HARGEISA: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), in cooperation with the National Displacement and Refugee Agency (NDRA) in Somaliland, distributed 45 tons of food and shelter aid to the displaced people affected by the fire that broke out in the camp of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The aid has helped 2,280 people.

The assistant director of KSRelief’s branch in Africa, Youssef Al-Rahma, said: “The project comes in response to the distress calls of the NDRA after a fire broke out in the camp. To respond quickly, food and shelter aid have been provided to the affected people.”

“This consisted of 380 food baskets for the affected families, as well as shelter materials comprising mattresses, blankets, mats, plastic sheeting and kitchen tools.”

He added that providing this aid aims to alleviate the suffering of displaced people in the difficult circumstances the world is going through due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Abdulkarim Ahmed Mohammed, head of the NDRA in Somaliland, thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the rapid response, highlighting that KSRelief was the only international organization to respond quickly to the fire disaster.

“Joy once again returned to the lips of the camp’s residents after they had been overwhelmed by the fire in the camp that sheltered them – the fire that destroyed all their possessions,” he added.

Meanwhile, KSRelief, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), inaugurated the solar water pumping unit in the Quda water project in Upper Egypt, Shabwah governorate.

The director general of the General Authority for Rural Water Supply Projects in Shabwah, Nasser Baoum, hailed the role of KSRelief in supporting rural water projects in Shabwah and providing it with solar energy pumping systems, which reduce the financial burden on the citizens and ensure the continuation of providing better services to citizens.

He called on the beneficiaries to pay attention to the solar energy system of the project and maintain it so that it can continue to provide its services to them.

Arab news

Waxa la yaaba go'aanka kasoo baxay Gol. Waziirada ee PM Khayre akhriyay ee ku saabsan doorashada iyo wakhtiga ay dhacayso. Sida la ogyay Sharciga Doorashadu wuxu Golaha Wasiirrada ag yaallay sannad ku dhawaad keenay dib u dhaca jira.

— Fawzia Yusuf H. Adam (@FawziaYusufAdam) July 10, 2020

The Djibouti near miss and the new Taiwan connection

On 14th June 2020 Somaliland and Somalia met in Djibouti for a four-day summit. The summit, the first serious one since the two sided started talking in 2012 in London, stirred up so much social media frenzy about its gamut and about whose initiative it was to bring the two sides together. The Americans, the Ethiopians and the Djiboutians were quickly identified as the midwives. But why this trio?

Somalilanders are forever suspicious of outsider motives ––and for a good reason. Not only that foreign intervention seldom brings fortune, but also the fact that states by definition look after their own interest does not sit well with missionaries repudiating Somalilanders. Wild speculations have it that each of the trio was chasing their own interest. For the American Ambassador Donald Yamamoto the talks offered an opportunity to enhance diplomatic ambitions and for his country to strengthen its foothold in the Horn. For the ambitious Ethiopian young prime minster Abiy Ahmed, inspired by his recent bagging of Nobel Prize, to double his accolades by becoming the one who succeeded in bringing Hargeisa and Mogadishu back again together and to bolster his country’s economic ambitions. For the Djiboutian strong man, Ismail O. Guelleh, struggling with local uprising against his ageing regime, the talks offered an opportunity to remain politically relevant; for the outgoing Somalia’s Mohamed Abdillahi Mohamed (Farmaajo) a chance to use these talks to extend his tenure and probably win a second term in the next presidential selection and; for Somaliland’s Muse Bihi Abdi (MBA) a chance to flex his muscles. In short, the summit took place in the midst of these intriguingly competing interests.

Speculations aside, the reality is that since Somalia came under the leadership of Farmaajo, interest for the talks simply dried up. Farmaajo tried to achieve his country’s mission of bringing Hargeisa back under Mogadishu rule by reversing all earlier agreements thereby reducing Somaliland to a regional entity and by pursuing a policy of unsettling community relations in Somaliland. His move may not be entirely new. Propped up with international handouts and kept alive by foreign forces, his country, Somalia, always wanted to dictate the terms of the talks and to subjugate Somaliland into submission. One may remember Somalia’s Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development writing to international donors instructing them to cease special arrangements with Somaliland and the Somalian parliament trying to block a rare DP World investment opportunitin the Berbera seaport.

However, pressure from the trio has arguably this time forced Somalia’s Farmaajo to agree plodding to the table, but like his predecessors, serious about it was he not or worst yet prepared. He attended with an empty portfolio, pretending to worry about the people of Somaliland and drawing on the “Somalinnimo” narratives he started in his short stilted talk to preach MBA of the benefits of re-unification but wasted much of his slot thanking “brother Ismail O. Geulleh” for bringing together “Somali brothers to work out their differences”.

Despite apparent frivolousness of the talks, Somaliland too turned up, but did so with intent. An incentive for the move was that the international convenors auspicing the loggerhead would tame if Somalia does not play by the rules. Critics in Somaliland remained skeptical of the expediency of the rendezvous, but things changed though when MBA delivered a stellar speech laying out the incontestable legal, historical and institutional grounds for Somaliland’s sovereignty. Explaining how the two sides got where they are now, MBA rested on the illegality of the defunct union, leaned on the genocidal acts against the people of Somaliland, on the ongoing sabotage of economic recovery, on the politicization of humanitarian assistance and sped off by listing the catalogue of unfulfilled promises Somalia made since 2012 in a speech he enjoyed delivering and then left the judgement to the conveners.

The summit offered Somaliland an opportunity to open up for discussion the 1960 dubious failed union, a subject Somalia has forever been eschewing. Farmaajo’s team was already on the back foot, but the knot tightened further on his men for lackluster attitude towards the talks when in an apparent attempt to derail the proceedings of the talks, they tabled trivial points undermining Somaliland’s sovereignty and the summit almost collapsed. It was a deadlock to be rescued by Djibouti at the eleventh hour to save face for everyone, well except for Somaliland.

The organizers may have planned to pave the way for eventually a favourable outcome for Somalia, but it was Somaliland, capitalizing on the opportunity, that has, piercing into their psyche of the convenors with undisputed history, has turned a new page. Nodding and note taking American Ambassador under the tutorship of Dr Edna Adam fed the pedant populations of Somaliland with much needed pride. The contrasting photos of the Somalian delegate returning home under the cover of darkness and Somaliland’s delegate receiving a hero welcome in broad day light speaks volumes. As former Somaliland vice president Ahmed Yussuf Yasin has tellingly observed the welcoming crowd braving the Covid-19 risks were sending multiple messages to their president, to the leaders of Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia and to the Americans and beyond: to show the world that MBA only represents them in a two state solution scenario and to express their unwavering support for anyone championing their aspirations.

President MBA showed in his speech so much charisma that made President Farmaajo look so sloppy that Somaliweyn pundits struggled to hide their frustration with the ineptness of “Somalinnimo” sentiments. Some even went so far as to suggest the summit was not meant to bring the two sides closer but to humiliate the very Somaliweyn ideal.

However, there were blind alleys to the talks. Suspicion arose when a few days later, Djibouti had unconventionally issued a ghost communique suggesting that Somaliland had in the end agreed on two very contentious points, one pertaining to cultural exchange with Somalia and the other to co-management of the Somaliland airspace. The suspicion was further inflamed when Somaliland’s Foreign Minister, Yasin Haji Mohamoud, suggested the communique contained a misprint, Edna Adam tried to play it down, but MBA alluded to Somaliland making a concession on the contentious cultural exchange point but with attached conditions.

The president took the risk of taking off the edge of his rising popularity when he tried to explain away the mess that it was a question of semantics. Much to the relief of anxious Somalilanders, the confusion was cleared following the announcement of Somaliland exchanging diplomatic missions with the China Republic of Taiwan. With the news that Somaliland has indeed turned the page, Farmaajo wasted no time. He immediately summoned the mainland Chinese Ambassador in Mogadishu to his fortified office. According to his office’s communique the two discussed the territorial integrity of their countries being infringed by Taiwan and Somaliland. To the talk’s critics, Farmaajo’s move was nothing but a knee jerk reaction indicating Somalia was not seeking a dialogue but control over Somaliland and wanted the trio (now plus the Chinese) to help her rescue her shipwrecked expansionist agenda. In any case, the new Taiwan connection has certainly dispelled any pretensions that under the sway of the summit Somaliland’s resolve may have weakened. The nodding and note-taking Americans are now suddenly welcoming the new Taipei-Hargeisa connection.

Hussein Abdillahi, Ph.Dhabdillahi@gmail.com

As per usual the opinions expressed in this articale are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of qarannews.com

Madaxtooyada JSL waxaan ku kala saxeexnnay saddexda Xisbi Qaran heshiis siyaasadeed lagu soo afjarayo dhammaan murankii ka taagnaa doorashooyinka muddo dhaafka ah ee isku sidkanaa ee Golayaasha Deegaanka iyo Golaha Wakiilada, doorashooyinkuna ku qabsoomaan ka hor dhammaadka 2020. pic.twitter.com/qrgafvik1C

— Cabdiraxmaan Cirro (@CirroSL) July 12, 2020

PRESS RELEASE
East Africa holds its ground as Africa’s fastest growing region, despite COVID-19 disruption
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the region’s economic growth was projected at more than 5 percent, well above continent’s average of 3.3 percent and global average of 2.9 percent
NAIROBI, Kenya, July 12, 2020/ — COVID-19 curbs East Africa’s growth, but still the strongest in the continent; Report calls for transition to higher value-added activities to build resilience to shocks.

Economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed East Africa’s growth projection for 2020 down to 1.2 percent, a rate that outstrips other African regions and is forecast to rebound to 3.7 percent in 2021, according to the African Development Bank’s (www.AfDB.org) East Africa Regional Economic Outlook 2020. The projection is under the baseline scenario that assumes the virus is contained by the third quarter of this year.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the region’s economic growth was projected at more than 5 percent, well above continent’s average of 3.3 percent and global average of 2.9 percent. However, COVID-19-induced shocks and a locust invasion have contributed to job losses, increased humanitarian needs and will aggravate poverty and income inequality.

In the worse-case scenario, in which the pandemic persists until the end of 2020, growth is projected at 0.2 percent, still above Africa’s predicted average of -1.7 percent and -3.4 percent under the two scenarios.

At the launch of the report held in Nairobi on Wednesday, Simon Kiprono Chelugui, Cabinet Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Labour, said East African countries could overcome the effects of COVID-19 and turn their economies around by mitigating the external and domestic risks.

“We need to implement a decisive and coordinated response to contain the spread of COVID-19; mitigate its health and socio-economic effects; accelerate structural transformation; improve the investment climate, and maintain the peace and security of our region,” he said.

The Regional Economic Outlook indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic will affect East African economies in many ways, such as falling commodity prices and trade, and restrictions on travel with a consequent negative impact on tourism. Waning financial flows have affected the region’s fiscal and current account balances, while disruptions in supply chains have hurt food production and distribution. With schools closed, an estimated 90 million learners have been excluded from the classroom.

Nnenna Nwabufo, the Director General of the Bank’s East Africa Regional Office, pledged Bank support to steer the region out of the crisis.

“Our ambition is to address the adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that social and economic development across the continent is accelerated, including through the creation of an African workforce of the future,” she said.

She noted that the Bank had responded swiftly to provide urgently needed support to address the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including support of $212 million to Kenya, $165 million to Ethiopia, $4 million to South Sudan and $10 million to the Seychelles.

Nwabufo called for a collective effort to address the development challenges such as COVID-19, rising public debt, and the locust invasion, in order to re-direct the nations towards a sustainable development pathway.

The report’s authors called for urgent policy measures to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“East African countries should accelerate a real structural transformation by transitioning from low value-added production to higher value-added activities that could mitigate vulnerabilities to domestic and external shocks,” said Dr Marcellin Ndong Ntah, a Bank Lead Economist.

As well as investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region, this year’s report placed particular emphasis on “Developing East Africa’s Workforce for the Future”. To nurture skills for the future workforce, there is an urgent need for broad reforms in education, investment in education technology, addressing factors that stop children from attending school and establishing linkages between academia and industry, said Edward Sennoga, a Bank Lead Economist, and another of the report’s authors.

Julius Mukunda, Executive Director of the Civil Society Advocacy Group in Uganda, said in order to nurture growth, East African nations must stamp out corruption, and invest in areas in which the region has unique strengths, such as food production, not only to provide food, but also income for farmers to help them to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

Please click here (https://bit.ly/2ZYzCM8) to read the full report.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

HIRDANADA GEESKA IYO HALISAHA QARSOON !!!

Ilaa iyo maalmihii dhowaa ee Somaliland iyo Taiwan xidhiidhkoodu caalamka ku baahay , ayaa waxa aad u diidan ugana soo horjeeda dawlada China oo ka mid ah maanta quwadaha aduunka ugu waaweyn ee xaga awooda iyo dhaqaalahaba , waxaana warbixino barahooga Twitterka ku qorey safiirka chine ee Somalia iyo afhayeenka wasaarada arimaha dibada ee China oo si cadho leh uga hadlay xidhiidhkaa dhex maray Jamhuuriyada Somaliland iyo Taiwan.

Waxa uu china dhawr maalmood ka hor ku sameeyey bada cas gaar ahaan meel aan badda Somaliland ka fogeyn dhoolatus ciidamada ah oo uu awoodiisa soo bandhigayo taasi oo loo qaadan karo in uu Somaliland hanjabaad uga dhigayey , waxaana aad loogala socday Tvga weyn ee China ee la yidhaa Cctv+ .

Waxa xidhiidhka Jamhuuriyada Somaliland iyo Taiwan soo dhaweeyey dawlada maraykanka oo bogaadisay , taasi oo iyaduna macno weyn iyo saameyn layaab leh ku sameysay dawladaha China iyo Somalia oo labadaba uu u cuntami laayahay xidhiidhka Jamhuuriyada Somaliland iyo Taiwan oo maalmihii ugu dambeeyey saameyntiisa iyo hadal hayntiisu aduunka saameysay.

Waxa aad aduunka si dhow ula socdaa dhaq-dhaqaaqyada ka socda Geeska Africa iyo Badda Cas oo aad moodo in aduunkii halkan ku soo ururayo , waxa la saadaalinayaa in uu isaguna u soo xadhko xidhay in Ruushku yimaado aagan badda cas iyo Gobolka Geeska Africa , gobolkani oo kulmin doona wadamada aduunka ku tartamaya.

Hadalkii dhaxalgalka ahaa ee raisal wasaraha Ethiopia ka Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali ka jeediyey munaasibadii lagu gudoonsiinayey jaaisada ayaa waxa uu ka biyo diiday saldhigyada ciidamada ee ku soo badanaya Gobolka Geeska Africa iyo Badda Cas waxaana uu yidhi ma rabno in uu gobolkani noqdo goob dagaal ( battle ground ) isaga oo xusay in ay argagixisada iyo quwadaha aduunku Gobolkan isugu yimaadeen iyaga dagaal kuwada jira.

Mar kale oo la wareystay waxa uu carabka ku dhuftay sida ay dawladaha bariga dhexe ay saameynta siyaasadeed iyo mid caqiido ba ugu leeyihiin gobolkani oo ay ka mid tahay waxyaabaha uu la dagi laayahay in ay farogalinta shisheeyuhu ku badan tahay .

Haddaba maanta waxa aad moodaa in halkii la isla soo dhaafay oo inta joogta maaha e in badan oo kale ay soo socdaan , kuwa la saadaalinayo ee danaynaya in ay yimaadaan waxa ka mid ah Israel , Uk , Russia , India iyo Turkey oo isna in uu bada cas soo dago quud daraynaya , ilaa hadda ma cada siyaasad uu gobolku isku og yahay oo lagu waajahayo dawladaha ku soo qulqulaya , waxaana suuragal ah in aamitinkooda iyo soo degistooda lagu kala aragti duwan yahay.

Somaliland oo ah meesha ugu muhiimsan Gobolka Geeska Africa ee aduunku wada danaynayaa iyada lafteedu wali siyaasad cad oo qeexan badka may keenin , hore waxa Somaliland looga qadiyey ciidamo wadamada khaleejka iyo inta bada cas degani loo sameynayey in ay marinkan ilaaliyaan maadaama oo uu aduunku oo dhan u muhiim yahay .

Waxaa loo fasiran karaa sababta ciidamadaa loogu sameeyey Badda Cas in laga saaro dawladaha faraha badan ee saldhigyada dhulka iyo badda ba ka sameystay Gobolka Geeska Africa iyo Badda Cas , maadaama ay sheegaan in uu dalwaliba masaaliixdiisa iyo maraakiibta u maraysa marin biyoodka badacas ilaashanayo una soo degay halkani.

Mohamed Abdi Jama