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| Last Updated: Sep 29, 2009 - 10:06:43 AM |
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Puntland leadership fails to deliver
5 May 5, 2006 - 5:38:22 PM
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EDITORIAL |
Overt
corruption, which has become increasingly formulaic of this current
administration, has reached new heights. But by spilling blood, they
crossed all lines.
THE PUNTLAND State
government is in political turmoil, again. The recent gun battle in
Garoe – the Capital – between the presidential guard and clan militias
was not an isolated incident, despite all efforts to make it look as
such. It was, in effect, another worrying sign of the region’s gradual
descent into instability and regional disintegration. The battle, which
lasted less than five minutes but contributed to the deaths of at least
three individuals, stimulated, in the minds of the public, still-fresh
images from the last wave of political violence in the region. Back
then, the semi-autonomous government that administers northeastern
Somalia teetered on the verge of total disintegration; while political
rivals battled for power, the public was left in the middle to suffer
as collateral damage. Today, the region is engulfed in a similar
disposition and the question of its very survivability hangs in the
balance. Has the Puntland leadership failed the people?
Broken promises
What led to the flare-up of violence in Garoe at the end of last month?
Anyone familiar with the on goings in Somalia knows, quite well, that
Garoe is one of the more peaceful cities in our Motherland. Situated at
the heart of the majestic Nugal valley, Garoe is cherished for its
moderate climate and valued for its strategic location: the city
interconnects other major cities like Bossaso, Las Anod and Galkayo.
Furthermore, the Puntland capital has become home to thousands of
internally displaced people (IDPs), most of who fled the perpetual
anarchy in some parts of southern Somalia and were attracted by Garoe’s
relative peace.
So, why would a city renown for peace temporarily turn into a war zone?
Garoe, it must be remembered, is the capital city of Puntland, which
means that there are political forces constantly at work. For months,
president ‘Adde Muse has been flying in and out of the region for
medical reasons, while the public patiently waited for him to name his
new Cabinet. Many people were enchanted by the President’s public
addresses, in which he repeatedly promised to form a new Cabinet based
on the educational and professional achievements of candidates.
Furthermore, the President is known to have promised the introduction
of accountability, fiscal responsibility and a strict penal on numerous
occasions. These captivating pronouncements attracted the masses to the
President’s cause: he wants, they believed, an apt government, which
acts justly and responsibly.
Then, the vast majority of the
people were disappointed with his new Cabinet list, because most of the
incumbent ministers were returned to their posts. But the real shocks
came during the Puntland parliamentary session whereby the ministerial
nominations were to be either approved or rejected on a
minister-by-minister basis. The first shock was that the Puntland
parliament
actually
wanted to exercise its oversight powers – before, the President simply
appointed ministers and carried on his work without parliamentary
oversight. Why, all of a sudden, did the Parliament feel the urgency to
exercise its power at such a critical time? More importantly, why
didn’t the Parliament utilize its immense oversight powers when
president ‘Adde Muse signed a unilateral agreement in Dubai with a
junior oil company from Australia? It will be remembered that, while
president ‘Adde gave away the region’s vast natural resources to a
foreign company, not a single member of parliament (MP) objected or
spoke publicly about a president who vastly overstepped his
presidential powers.
The second shock came when, in the same sitting, the Puntland finance
minister was approved by the MPs while the interior minister was
rejected and revoked of his post. Prior to the parliamentary session,
the Puntland regions have been relatively peaceful, which attests to
the fact that the interior minister, who’s in charge of regional
security, did his job exceptionally well. But matters relating to the
treasury are delegated to the finance ministry, are they not? As we
all know, Puntland government employees, including members of the armed
forces, have not been paid in months. Worse, the Puntland leaders
publicly accused each other of stealing funds from the government
treasury; it was president ‘Adde who recently accused his VP Hassan
Dahir of “loosing” over five million dollars! Who takes responsibility
for such gross misuse of public funds?
Despite such reality,
the Puntland Parliament sought to evict the interior minister while
letting the finance minister maintain his current portfolio. Did the
Parliament ask the finance minister where the government’s money goes?
Did the finance minister offer documents revealing how over five
million dollars became “lost” from the Puntland treasury? The entire
parliamentary session was a sham designed to dispose of “some”
ministers and had nothing to do with the genuine use of parliamentary
oversight powers. How else could the finance minister, responsible for
the loss of millions of dollars of public funds, be returned to his
post while the interior minister gets the boot? Overt corruption, which
has become increasingly formulaic of this current administration, has
reached new heights. But by spilling blood, they crossed all lines.
Gun talk
When armed militiamen, angry by Parliament’s injustice, surrounded
Parliament House, president ‘Adde Muse was quick to send in his own
presidential guard to “quell” the resistance by violent force – within
minutes, at least three people were pronounced dead.
Doesn’t Garoe have a police force responsible for security? Indeed, the
Puntland capital has its own police force, which is capable of handling
all security threats. Then, one must ask the impending question: What
was the reason for sending in the presidential guard instead of the
police force? Furthermore, why was the administration so quick to use
guns instead of diplomacy? The bloody incident in the central Garoe
exposed a weak administration and its lack of proper procedural
protocol. When armed militiamen captured Parliament House, it was the
duty of the police to engage the militias, not for the presidential
guard to interfere. The militiamen, while armed, neither shot nor
killed anyone but were there to express their grievance against the
injustice incurred upon “some” ministers, while others are given the
green light. Puntland prides itself as a region where law and order
reign supreme; yet, the president’s personal security forces were quick
to break the law. Because of poor judgment on the part of the
administration, several families lost their loved ones.
Also, the people of Garoe have guns and could’ve responded violently
against the presidential guard’s murderous tactics. But, as with the
whole of Puntland, the mediation and wisdom of the
Issims, or traditional elders, was given priority. As the
Issims
of Nugal region calmed the tense and potentially volatile situation in
the Capital, the president called in more heavily-armed reinforcements
to encamp himself in a “Green Zone” not unlike the American one in
Baghdad! Why did the president reinforce his personal security forces
if he’s not guilty of anything? What does he have to fear today that he
didn’t have to fear the day before the bloody gun battle in Garoe?
Widespread frustration
Garoe residents aren’t the only group of people frustrated with this
ineffective and corrupt administration. When president ‘Adde and VP
Hassan Dahir went to Las Anod last month to pay respects to the family
of the late and great Garad Abdiqani Garad Jama, may Allah (SWT) have
mercy on his soul, they were met with an angry public rally denouncing
his entire government. Why were the people of Las Anod protesting
against the government led by president ‘Adde Muse? Are they possibly
protesting against the temporary shutting down of Radio Laascaanood for
ambiguous reasons?
A few months ago, the Bossaso police in the dark of the night attacked
the property of a prominent Puntland businessman. President ‘Adde Muse
was quick to condemn the illegal and unprovoked attack, and even went
on record saying that the police behaved inappropriately and accused
some police elements of trying to “destabilize” the region. Why hasn’t
president ‘Adde condemned the gun battle in Garoe whereby three people
lost their lives because of the inappropriate use of force on the part
of his own presidential guard?
The public’s frustration with the ‘Adde Muse administration is
widespread and the recent eruption of violence in Garoe is but another
prime example of the public’s growing discontent. Puntland needs to be
saved – not from an outside enemy, but from within the ranks of those
in power today. The dream espoused in the signed Puntland Charter
called for a representative government that conducts its affairs
justly, responsibly and openly. But a government that kills its own
people – literally or systematically – and embezzles public funds is a
government founded on the evil practices of injustice, oppression and
corruption of the highest caliber!
Garowe Online
Editorial
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