Speaker Jawari to make final address to Parliament

[Deeq A.]

Mohamed Osman Jawari, the immediate former Lower House Speaker will be delivering his final speech to Somalia’s Lower House on Thursday.

Jawari, who has been the presiding officer of The House of the People since 2012, unexpectedly resigned ahead of a schismatic no-confidence vote that would have threatened the political stability of the country.

The speech of Jawari was initially scheduled for Wednesday before it was put off by the first deputy speaker, Abdiweli Mudey for undisclosed reasons.

However, Mudey who is the acting speaker on Wednesday evening sent a message to lawmakers informing that the postponed session would be held on Thursday.

Thursday’s parliamentary session will be chaired by the first deputy speaker, who will guide the sessions until the position of the Speaker is filled.

Addressing the reporters in a joint conference with President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on Tuesday, Jawari said he came at the decision to step down after heeding the advice from various people.

“I considered the advice from people and took one word which is “one of us has to give up” and I decided to deliver the speech on my resignation tomorrow which is 11th of April at the House of the people,” he said.

He asked forgiveness from the Somalia people for the worry and concern during the political stand-off.

“I would like to inform Somali people that the issue has now come to an end and I ask for an apology for the problems which was caused by our disagreements,” he pleaded.

The move was universally welcomed by several leaders including President Farmajo who commending the immediate former speaker, saying Jawari was a Somali elder and statesmen who decided to resign unconditionally.

“Mohamed Osman Jawari is a Somali elder who has been serving this country more than fifty years, the decision he took today is a historic one and he did not table any condition for it, I urge him to continue his efforts to support the government,” said Farmajo.

The resignation of Mohamed Osman Jawari came the day after the seizure of $9.6 million in cash at Mogadishu airport from a plane that had landed from the United Arab Emirates, according to police and government sources who have declined to comment further on the matter.

His resignation sealed an uneasy month-long political stalemate between the Executive and the Legislative branches of government that began when over 100 MPs lodged an impeachment against him.

The motion sharply split the House members into two opposing factions led by Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire and Jawari respectively.

Analysts and political commentators have speculated that the immediate former Speaker and President Farmajo have been at loggerheads since Somalia passed legislation last month that would require parliamentary approval of future foreign investment deals. The normally-sluggish Parliament – which has abysmal attendance that regularly fails to meet the mandatory quorum necessary to pass legislation – reacted quickly to unanimously banning Dubai ports operator DP World from operating in Somalia. It’s perceived that Jawari’s dual role as both  Parliamentary Speaker and Parliamentary ‘whip’ was a signal of the growth of his political strength which may have alarmed President Farmajo who could have interpreted it as an intrusion on executive power.

The decision by Mohamed Osman Jawari to resign is expected to lead to a peaceful resolution to the political crisis that has gripped the nation.

Source. Hol