Somalia Is Unable to Deal with Widespread Illegal Fishing in Its Seas

[Deeq A.]

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud: “There are thousands of fishing trawlers engaged in illegal fishing in Somali seas. We have no capacity to deal with them.”

Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has had to candidly talk about how illegal fishing is depleting Somali seas. “There are thousands of fishing trawlers engaged in illegal fishing in Somali seas. We have no capacity to deal with them” President Mohamud said. Last year, the Somalia Federal Government of Somalia issued a decree barring sub-national entities from issuing fishing licences The decree stated  that only the Federal Government of Somalia had the powers to enter fishing agreements with foreign companies.

The realisation on the part of President Mohamud that Somalia is a country without coastal guards contradicts what he said a week ago to the effect that “Somalia will exploit its natural resources”. The Federal Government of Somalia has legitimacy in the form of international recognition that the incumbent leaders could use to damage the national interest by signing underhand, resource-related agreements. Aware of the institutional impotence and absence of institutional memory some key donors are keen to turn Somalia into a client state whose leaders get bullied or deceived into signing agreements that sell Somalia short.

Proceeds from fishing licences that different authorities issue to foreign trawlers remain unaccounted for. The federal Government of Somalia granted fishing licences to Chinese companies but no government has so far shared details about how fishing licence fees were used. For some unscrupulous politicians the legitimacy of the Federal Government is a licence to print money. In 2022 the petroleum minister signed an illegal resource-sharing agreement with Coastline Exploration despite a presidential decree barring the signing of the agreement during the transitional period in place. The government of  President Mohamud claimed it had harmonised the resource-sharing agreement, a decision that benefited the beneficiary company but sold Somalia short. This type of the agreement is what the International Partners of Somalia view as a viable state-building initiative.

Somalia will not benefit from debt forgiveness if its national interest is subsumed under the agenda of donor countries using the legitimacy of the Federal Government of Somalia as a means to advance their national interests at the expense of Somali citizens. Two weeks ago, in Kismaayo, President Mohamud defended what he argued to be “the representative nature of the federal institutions.” Only the Federal Members States and other stakeholders can rein in the myopic leadership of the Federal Government of Somalia if the former rises to the challenge. 

© Puntland Post, 2023

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