Xukuumadda KMG ah oo markii ugu horreysay ka hadashay go'aankii baarlamaanku ku kororsaday xilligiisa shaqo Isniin, 07 Feberaayo, 2011 (HOL) – Xukuumadda KMG ah ee Soomaaliya ayaa markii ugu horreysay ka hadashay xilli kororsiga ay xildhibaannada baarlamaanku sameysteen toddobadkii hore, waxaana mas’uul u hadlay xukuumadda uu sheegay in go’aankaas uu yahay mid lagu fududaaday oo aan laga fiirsan. “Anigu go’aanka baarlamaanka kama hadli karo, waayo waxaan ahayn xildhibaan, balse jidka loo maray xilli kororsiga ayaa ahaa mid laga qurux badan yahay, waxayna ahayd in arrintaas wadatashi lagala sameeyo hay’adaha kale ee xukuumadda,” ayuu yiri C/rashiid Maxamed Xiddig oo ka mid ah golaha wasiirrada xukuumadda. Xiddig wuxuu sheegay inay ahayd in xubnaha baarlamaanku ay muddo kordhinta kala hadlaan xukuumadda maadaama ay iyadu tahay hay’adda fulinta, isagoo intaas ku daray in xilli krodhintu ay ahaan lahayd mid la isla wada ogyahay. Qarammada Midoobay, Mareykanka, Midowga Yurub, Midowga Afrika iyo dalala y ka mid yihiin Mareykanka, Taliyaaniga iyo Ingiriiska ayaa toddobaadkan cambaareeyay go’aankii ay xildhibaannada baarlamaanka xilligooda shaqo ku kororsadeen. Xildhibaannada baarlamaanka Soomaaliya ayaa toddobaadkii hore kulan ay ku yeesheen xaruntooda Muqdisho waxay muddo saddex sano ah ku kororsadeen xilliga ay shaqeynayaan, iyadoo mudanayaashu ay ku adkeysanayaan in go’aankoodaas uu sharciga waafaqsan yahay. Hadalka kasoo baxay wasiirka ka tirsan xukuumadda Soomaaliya ayaa noqonaya kii ugu horreeyay oo xukuumaddu ay kaga hadasho xilli kororsiga ay sameysteen xubnaha barlamaanka Soomaaliya marka bisha Ogotoosto ee sannadkan uu dhammaado xilliga dowladda KMG ah. Maxamed Xaaji Xuseen, Hiiraan Online maxuseen@hiiraan.com Muqdisho, Soomaaliya

ElPunto;692905 wrote: ^If you don't care what some hooligans are doing in Egypt every 5 minutes - the door is thataway ---------> . Another one! Ah! There is no door here, don't confuse it with your place. Use that imaginary door and buy yourself some LIFE! lol@LG... he sounds like I stole a candy from him. Waah! waah! lol Starbucks dads on the double! xooga ingiriisi ayaa la soo bartey, markaas ayaa waxaa la bartey side mouse-ka loo click-gareeyo and voila! Waxaa u maleysey inaan Qaahiro joogno oo cunaqabateyn nagala geliyey telecommunication-ka. p.s. GD, good job (you know)! it seems that you are the only sensible one so far in here. Keep up the great work bro.

GoldCoast;692919 wrote: It seems you are quite confused. I'd care less what you personally contribute, it was you who came in this thread preaching from your soapbox about discussion with regards to Egypt. You are in no position to judge what anyone contributes to Somalia while getting emotional when your own approach gets directed to yourself. No one forced or cares if you discuss Egypt just save me your patronizing moral equivalency. It seems you are the one that is confused. No one addressed you, and this aint your thread, yet you come at me like I was talking to you personally. What business is it of yours if I give my opinion about the thread? you chatting rubbish because I pointed out the obvious? You really need to learn to mind your business!. This is SOL and I will give my opinion on any thread that I please at anytime, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. You got that junior! Learn how to talk to people and go buy some manners then come back to me. You are in no position to give anyone advice. What a waste of space!

"Caliyaale moodeen"... Is that your only line?

GoldCoast;692849 wrote: Paying attention to Somalia and other world events is not mutually exclusive so please save me your patronising. What exactly have you contributed to Somalia specifically that sets you apart from the people who posted in this thread? Bickering and endless clan posturing that passes as political debate is not helping those 2.5 million. Do you think Somalia operates in a regional vacuum, in the sense that major world events do not effect it? You are free to be apathetic but do not try to lecture anyone on following your stance from faulty moral grounds. Are you sure you want to get personal with me? What i do for my people is not up for discussion. Btw, I don't see lecture notes on here, so I really don't know what you are on about. Did I perhaps hit a nerve somewhere? Spare me your calaacal please, I could care less about what some hooligans are doing on the streets of Cairo every 5 minutes. The Arab throwing rocks in Tahrir SQ doesn't give 2cents about the woman losing her livestock in Galgaduud or the kid dying of dehydration in NFD, and If I point out your BS concern for the Egyptian people's well being there is absolutely no need to bite my neck you hear!. I honestly don't care for your nonsense opinion about me, so you better save it for the anti-Mubarak fans on here. I hope I made myself clear. p.s. Don't start something you can't finish.

It is interesting to see folks here giving so much attention to Egypt while close to 2.5 million Somalis don't have a glass of water to drink. Do you think Egyptians care about what goes on in Somalia? Ah! Somali men! enough said. p.s. I hope Mubarak stays.

Jacaylbaro;692839 wrote: who told you i'm from that clan bal ??? ,,, mise waad ila jeclaatay ?? lol@jeclaatey... nice one! saasaantaada ayaan ka gartey...

Friday, February 04, 2011 Maputo Eight illegal immigrants from Somalia have been found dead in the back of a lorry in Mozambique, apparently from asphyxiation, daily newspaper Noticias reported Friday. The driver of the truck, transporting cooking oil, had reportedly been paid 300 dollars to hide the group. The lorry was stopped by police late Wednesday for inspection in the district of Mocuba, where the grim discovery was made. The dead are believed to have previously been resident in the Maratane refugee centre in northern Mozambique, but had escaped and were attempting to reach South Africa. Source: dpa

Wondering why you didn't comment when Wyre posted that flag that had the name of your clan written on it?

Somalia’s Government Should Go in August, U.S. Says Bloomberg Thursday, February 03, 2011 Somalia’s transitional government should go in August when its mandate expires, said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg. “We don’t want to create a vacuum, but at the same time we just can’t continue with business as usual,” Steinberg told reporters in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, today. “We have been disappointed with the performance” of the government. The organization that takes over should make Somalia more self-sufficient and less reliant on foreign help to tackle Islamic insurgents, Steinberg said. Somalia has been mired in civil war for two decades and hasn’t had a functioning central administration since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The current government, backed by troops from the African Union, is battling Islamic militants for control of the capital, Mogadishu, and southern and central Somalia. The Horn of Africa nation will miss an August target to enact a new constitution that would have set the stage for elections, the United Nations’ representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, said on Jan. 26. The UN wants the transitional government swapped with a new organization by August, he said. Discussions between international donors, Somalia officials and regional authorities will help determine the composition of the replacement body, Steinberg said today. The decision won’t be “unilateral,” he said. “We don’t think we should start from scratch.” ====== To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah McGregor in Nairobi at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Philip Sanders at psanders@bloomberg.net.

Somalia faces malnutrition crisis Guardian.co.uk February 3, 2011 Xan Rice in Galkacyo Severe drought in Somalia has left nearly one in three children acutely malnourished in some areas – double the normal emergency threshold – and caused a sharp rise in food prices. An estimated 2.4 million people – about a third of Somalia's population – require humanitarian aid after the failure of recent rains, according to the UN. This figure is up from 2 million six months ago. Though fighting continues in many areas of the country, drought has overtaken insecurity as the main reason for people being displaced. In the most striking sign of the emerging crisis, the exodus from conflict-racked Mogadishu in recent years has reversed, with thousands of people leaving the countryside for the capital in search of food and water over the past two months. With widespread livestock deaths reported, other families are selling their remaining possessions to raise money to travel to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. "It's a very worrying situation, and there may still be worse to come," Mark Bowden, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Somalia, has said during a visit to the country. "The high malnutrition rates among children mean that there will be deaths due to the drought." While the emergency is at an early stage, the UN and aid groups are raising the alarm because of the lack of access to many of the worst-affected areas. The al-Shabaab Islamist group, which controls much of south and central Somalia, has an ideology of self-sufficiency and rejects outside aid. As a result, the World Food Programme has suspended distributions in many areas since last January, including the central Hiraan region, where 70% of the population are "in crisis", according the UN. With cereal crops failing because of the drought, and little food aid available outside Mogadishu, prices have shot up. In the Juba region maize prices increased by about 80% in November and December, according to the UN's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU), which published its latest report detailing the "severe water shortage" in Somalia last week. Juba has the greatest proportion of acutely malnourished children – at 30% probably the highest rate anywhere in the world. This is due mainly to a lack of clean water, leading to diarrhoea, and reduced access to milk, as families move their livestock ever further away in search of pasture. Across southern Somalia, one in four children is acutely malnourished. Grainne Moloney, the FSNAU's chief technical adviser, expressed "great concern" about the situation in Afgoye, outside Mogadishu, where about 360,000 displaced people are living under al-Shabaab control. The number of acutely malnourished children there has risen from 15% in July last year to 21%. The drought has forced some families to move hundreds of miles in search of assistance. Halimo Ugas, a 30-year-old from Idale, an al-Shabaab-controlled area in southern Somalia, arrived in Garowe, in the northern state of Puntland, 10 days ago with her husband and five children. They live with some 180 families on a patch of rubbish-strewn scrubland dotted with tiny igloo-shaped structures made of sticks and covered with flattened cardboard boxes, hessian sacks and scraps of material. "We used to own 30 cows. All died except one, but we could not even cook it because there was no water to prepare it," Ugas said. "We had no choice but to move." Another woman, Asha Mohamed, said she had arrived three days ago on foot from a village about 45 miles (70km) away. She had lost five camels and numerous goats to the drought, she said. Further south in Galkayo, a town split between two rival clans, the president of Galmudug state, Mohamed Ahmed Alin, appealed for urgent international help. He said cattle losses were growing, while the UN said the price of the staple sorghum had doubled there between November and December. The scale of the problem has caught many in the aid community off guard. Until 2010, there had been seven consecutive seasons of rain failure in Somalia. But last year the rains were good, resulting in the best harvest for 15 years. The fact that the country has slipped so quickly back into a food crisis shows how vulnerable its people are – a result of two decades without an effective government. It has also raised questions about how the grain gathered last year has disappeared quickly, with suspicion falling on farmers and traders who may be seeking to profit from the food shortages. "It's surprising that the malnutrition rates are so high so soon after a good harvest," said Bowden. "We think there must be food hoarding taking place in some areas." Food prices in Mogadishu, where the weak Somali government exercises some control, are lower than elsewhere due to the availability of food aid and the proximity to the port.Britain's international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, has announced the UK will provide £10.5m of emergency assistance to Somalia through the UN. Aid would more than triple from £26m in 2010/11 to £80m in 2013/14, he said.

He should've left when he became unpopular.

February 02, 2011 Arta, Feb 02, 2011 (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks/All Africa Global Media) -- IRIN interviewed Djibouti`s President Ismail Omar Guelleh on 27 January in Arta about the drought, humanitarian challenges and regional issues. Is the current drought in Djibouti more serious than previous ones? We are going through what meteorologists call the La Nina phenomenon. The problem in our region is that we don`t plan properly for what we know is coming. Four months ago, we had a lot of rain. Four months later, we are dying of starvation and lack of water. In Djibouti, we are continuously monitoring the drought situation. There are some parts, particularly the eastern part of the country, that are more seriously affected than other parts. We have sent teams there to make sure that people [in need] are reached before it is too late. Government ministries are working with [the UN] WFP [World Food Programme] to mitigate the situation. There is no catastrophe; we are managing the situation. These droughts recur yet the Horn of Africa does not seem to learn from the past. In your opinion, can droughts be tackled in a sustainable long-term manner? A lot of things can be done. First, it is a matter of planning and harvesting rain water. We also need to control livestock grazing so it does not deplete the grazing areas. Some areas should be off-limits during good rains, so they become available during dry times. We also have drought resistant plants that grow in this country and the region. In Djibouti, one of the things we want to do is to make those plants become animal feed so we can make it available in drought times when pasture is low or non-existent. We have carried out studies on water-harvesting; we intend to create reservoirs that can hold 10-20 million cubic metres of water. Once we do this, the water will become available during the dry seasons. What would you say are the other main humanitarian challenges facing Djibouti? First and foremost, we must defeat this drought and famine problem; and we can do it. This is our main challenge. Djibouti is continuously monitoring the drought situation, President Guelleh said, adding that his government had sent teams to drought-hit areas to ensure help reaches those in need The country is currently experiencing an economic boom, particularly in construction. How well is the economy doing and how has this benefited the population? Our growth is good, at 5.5 percent and our deficit is low. We are also attracting a lot of direct foreign investment. The economy is creating jobs but, unfortunately, we lack the skilled workforce that can take advantage of it. A lot of jobs opening up require specialized skills and our youth do not have these yet... We do have unemployment, but we are addressing that to make sure that our people have the skills they need to get jobs. Malnutrition Three years ago, Djibouti`s Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) was 17 percent - higher than the World Health Organization threshold of 15 percent. Has this situation changed? We initiated a lot of health centres with our partners throughout the country to monitor malnourished children and provide the necessary food to those identified. Mothers come to centres to feed the children and take them back home in the evening. We are seriously tackling this problem and we intend not only to reduce it but eliminate it before 2015. The government also will achieve its MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] in education, particularly girls` education. Eritrea What is Djibouti`s border situation with Eritrea? We have Qatar mediating between us. Our lawyers have presented all of our documents stating our case. We are hopeful the situation will be resolved very soon. Somalia Somalia has been a key challenge for the region and for Djibouti in particular. Do you sometimes despair about the situation? I do sometimes despair. We have invested a lot of time and resources to try and get [somalia] out of the situation it is in. At the moment, I cannot honestly point to anything that I can say `If this is done, Somalia will regain its honor, dignity in the world.` I just don`t know what the cure is. We tried everything. The only thing left is perhaps a Tunisia-like uprising by the people. Maybe Somalia needs to tell these people: `We are fed up. Go away, we don`t want you.` We are in a situation where, when someone becomes president, some group will say he is not to our liking and they [usually] have veto power. The only reason they don`t [like] that individual is because they don`t [see] their own personal interest in there. It has nothing to do with the interest of the people or what the people want. There has been talk of Djibouti sending troops to Somalia; are you sending peacekeepers, and what difference would that make? We are not sending combat troops but trainers. We want to train our Somali brothers and instill in them that they are the owners of their country; they are the ones who must die for it. They must be able to challenge every other armed force. Our aim is to build the capacity and foundation of the Somali army. In your opinion, what more can the UN/international community do to help Somalia? We are at a stage where people have scissors to cut up the country. The other day I heard about a southeast state. The US mentioned that it talks to existing entities; now everyone is getting in on the act. Intervention from outside has not helped and will never help. The solution is for the people to say stop. I would like to see the people of Somalia say they have had enough of displacement; they have had enough of being refugees and that they have had enough of guns.

interesting indeed!

And it never stops...

Caalin "Galmudug waxaa Khatar ku haya Gaajo iyo Shabaab". Maamulka Galmudug ayaa sheegay in xaalad nolol xumo iyo amaan darro ka jirta degmooyinka iyo deegaanada uu kajiro maamulka Galmudug ee gobolada dhexe ee dalka Somaliya. Kadib kulan uu Koonfurta Gaalkacyo kula qaatay u qeysamaha Q.Midoobe ee Gargaarka deg dega ah ayuu ku sheegay in Galmudug ay saameeyeen abaaraha ku dhuftay dhamaan dadka soomaalida ee dega geeska Afrika. Max'med Caali wuxuu sheegay in dad iyo duunyo ku dhaqan deegaanada Galmudug ay u dhinteen haraad iyo gaajo welina ay xaalad cakiran ku noolyihiin shacab farabadan, hay'adaha Gargaarka ayuu ugu baaqay in ay gacan ka gaystaan arrinkaasi. Caalin wuxuu soo hadal qaaday xaaladda amaanka wuxuuna sheegay in Galmudug ay qarka u saarantahay in ay shabaab lawareegaan arrinkaasi oo uu uga cawday beesha caalamka. "Galmudug waxaa duulaan kusoo ah Al Shabaab oo wata argagaxiso caalami ah caalamka waxaan ka codsanaynaa in ay naga taageeraan ka hortaga shabaab"ayuu yiri Caalin. Warka kasoo yeeray Galmudug ayaa kusoo aadaya xilli abaaro saameyn yeeshay ay kajiraan gobalada dalka Soomaaliya waxaana jirta in wax gargaar ah oo ka socda Q.Midoobe aan Somaliya laga qeybin.

Galmudug State Administration Meet With Officials From UN Galka'yo — A high distinguished delegation from United Nations led Mark Bowden UN's humanitarian coordinator for Somalia on Wednesday paid a fleeting visit to southern Galka'yo where Galmudug self styled administration control. The United Nations delegation met with the leaders of Galmudg state administration and discussed the latest situation about the droughts that hit Mudug in central Somalia. In press conference in Galka'yo, Mr. Mark Bowden said that the United Nations' aid agencies are committed to held and assist Somali people who are experiencing very severe droughts and famine For his part, Mohammed Ahmed Alin, the president of self styled Galmudug state told reporters in Galka'yo that the situation war-ridden Somalia is deteriorating day after day because of droughts joined by protracted conflict. Alin called for United Nations international aid agencies to stand helping Somalis who affected by the droughts.

Thank you. ------- Wafdi uu hoggaaminayo Madaxweynaha maamulka Galmudug oo booqasho ku tagay Muqdisho Khamiis, 03 Feberaayo, 2011 (HOL) – Madaxweynaha maamulka Galmudug Axmed Maxamed Caalin iyo wafdi uu hoggaaminayo oo ay ka mid ahaayeen xubno ka tirsan golaha wasiirrada maamulkaas, ayaa maanta soo gaaray magaalada Muqdisho. Wafdigan, ayaa waxaa kusoo dhaweeyay garoonka diyaaradaha Aadan Cadde xubno ka tirsan dowladda Soomaaliya, waxayna kulammo kula qaateen hoteelka saxafi xubno ka tirsan odayaasha dhaqanka iyo xukuumadda KMG ah. "Annagu dowladda federaalka ayaan ka tirsanahay, maalin keliyana kama leexan, waxaana halkaan u nimid sidii Soomaali la isugu keeni lahaa, loogana bixi lahaa tafaraaruqa aan faa'iidada lahayn" ayuu yiri Axmed Caalin. "Waxaan doonayaa in markii aan Galmudug ku suganahay aan Soomaali oo dhan u hadli karo, mas'uulna ka noqon karo," ayuu madaxweynaha Galmudug hadalkiisa daba-dhigay, isagoo sheegay in Soomaaliya ay dib u dhigeen khilaafyada aan dhammaadka lahayn. Wasiir u dowlaha wasaaradda arrimaha gudaha iyo ammaanka Qaranka Ibraahim Is@aq Yarow, oo isaguna ka hadlay kulankii ay la yeesheen madaxweynaha Galmudug, ayaa sheegay in dowladda KMG ah ay ka go'an tahay inay taageerto maamul walba oo dalka ka jira. "Haddan nahay dowladda KMG ah, waxaan waajib nagu ah inaan taageerno maamul walba oo dalka ka jira, aan wax la qabanno, sidoo kalena aa xoogga saarno sidii ay wadashaqeyn noo dhexmari lahayd," ayuu yiri Is@aq Yarow. Dhanka kale, madaxweynaha Galmudug iyo wafdigiisa, ayaa waxay booqasho ugu tageen dhaawacyadii wax ku noqday shaqaaqadii ka dhacday illinka isbitaalka Banaadir ee Muqdisho, iyagoo u rajeeyay caafimaad iyo bogsasho deg-deg ah. Waxaa lagu wadaa in wafdigan ay kulammo la qaataan inta ay ku sugan yihiin Muqdisho madaxda dalka ugu sarreysa, mana ahan markii ugu horreysay oo wafdi uu hoggaaminayo madaxweynaha Galmudug Maxamed Axmed Caalin uu booqasho ku yimaado Muqdisho. Maxamed Xaaji Xuseen, Hiiraan Online maxuseen@hiiraan.com Muqdisho, Soomaaliya

Unused land in Africa 'could feed the Gulf' AMMAN, JORDAN // A handful of North African countries, along with Iraq and Sudan, could feed the Gulf - but only with substantial GCC investment, experts said yesterday. Speakers at the Arab Food Industries and Franchising Forum in Jordan argued that if land in Sudan, Iraq, Libya, Algeria and Morocco were fully used it could support the rest of the region. The area uses barely a tenth of its available arable land, according to George Nasrawi, who was representing Lebanese businesses. Instead, said Imad Abou Rafeh, the director of AR events, the conference organiser, countries are concentrating on quick returns from tourism and property. That, he said, was not sustainable. More agriculture would mean more jobs, not only on farms but in processing, advertising and packaging, he added. A report released last spring by the International Food Policy Reseach Institute, which researches food issues in the developing world, suggested that long-term food supplies could be best secured by arrangements that helped producer countries' economies to grow, raising incomes. The unemployment rate in the Mena region is one of the highest in the world, especially among young people. The World Bank puts the global average youth unemployment rate at 14 per cent; in the Mena region it is 25 per cent. As much as a fifth of the Mena population lives on less than $2 a day. Abdullah Sultan al Fa'an Shamsi, an adviser to the UAE Ministry of Economy, said political instability had led investors to overlook North Africa. He also called for tax breaks, deregulation and greater transparency. Countries in the Mena region generally have higher export tariffs on agricultural goods than in most of the developing world. This, experts say, needs to change. "Arab countries need to have a unified position on agriculture," said Elias Assouad, chief executive of Temco Group, which specialises in food manufacturing and refrigeration. He called for customs barriers to be lifted. The UAE has already made significant investments in Sudan, holding 2,800 square kilometres of farmland. Between them, GCC countries own 4,800 square kilometres of Sudanese farmland. "The UAE has taken serious action towards aquiring land and starting its cultivation," said Mr al Fa'an Shamsi. But companies at the forum remained optimistic. Abdulraouf Manna, the managing director of Savola group, a food manufacturer, said it planned to open agriculture enterprises in the region. "We don't jump into businesses we don't understand, and so we'd like to find a partner in Sudan or North Africa," he said. The process is difficult, though. The necessary regulations exist to guide investments, but are not always implemented. The cost of oil - which accounts for up to half the cost of farming - is also rising again, currently heading towards $100 a barrel. That raises the price of fuel for transport and machinery, and many fertilisers are petroleum-based too. Andew Barnett, an economist at the American University of Sharjah, said that even if the Gulf benefited from the increased oil revenue, it paid it back in the rising price of food. "It doesn't matter if they buy farms in Africa or Asia, the cost of producing food will be higher," he said. mdetrie@thenational.ae

ANOTHER MASSIVE LAND REQUEST FROM INDIA CHADHA AGRO PLC SET TO RECEIVE 100,000 HA LAND HAYAL ALEMAYEHU Chadha Agro Plc, one of India’s giant operators in agro business, is set to get hold of land twice the size of Addis Ababa to invest in what has already become a popular field for foreign investors and a priority area for the government of Ethiopia. The company has requested a 100,000 ha land to invest in sugar development project while the Ministry of Agriculture has provided it with 22,000 ha land in Guji Zone in Oromia Regional State, according to information gathered from the Oromia investment Commission. The company is set to receive the rest 78,000 ha land after its performance on 22,000 ha land availed is evaluated. Chadha will be engaged in what is projected to become a massive sugar development investment venture on the 22,000 ha land involving a vast area of sugarcane plantation fields and a modern mill. Registered last June with an investment capital of close to seven billion birr, the company is scheduled to establish a huge sugarcane farm and factory like the government’s Tindaho sugar development project in the making. There are currently three state-owned sugar factories operating in the country: Metehara, Fincha and Wonji with an annual production of 120,000 tonnes, 100,000 tonnes and 70,000 tonnes respectively. Aside from the three factories, there are other three giant sugar projects in the pipeline: Al Habesha Mills, a Pakistani’s sugar development project set to commence production in a few months, Tindaho and Hiber Sugar, a share company established recently. With the project covering the whole 100,000 ha land the company requested, Chadha’s investment plan submitted to the government indicates that it will provide permanent and temporary job opportunities for 35,000 people. The company is scheduled to launch the project on the allotted 22,000 ha land while the government has given it the green light to receive the additional land for expansion projects. The Ministry of Agriculture provided the company with the 22,000 ha land a few weeks ago while it will oversee the performance of the project to provide the company with the additional plot. (The Oromia Regional State is not mandated to provide land for investors by itself if the request is more than 5,000 ha.) With the land grab issue in Ethiopia long becoming a bone of contention between policymakers and critics, Chadha will increase the number of companies which received, or are about to secure, vast lands up to 300,000 ha including Karuturi, another Indian firm globally know as world’s giant flower producer and Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc, Al-Amoud’s recently established company.

I predict that the Berbera port will be filled with more xabashi workers.

GYANENDRA KUMAR KESHRI Ethiopia has offered to Indian investors 1.8 million hectares of farmland, equalling nearly 40 percent the total area of principal grain-growing state of Punjab, in what could give a big push to the country`s food security. “So far, we have transferred 307,000 hectares of land to foreign and domestic investors. Some 79 percent of this land has been transferred to Indian companies. This land is on 70-year lease,” said visiting Ethiopian Agriculture Minister Tefera Derbew. “We are now proposing to transfer another 3.6 million hectares of land to investors from overseas. And I am confident that more than half of this 3.6 million hectares will go to Indians,” Derbew, who is here on a three-day official visit, told IANS in an interview. The land offered by the East African nation, at the horn of the continent, equals 50 percent of the cultivable land of Punjab, often called India`s granary, accounting for 23 percent of its wheat and 10 percent of paddy output. “How much land will actually go to Indian investors depends entirely on the interest of investors. If they come and take all the land, then also we will be very happy. Indian investors are very welcome in Ethiopia,” Derbew said. According to the visiting minister, Indian investors have so far committed $4.7 billion investment in Ethiopia and most of it is related to the farm sector. He said the investment was going to rise sharply in the coming years with interests arising in mining as well. Indian firms have interests in cotton, palm oil, rubber, oilseeds and horticulture. Derbew said an Indian company was in the process of getting 100,000 hectares of land for sugarcane production. “India has expertise in sugar. We are in talks with several Indian companies to help develop the sugar industry in our country.” Officials in New Delhi identified the company as Karuturi Global, one of the largest global players in the organised floriculture industry. The investments planned, they added, could go up to over $100 million for a sugarcane crushing and processing unit in Ethiopia. The minister said the trade balance, which was hugely skewed towards India, would tilt in Ethiopia`s favour once the projects materialise. “Our bilateral trade is over $500 million. But most of it are Indian exports. Our exports are negligible.” He said there was also scope for Ethiopia to export potassic fertiliser to India. Derbew said his government had also liberalised the norms for allocation of land for all major infrastructure projects, including those for roadways and railways, and was in talks with several Indian companies in this regard. “We target to build over 2,000 km of rail link in the next five years. Similarly, there is also a huge investment potential for road infrastructure,” said Derbew, adding: “We hope Indian companies will take advantage of this opportunity as well.”

English version ------- SOMALIA: Somali Anti-Corruption and Democracy Initiative (SACDI) launched in Mogadishu A new initiative called Somali Anti-Corruption and Democracy Initiative (SACDI) has officially lunched at ceremony held in Mogadishu, Somalia. The event, which brought together a number of high ranking politicians, legislators, journalists and other intellectuals have welcomed the initiative with profound gratification and called it “timely and effective”. Dr. Farhan Ali Mohamoud, the director of the organization, and former ministry of information, told the reporters that the initiatives’ core objective is to curb the pervasive corruption and promote democracy in Somalia, a central elements Somalia has lacked for the past 20 years. Abdi Hashi Abdullahi, member of the parliament, welcomed the new program of fighting corruption and development democracy and he added that it’s needed to come in to use in Somalia. Pro, Mohamed Omar Dalha, a legislator of TFG, spoke at the ceremony and lengthily talked about the need for this initiative in Somalia and calls it “appropriate and useful for Somalia”. Pro, Mohamed Abdi Mohamed Gandi, a veteran of Somali MP, told the media that Somalia has ranked the most corrupted country on the global, according to Corruption Index. He further argued that democracy in Somalia is in very dare situation and people were recklessly tortured in many respect of the society. Member of civil society organizations, including women movement and youth organization have welcomed the program and recognized the significance of combating the widespread corruption and promoting democracy in Somalia. Somali had no central government since 1991 after the collapse of Siad Barre’s regime. Abdi Yusuf and Siyad Roble contribute this report

lol...odeygaas waa laga wadey meesha...lol... he was well dressed though (more like pimp)!

Marshaale?