Revising the provisional constitution, forming regional administrations, and establishing democracy across Somalia form the core priorities of the current government, according to Somali Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir Mohamed.
Mohamed took up his current post in January 2014 when Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed announced his cabinet, and in the short time thereafter, he said his ministry has accomplished several important tasks, from finalising the draft law to create the Judicial Service Commission to working on reforming the laws governing Somalia's penal code, which was written in 1962 and last updated in 1974.
With many more tasks on the books, Mohamed took time to sit down with Sabahi to explain his ministry's priorities, namely working towards achieving the goals set under Somalia's Vision 2016.
Sabahi: What can you tell us about the issues surrounding regional administrations, land disputes and the political roadmap the government is supposed to implement by 2016?
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir Mohamed:Vision 2016 consists of three significant parts. One part is to revise the provisional constitution to remove contested elements so that it can become a constitution that will enable the Somali people to resolve their issues politically in the future. [The step] after that is to hold a referendum for that constitution so that when the Somali people approve it, it belongs to all Somalis, safeguards the Somali nationhood and its unity, and [ensures] what was agreed upon, which is to not violate one another [when disputes arise] whether about land, governance, human rights or a person's fundamental rights.
That work is ongoing. Our ministry is part of the effort to review the constitution. There will be independent national commissions and there will also be a parliamentary committee responsible for those matters. Therefore, there is a collective effort to address them.
The Vision's second part is the formation of regional administrations, districts and states. Parliament is currently debating the law of the National Boundaries and Federalism Commission, and once the law is finalized the government will announce the members of that commission. [After that] the commission will then make a decision about the number of states the country will have in the coming period.
The third part is to establish democracy in the country so that people can elect one another and have a multiparty system. These issues are highly contentious, including how elections [will be carried out] at various levels and what will be the laws governing the political parties that will be formed in the country. All of that work is part of Vision 2016, which is currently in its initial stage.
Sabahi: Since the tasks before you are very challenging, is it possible that the elections will be delayed?
Mohamed: Elections will not be delayed beyond 2016. The Somali people are capable of holding elections in 2016. Also, the international community and the people of Somalia are ready to support and stand together to make it possible to hold free elections in the country in 2016. I am hoping that all of the necessary activities will be accelerated, and soon, when we see how these activities are going, it will become clear that it is possible to hold elections in 2016.
Sabahi: The government has been accused of failing to fulfil its duties in regard to the constitution up to now, which has been the impetus for various conflicts about the formation of regional administrations.
Mohamed: First, it is incorrect to say that the government has failed to accomplish what was expected from it. The government has embarked on fulfilling the duties it was expected to perform. The largest task among those was fostering peace and stability in the country. The country fell into the hands of an enemy that would not let the people have freedom or even engage in discussions about their needs. Some of the things that needed [public] discussion include [matters related to] constitutional affairs, elections, and creating administrations. It was impossible to embark on all those things and make tangible progress in them if the stabilisation of the country was not dealt with.
The government made a concerted effort towards that and today you can feel that most of the regions of the country are coming under the government's control. Therefore, this is the time to establish regional administrations and districts -- when people can come together and have a voice and vote for whomever they want to appoint as leaders. The time has come now.
I am hopeful that, as is indicated in Vision 2016, a non-provisional constitution will be drafted and a public referendum held, that regional administrations, districts and states will be completed before then, and that the country will have an election to appoint the leaders of the country. At the present time, the government is mainly occupied with ways to achieve Vision 2016.
Sabahi: Some Somalis feel that the government is not prioritising reconciliation. What do you say about that?
Mohamed: It is possible that some people are expressing that feeling, but in general, the Somali federal government and the Somali pubic do not have a bad relationship. The prime minister was in Kismayo and you witnessed how he was welcomed. The president and the speaker of parliament went to Baidoa [a few] weeks ago.
A couple of days before [his Kismayo visit], the prime minister was in Hiran and Middle Shabelle regions. Likewise delegations of ministers are visiting every part of the country.
There is no problem between the Somali public and the federal government. However, there are people with ambitions; there are some [local] politicians and [other] people who want to create regional administrations, but sometimes they have conflicts among themselves such as what happened in Baidoa, or what happened in other places before. Such conflicts indicate a need by the people to take part in their future, and the government has done its best to curb those conflicts. However, there is no conflict or even a slight problem between the government and the Somali public as far as I know.
Sabahi: Given that some Somali clans are not happy with the current power sharing structure and feel underrepresented in politics, what is the government doing about bringing them together and promote public reconciliation?
Mohamed: The issue of reconciliation among the Somali public is a broad issue that needs significant effort and needs to be addressed at various levels, whether be it at a tribal level, district level, regional level and by [bringing together] people who have with grievances with one another. There is no doubt that it needs to be approached through various means.
However, some of the things you have indicated seem to me to be complaints from politicians or people from some clans who feel that they missed out on something they deserved to get or that was given to people they should have been prioritised over. Such things are some of the traces left behind by the civil war.
What is important to me today, and is important to everyone else, is for the Somali person who is most deserving of the job or post to get the position. There is no tribe that holds a ministry. Ultimately, a [job] responsibility is an individual responsibility that relies upon that person's ability, knowledge and wisdom. Therefore, I do not think those who say, "As a particular clan, we own that thing" and "As this clan, we need that" have a valid argument.
Somalis must put that argument behind them and move on to ask who can do something, how it can be done, what we need [to get it done].
Sabahi: Have you participated in the talks between the Somali federal government and Somaliland region, and what can you tell us about those matters?
Mohamed: I was among the delegation that took part in the first phase of the conference that was held in Istanbul. I was not part of the delegates that participated in all the other meetings, but I know that progress was made each time.
First, it is progress to engage in dialogue as there had been no dialogue for twenty years between the Somali government and the people who live in that region. Some things were discussed and reached a good stage, including how to address security affairs and how to co-operate on mutually beneficial affairs.
Also, it is common knowledge that there was a discussion on the management of Somali airspace, which was previously managed from abroad. Now we intend to manage [the airspace] from inside the country and share [control].
Therefore, I believe that whenever we engage in more dialogue, we take a step forward from the hardships we faced and the resentment that developed between people. It took a long time for people to talk to each other and it will take time for people to reconcile and come together.
Autor: Fuad Ahmed
Source/Fuente: http://sabahionline.com/en_GB/articles/hoa/articles/features/2014/04/22/...
