a number of soldiers who were trained by the UAE after a gun battle between two factions in the SNA over equipment and military hardware left 2 dead and eight injured in the former UAE-trained military training centre, just days after the base was handed over to Somali officials. Source: Hiiraan Online

“They should be men enough to tell the country that we did not offer leadership and we must call it a day,” Duale said. On Monday last week, three IEBC commissioners resigned for what they termed lack of leadership by Chebukati. They are vice chairperson Consolata Nkatha, Paul Kurgat and Margaret Mwachanya. On Friday Chebukati refused to resign. The Garissa Township MP yesterday said the IEBC as currently constituted lacks credibility, hasn’t earned the trust of Kenyans and cannot form a quorum to carry out its mandate. Duale spoke in Garissa during the graduation ceremony of Madarastul Khadija. He accused Chebukati of failing miserably in leading the commission. “It is now clear that he [Chebukati] not only failed to unite his own commissioners and offer leadership, but also failed to work in a seamless way with the Secretariat. Both Chebukati and [suspended] CEO Ezra Chiloba have failed Kenyans,” Duale said. In coming weeks, Parliament will look into ways of creating a legal framework to reconstitute the IEBC. Currently there is no legal framework for putting in place a selection panel to advertise, shortlist and interview the next set of IEBC commissioners. Duale said the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee has a duty to create this legal framework. He said it would enable the reconstitution and overhaul of the IEBC Secretariat in readiness for the 2019 census. On Friday, Chebukati urged anybody who has problems with commissioners to follow the law. He said the law is clear on the removal of the commission. The IEBC boss further warned the three commissioners who resigned to stop attacking him, saying their intentions are in “bad taste”. Chebukati said blaming him and the two other commissioners who are still in office was insincere and misleading. “They have no legal basis and the undue pressure is unwarranted. It must cease forthwith. In the last one year we have been in office, we have been able to deliver on our mandate,” Chebukati said. Concerning constitutional amendment and restructuring the Executive, Duale said Jubilee will not be involved in any constitutional amendment mainly pushed by the Opposition. “I categorically say without fear of contradiction that [amendment] agenda is not on the table for the Jubilee Party. We have a manifesto to implement,” the MP said. He said Kenya is not ready to be taken through a referendum or constitutional amendment. Source: – The Star

For more than a decade, Ontario had seen a continuous decline in immigration, but now the province’s strong economy and federal changes to immigrant selection criteria have helped boost its appeal to newcomers again. Ontario is seeing a resurgence as the destination for immigrants after a more than decade-long slump in its share of newcomers to Canada. The number of permanent residents settling in the province has rebounded to 111,925, or 39 per cent of the 286,480 new arrivals to Canada last year, from a low of 95,828, or 36.8 per cent of the 260,411 in 2014. In the past, more than half of newcomers settled in Ontario. The vast majority of Ontario’s newcomers — 85,500 in 2017 — settled in the Greater Toronto Area, which saw an increase of 5.4 per cent from two years earlier. This past January alone, Ontario received 10,870 new permanent residents, up 48.6 per cent from 7,315 in the same period last year. Greater Toronto’s share was 8,600, 57.2 per cent higher than January 2017. Experts said the immigration bump in the GTA and Ontario appears to be due to the economic downturn in Alberta, which saw immigrant arrivals drop to 42,100 last year from 49,200 in 2016, with its national share declining to 14.7 per cent from 16.3 per cent. The recent slump for Alberta comes after a decade in which its share of immigrants shot up dramatically, from less than 10 per cent in the past. B.C.’s immigration share has stabilized at around 13.5 per cent in the past three years after a steady decline from its peak of 17.8 per cent a decade ago. Quebec, which selects its own immigrants, had exactly the same share of the pie, at 18.3 per cent, last year as it did in 2008. Immigration to the rest of the country adds up to just under 15 per cent of the total. “Ontario, especially Greater Toronto, is again the place to go to for new immigrants. Both Alberta and British Columbia are not doing so well,” said Jack Jedwab of the Canadian Institute for Identities and Migration. “In Alberta, the economy is bad. In B.C., it is hard to find an affordable place to live. In Greater Toronto, it is still the historical magnet for immigrant settlement.” Ontario’s dominance as Canada’s immigration hub had been under threat under the former federal Conservative government, as the province saw its share of immigration falling significantly from its peak of 53.6 per cent in 2005, when 140,528 of the 262,243 new arrivals settled in the province. In the years after that, the Stephen Harper government pushed for the regionalization of immigration in an attempt to encourage newcomers to settle outside of the big three immigration gateway cities: Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. The goal was to spread the economic benefits and population diversity evenly across Canada, and alleviate the pressure of immigrant settlement on big cities’ infrastructure. Source: – Toronto Star

By M. A. Ali, University of Hargeisa, LLB and MA in International Relations and Diplomacy. The Establishment of Democracy Somaliland had inherited societal structure which had survived through the colonial era and into the independence period[1], this culture remained intact during and after the war between Somali National Movement (SNM) and Siad Barre’s regime. Since 1991, when Somaliland declared independence from the rest of Somalia, the country went through different stages of transformation, starting from grassroot tribal reconciliation, disarmament of clan militia groups, peacebuilding and laying the foundation of systematic procedure of shifting from traditional Charter to hybrid system of democratic state, where citizens elect government officials with a ballot paper In May 1993, President Egal was elected to replace President Abdirahman Tuur, the last SNM[2]chairman and the founding President of Somaliland during the Borama Grand Conference, President Egal brought a new momentum of state-building with a clear and precise blueprint. His priority was militia disarmament and seizing the control of the main government sources of revenue, including the major ports, airports and border customs which were at the time controlled by various clan militias. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE IN PDF FORMAT

The Chief of Defence Forces, Gen David Muhoozi, has said Ugandan soldiers deployed in Somalia to fight the al-Shabaab are stranded due to underfunding, logistical deficits and a challenged Somali national force. In an interview with this newspaper last Thursday, Gen Muhoozi said UPDF has as a result collapsed some of its forward operating bases to consolidate defensive strength and cannot launch attacks against al-Shabaab. “It has now implied that we cannot defend what we already have and neither can we effectively offend the enemy to degrade [its] capacity. That is the dilemma we are in and that is why the TCCs (Troop Contributing Countries) met to put across the concerns of the mission, so that with the international partners, we can find a way forward,” he said. Uganda was first to deploy in Somalia in March 2007 and still has the largest number of soldiers in the 22,000-strong African Union Peacekeeping Mission (Amisom). Other troop contributors include Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. Presidents, military and technical leaders from the TCCs, together with donors, met in Kampala in February to iron out the teething problems hamstringing Amisom operations. While opening that meeting, Uganda’s Foreign Affairs ministry permanent secretary Patrick Mugoya noted: “The international community recognises the role of all Amisom Troop Contributing Countries in stabilising Somalia, although the support from them is not commensurate with the task at hand.” Earlier concerns The high-level summit was held months after President Museveni in September 2017 offered to send an additional 5,000 troops as long as funding and logistical support were guaranteed. The United Nations Security Council instead voted to have foreign troops in Somalia draw down their forces in calculations to hand the Horn of Africa’s country’s security management to its national forces. That Somali army, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces said during last week’s interview, has no capacity as of now to even hold areas already captured by Amisom troops. Asked if his meant that the UPDF is stuck in Somalia, Gen Muhoozi spoke of a “mismatch between what we want to do and what we have. That’s why we are talking about reviewing our operations.” “Our ambition was bigger than the troops we had,” he said, “you find that you have moved forward but your rear is insecure; it is vulnerable because there are no holding forces which ideally should be coming from the Somali.” Risks He added: “As you take supplies because you are road-bound, you are predictable. The enemy’s weapon of choice are Improvised Explosive Devices that degrade your vehicles and manpower every day. So we are looking at all sorts of ways that can minimise attrition on those things that are avoidable.” The CDF said Amisom troops would be safer and more effective at the frontline with air mobility and force multipliers such as attack helicopters as well as guaranteed funding and logistical supplies. “…the mission is underfunded, expectations are high but not matched by the support to achieve those expectations especially the resources to do the job and do it quickly. It was exacerbated by the recent drawdown by the UN Security Council,” he said. In the interview, the army chief also spoke about what he said was the growing threat from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a decimated Lord’s Resistance Army group that has turned into localised criminal enterprise in eastern DR Congo and Central African Republic and UPDF’s massing of troops at the border to counter the menace of South Sudan’s military and rebels. Challenges Concerns. Asked if his meant that the UPDF is stuck in Somalia, Gen Muhoozi spoke of a “mismatch between what we want to do and what we have. That’s why we are talking about reviewing our operations”. “Our ambition was bigger than the troops we had,” he said, “you find that you have moved forward but your rear is insecure; it is vulnerable because there are no holding forces which ideally should be coming from the Somalis.” Source: – Daily Monitor

Somali government on Sunday launched Human Resource (HR) Audit to establish the government employee and payroll data for the first time since the 1990s. The Audit of the civil servants is aimed at smooth-running the Public sector amid concerns of an unknown number of ghost employees. Somali Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Kheire who officially launched the exercise in Mogadishu said the move will help the government to get full data on its workers and their conditions. “HR-audit that I have launched aims to correct employee HR and Payroll data. The audit will help evaluate the state of FGS (Federal Government of Somalia) civil service and policies to determine overall effectiveness,” said the Prime Minister in a twitter post. The exercise is scheduled to start on Monday at the office of the Premier with aim of critical in policy formulation. “The HR-audit exercise will begin tomorrow (Today-Monday) in my office. The exercise seeks to identify civil servants, their working conditions and how we can make sure they are supported,” Kheire noted. The exact number of the government workers yet to be unvailed but in 2017 national budget, the government had allocated $128 million for over 5500 employees.

Following an undiplomatic outburst from the UAE’s often rash Minister of State, Anwar Gharghash, alleging that the Emirates’ ongoing construction of military base and takeover of the Red Sea port of Berbera management through DP World came to be only after they had signed an MOU with Mogadishu, and the turmoil it threw on Somaliland politics, a 12-member, high profile delegation arrived to mend damaged ties. The delegation met with His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland with whom it commiserated the uncalled for remarks of the State Minister, promising that a more formal form of apology will be released as soon as possible. The delegation, also, promised unconditional training and equipment to the varied Somaliland security forces. On a similar token, the Emirati delegation broke the news that the UAE will immediately start construction of a kidney dialysis facility that will greatly benefit not only Somaliland but populations within reach in the whole region. The visiting delegation was following up on issues agreed upon by President Bihi and his UAE counterparts on a recent visit he made to the Emirates and outstanding issues relating to the Port and Base deals previously slated for action embodied in the agreement the two sides inked in August 2017. The Republic of Somaliland had never taken part in the affairs of the former Italian colony to the south – political or otherwise – since 1991 and the deposal of the former military dictator who has lorded over the two former partners of Somaliland and Italina Somalia since 1969 to end an uneasy partnership that started in in 1960 to prepare the ground for a Greater Somalia that included Djibouti and large parts of Kenya and Ethiopia. The UAE and Somalia fell apart after the latter forcibly seized funds the UAE meant to pay for training and security contingents it funded for over 20 years now to help the ailing Mogadishu administration combat a host of security issues it faced. Somalia made a scandalous fuss about the payload pointing accusatory fingers at the UAE’s feeding hand. The action resulted in a total pullout of the UAE from Somalia. Gharghash’s scathing – and largely unfounded – claims that the UAE only started dealing with Somaliland after it secured permission from Mogadishu was challenged by the former Somalia President Hassan Sheikh, his Prime Minister Omar Abdrirashid, the incumbent FGS Foreign Minister, Ahmed Isse Awad, all of whom said nothing of the kind ever transpired and that the FGS was not party to the deal between the Republic of Somaliland and the United Arab Emirates. Of the meeting between the President and the delegation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Somaliland Republic said: Somaliland: president meets with UAE Delegation in Hargeisa Press releases 22.4.2018 …See more

Decentralized renewable energy company ImpactPPA and Earth Day Network have announced an initiative to install clean energy systems at 50 facilities by 2020. The “50 by 50” initiative will focus on providing hybrid wind and solar installations to schools, healthcare centers, and other facilities whose work could be greatly enhanced by access to reliable energy. The first installation will be at Edna Adan Hospital in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Through this effort, ImpactPPA will install a hybrid wind and solar system to provide affordable and reliable energy, allowing money currently spent acquiring fuel to be channeled directly into patient care. This project aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which seeks to provide universal access to sustainable energy by 2030 with a focus on healthcare centers as first priority. This goal is especially important in regions like sub-Saharan Africa, where just 28 percent of healthcare facilities report having reliable access to electricity. “We hope that the success of our first project with ImpactPPA will become a launchpad for continuing our work together and identifying other worthy projects and partners around the globe,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network. “This initiative will not only showcase an emergent technology, but also have a real impact on people who need clean energy.” “Improving the world’s access to clean energy is a goal that we share with Earth Day Network, and this partnership moves us closer to balancing inequality in our global energy systems,” said Dan Bates, CEO of ImpactPPA. “We look forward to identifying new opportunities to deploy ImpactPPA’s technology globally through the 50 by 50 initiative.” ImpactPPA will be recognized at Earth Day Network’s Climate Leadership Gala for its work with the Edna Adan Hospital in Washington D.C. on May 8, 2018. The annual event gathers the world’s most distinguished green economy leaders and celebrates achievements leading the path to a post-carbon future. www.earthday.org www.impactppa.org

Hargeisa —-Somaliland president Muse Bihi Abdi appointed a list of officials to new posts, according to a decree released on Saturday. In the decree received by Somaliland Informer, the president named Ali Ibrahim Jama Baqdadi for the Director of the Bank of Somaliland (BOS) and Ahmed Hasan Abdi Arwo as General Manager of the BOS. The other posts named in the decree are General Manager of Ministry of National Planning and Development and head of the national projects. He also named the deputy Governor of Salal province. President Abdi thanked the departing officials for their service to Somaliland.

By Ahmed Abdi Hargeisa— President Muse Abdi received UK Ambassador David Concar at his presidential palace in Hargeisa on Monday. President Abdi thanked the United Kingdom for its developmental programs in Somaliland. Mr. Abdi said that Somaliland is holding the parliamentary election and halted the talks between Somalia and Somaliland over the Berbera port tension. Ambassador told Abdi that the United Kingdom will continue the financial aid to Somaliland and praised its efforts to make sure its democracy and free and fair elections that take place in Somaliland every five years. Meanwhile, Somaliland’s Minister for information Abdirahman Guri Barwako said that his administration will never detain any journalist but will use other legal means if he/she commits any violations.