Gabbal Posted January 14, 2005 Politics-Somalia: Cabinet Fails to Pass Muster - Women's Activists Inter Press Service (Johannesburg) January 11, 2005 Posted to the web January 12, 2005 Joyce Mulama Nairobi In what some may describe as adding insult to injury, Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi has appointed just four women to the country's new 91-member cabinet. This came after only 22 of the 275 seats in parliament were allocated to women. Somalia's constitution states that 12 percent of all decision-making posts in government should be reserved for women, which means that at least 10 women should have been appointed to cabinet, and 33 women to parliament. "In Somalia women are treated as a minority people. They do not get their fair share and this is very bad," Khadija Maxamed Diiriye, a newly-appointed deputy minister, told IPS. "We hope that as days go by, the number of women in the cabinet will improve," she added. Diiriye is one of three female deputy ministers; one woman has been appointed to a ministerial post. The cabinet, announced Jan. 7, marked Ghedi's second attempt to assemble a team of ministers. His first 77-member cabinet was rejected by parliament last month. The decision to expand the cabinet to include 91 members has prompted some to describe it as bloated - a charge government denies. "After 14 years of war and lawlessness in Somalia, this is the first national reconciliation government and therefore the size is useful for the task of uniting the nation," Yusuf Baribari, head of the presidential press service, told journalists in the Kenyan capital - Nairobi. "It is an all-inclusive government because we want a peaceful country," he added. "There are many ministers in number because the president wants to maintain the best political equilibrium within his government." Somalia was left without a central authority for over a decade after 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted. Following Barre's departure the country descended into civil war - and was subsequently carved into fiefdoms by faction leaders. Two regions of the country seceded. Talks to bring peace to the Horn of Africa nation began in neighbouring Kenya in 2002 under the auspices of the Inter Governmental Authority on Development, a regional grouping. The negotiations ultimately resulted in the creation of a new legislature for Somalia - which will govern for five years - and the election of a president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, in October 2004. The appointment of a cabinet paves the way for Somalia's new administration to begin operating from the capital, Mogadishu. While security concerns have kept the government in Nairobi until now, President Mwai Kibaki has made it clear that this situation cannot continue indefinitely. His statements were echoed by Regional Cooperation Minister John Koech last week, when he advised the government that it would be unlikely to receive donor support for the reconstruction of Somalia while it continued to operate from exile. Yusuf agrees. "The cabinet must prepare a plan to relocate to Mogadishu. This will be soon, if not soonest," the head of state told his new cabinet. The African Union has pledged to deploy 2,000 peacekeepers to ensure the safe arrival of Somalia's government in Mogadishu - and to provide security for its members once they assume their duties. Top of the agenda for the new administration will be providing assistance to victims of the tsunami disaster caused by an earthquake off the north-west coast of Indonesia on Dec. 26, 2004. According to Baribari, the tidal waves that fanned out across the Indian Ocean as a result of the quake have claimed 298 lives in the Puntland region of Somalia. In all, upwards of 150,000 people were killed by tsunamis in Africa, south and south-east Asia. "About 283 people got injured and more than 100,000 have been affected directly or indirectly, especially in Puntland," Baribari told IPS. The cost of damages caused by the disaster is put at about 24 million dollars. The presidential spokesman said Somalia's government was working with persons in Puntland to assist tsunami victims, and that a disaster management committee had been established in the region to liaise with international aid agencies. "Meanwhile, we are still appealing for food aid, financial aid, shelter, clean water, medical care and any other help that is necessary," he added. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) already has personnel in place who are supplying Somalis with vaccines, vitamins and other relief aid. A Jan. 10 statement from the agency noted that UNICEF was assisting 12,000 people in a number of villages along the north-eastern coastline of Somalia, many of whom have been left without homes, clean water or sanitation. However, the statement also noted that insecurity in tsunami-affected regions was impeding aid efforts. "According to unconfirmed reports two occupants of a supply lorry sub-contracted by another UN agency were killed some 40 km from Gara'g (a Somali village) yesterday (Jan. 9). This is an indication of the risk involved in working in Somalia even in a humanitarian situation," said UNICEF. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shirwac Posted January 14, 2005 Give me a break, at least there are some women in the cabinet. I noticed there are no midgets(sorry meant little people), or handicapped persons on the new cabinet. Wsp with that? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
