Somalia: President calls for unity as he opens Parliament session

MOGADISHU, Somalia - President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has officially opened the 5th session of the Federal Parliament after two months of recess, Garowe Online reports.

President Mohamud delivered a long speech on various angles based on the current situation in the country, including the security, fight against Al-Shabab, economic reforms and the bills at the house.

He said his government is doing its best to handle and achieve challenges the challenges that lie ahead for the country and urged the parliament to speed up the approval of the laws submitted by the cabinet.

In a statement, the office of the president said that Farmajo has signed only two bills into law during his two first years in office, a move showing that the in parliamentary work fell short significantly since 2017.

The president called on the lawmakers in both Senate and Lower House to double their hard work and get ready for the tough tasks ahead as the country is preparing to hold one person, one vote polls in 2020.

In his address to the parliament, Somali president highlighted the need for a united front against the extremist groups, Al-Shabaab and ISIL, asking the public to work with the armed forces to win the battle.

He added that the government has made significant changes in the security sector by conducting a biometric registration process of the country’s armed forces that would improve the payment system.

Despite this, there are claims that circulated on the local media in the past days about troops that vacated frontline bases in Lower-Middle Shabelle regions for the lack of salaries.

President Farmajo underlined that his government has made substantial progress in the country's economic growth and underscored that Somalia's budget met IMF terms for the debt relief process.

Somalia’s external debt is about $5.2 billion, according to the IMF. It has not made a service or amortization payment since civil war broke out more than 25 years ago.

Top government officials including the cabinet ministers, MPs, security chiefs, UN officials, diplomats have attended the opening of national assembly's 5th session which took place at General Kahiye police academy.

The main roads across Mogadishu have been closed by police and military personnel to avert attacks during the opening session of parliament’s session.

GAROWE ONLINE