Heads of State and Government from six of seven member countries converged in Nairobi yesterday for an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) meeting to discuss Somalia.
They will consult with the country’s Members of Parliament, conduct an audit on the performance of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and consider what can be done to stabilise Somalia ahead of the expiry of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed’s — and the Somali parliament’s — four-year term.
It was on October 14, 2004, at Kasarani, Nairobi, that Igad, with support from the rest of the world, got Somali MPs to elect Yusuf, then president of Puntland, to head the TFG. Elected transitional President with 189 of 275 votes, Yusuf appointed a Cabinet led by Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi.
President Yusuf’s government was recognised by most Western nations as legitimate, although his actual authority was to come under severe test. At the beginning of last year, Somalia was consolidating under the TFG.
The TFG is supported by the United Nations and governed out of an administrative capital in Baidoa. In the last days of 2006, forces of the TFG supported by Ethiopian forces ousted the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from the capital Mogadishu.
Igad then urged the African Union to accelerate the approval of a proposed peacekeeping mission, release funds and help raise more money to support the deployment of troops, a move opposed by Somali Islamists.
Four years down the line and with little to show, Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula, has expressed concern over the future of Somalia with only six months to the expiry of the TFG. Wetangula says the interim government has failed to execute its mandate and the Igad summit will be used to streamline governance in Somalia, which has become an utterly failed state.
By now, TFG was expected to have put in place a new constitution, created internal boundaries and conducted a national census. It was also to restore security, foster reconciliation and embark on reconstruction.
But due to instability caused by intermittent clans feuds following disagreements within the government, it did not achieve much.
Speaking recently in Mogadishu, Somali’s interim Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein said the Igad conference is aimed at correcting the government’s mistakes. Somalia has become an incubator of insurgents, terrorists and lately pirates.
Threats
Groups such as Al-Shabaab, affiliated to Al-Qaeda, pose long-term threats, not just to Somalia but to Kenya’s future.
In 15 years without a central government, Somaalia has been developing into a regional security and economic threat.
Pirates operating from its shores are wreaking terror on the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest straits. The large volume of shipping that passes through on its way to the Suez Canal or regional ports (up to 20,000 trips a year) is vital to the world economy. By strangling this vital sea route, pirates have succeeded in pushing up the cost of freight and cargo insurance. Most of Africa’s eastern seaboard, as well as much of the interior, is now paying for the lawlessness out in the Indian Ocean.
Kenya recently fell prey to these pirates, when the MV Faina, a cargo ship laden with arms, was attacked. The standoff is yet to be resolved after negotiations for a ransom were suspended.
Nato warships, Russian and American destroyers are in the region, having been authorised to use force to free the captives and secure the arms.
Kenya needs to realise there are dangers in this region that it cannot wish away. Our ability to protect our sovereignty, be it on land or water, needs to be strengthened. The porous border with Somalia has long been our Achilles’ heel, allowing terrorists to sneak in and out at will.
The two-day Igad meeting should be seen as an opportunity to seek inclusive solutions to the governance troubles embroiling our neighbour because a secure, stable and prosperous Somalia is better for this country.
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