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July 2021 Employee of the Month: Abiy Ahmed

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Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inherited a state. He sacrificed it to the dream of an empire. On his current trajectory, Abiy’s political obituary will be that he left Ethiopians with neither state nor empire.

Many autocrats kill people. It takes a particular kind of leader to kill a country. This is what the Ethiopian Prime Minister is doing.

There was a moment when Abiy was seen indispensable to solving Ethiopia’s problems. Today he is the problem.

At the United Nations Security Council meeting on July 2, western nations put their emphasis on human rights and humanitarian calamity, while Kenya (representing the African nations) and China-focused their concern on preserving the Ethiopian state. None of them subscribed to the Ethiopian government’s official narrative.

As if to confirm their fears, three days later Abiy made a speech in parliament and announced that he was closing thirty of Ethiopia’s sixty embassies. He said he didn’t think that his country’s diplomats were value for money, and suggested that the diaspora were doing a better job. Africa’s oldest and most esteemed diplomatic corps, which was built up by Emperor Haile Selassie after World War II and nurtured by successive regimes, is being willfully destroyed.

In the same speech, Abiy denied that his army had suffered a defeat in Tigray, and said that he could raise and train 100,000 special forces in a month, and a million soldiers if need be. The rout of the Ethiopian National Defense Force in Tigray was due in part to Abiy’s dismantling of the army as an institution, which he began almost as soon as he took office. Huge numbers of foot soldiers along with new tanks and drones cannot compensate for lack of generalship, doctrine and strategy. Abiy is simply arming Ethiopians to kill and die.

Abiy’s economic policy of liberalization and attracting foreign investment has been sacrificed to the war, which has consumed the government’s budget, destroyed a significant part of its industry and service sector, and shattered its reputation among international financial institutions and private sector investors.

Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in April 2018 at a time of crisis in Ethiopia. ‘Crisis’ is a relative term. The economy was growing fast, the country had functioning state institutions envied by its neighbors, the ruling party was finally moving towards being an arena for genuine political debate, and the country was at peace with all its neighbors save one—and was well positioned to impose peace terms that would compel Eritrea to demilitarize and democratize. The government faced no military threats at home or abroad; it was Africa’s largest contributor to United Nations and African Union peacekeeping operations; Ethiopia enjoyed strong relations with the U.S., Europe, and China. Middle Eastern that countries it had long regarded as strategic challengers—Egypt and the Gulf States—were at bay.

Abiy came to power because a largely non-violent democratic protest movement caused the head of government to step down and the core element in the ruling party and security sector—the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)—to step aside.

After 27 years in power, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) had dismally failed on democracy and human rights, but had won Ethiopia an enviable reputation for stability and growth. Ethiopia’s state capacity was not an automatic inheritance of its long history as an independent polity. Ethiopia’s state had been built by decades of statesmanship at the top, investment in institutions, and lifelong dedication by civil servants.

Many African leaders in ‘crisis’ countries envied Abiy the political capital he possessed and the opportunity to build on strengths and remedy weaknesses. Viewed by many as a reformer, he also enjoyed considerable popular support. His early steps seemed to manifest that promise—releasing political prisoners, inviting opposition parties back, lifting censorship, reaching out to Eritrea.

Abiy made grand promises to everyone, and everyone loved it. He basked in the glory. He took the accolades far more seriously than he should have done. Drawing on his Pentecostal faith and his personal sense of destiny, Abiy refashioned the myth of Ethiopia as a nation chosen by God. He dispensed with any humility and readiness to reflect upon and learn from error. In short, Abiy had a messianic vision but lacked the basics of statecraft.

Abiy did not bring Ethiopia to this precipice alone. His predecessor, Prime Minister Haile Mariam Dessalegn, failed to lead and allowed the country to drift into turmoil. Hailemariam compounded rather than remedied the problems he inherited from Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Getachew Asefa, former head of security, was responsible for many of the most egregious abuses of the EPRDF government—and when Abiy issued an arrest warrant for him, he fled to Tigray where the TPLF elevated him to their central committee. Before and during the current war, the TPLF spokesman, Getachew Reda, prefers posturing and point-scoring to problem solving. Berhanu Nega, leader of the Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice (EZEMA) party, has cultivated a nostalgic imperial-nationalism that has been instrumental in driving the war fever in Addis Ababa and parts of Amhara region, and Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen has connived with this effort. Legions of twitter warriors roar incendiary nonsense on social media. Foreign actors who indulged Abiy’s egomania share responsibility. Above all, Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki seized his moment to become godfather to Ethiopia’s self-destruction, pursuing his long-held ambitions of seeking to crush Tigray and bring Ethiopia to its knees.

Helped by these men—whether adversaries or allies—Abiy has brought Ethiopia to the brink of political, economic, and reputational collapse. He has made Ethiopia the land of famine once again (though he denies that there is hunger in Tigray), and the land of gang rape for the first time (something he jokes about). He banned opposition parties, imprisoned dissenters, closed newspapers and detained journalists. He has destroyed the army while making needless enemies at home and abroad. His friends—notably Pres. Isaias—are more dangerous to Ethiopia than his enemies. Abiy rushed into a preventable war and bragged about it.

These are all sufficient reason for Abiy to warrant Abiy’s award as ‘employee of the month’—the individual who has done most to stand in the way of peace. But what singles out Abiy is the culmination of his folly, which is contemplating the breakup of Ethiopia—the secession of Tigray—as preferable to his accepting the reality that he has failed. The measure of a statesman is handling adversity. In the face of the calamities of the last months, Abiy has preferred to live in a bubble of illusion rather than take the necessary and painful steps to salvage his country. He is sustaining that bubble with incendiary mobilization of ethno-national passions that he cannot control. His most recent statement, speaking of Tigrayans as an incurable disease and an invasive weed is aptly described as ‘a textbook example of dehumanizing speech and incitement to genocide.’ The havoc Abiy is unleashing and the hatred he is fomenting will surely outlast his tenure in office.

Many autocrats cause appalling suffering to their people, but historians assess them as having built states. PM Abiy is responsible for immeasurable human distress—mass killings, rape, torture and starvation. But he is also leaving a legacy of deliberately turning Ethiopia into a fragile and quite possibly a failed state.

The ‘Employee of the Month award’ is bestowed on the person who has done the most to harm the cause of world peace in the last month. Image: “A Conversation with Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia” by World Economic Forum is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

This article is republished from The World Peace Foundation under a Creative Commons license.

Who’s running Haiti after president’s assassination? 5 questions answered

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Patrick D Bellegarde-Smith, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Two men are vying to control Haiti after President Jovenel Moïse’s July 7 assassination, creating more turmoil for a nation in crisis. Here, scholar Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, a Haitian studies scholar and author of “Haiti: The Breached Citadel,” explains the unusual situation that gave rise to this power struggle – and asserts that Haiti may never get the democracy it needs.

1. Who is running Haiti right now?

Prime Minister Claude Joseph has assumed power. However, Joseph was only an acting prime minister. Appointed by President Moïse in April 2021 on an interim basis, he was supposed to have been replaced on July 7, 2021, by Dr. Ariel Henry, a former interior minister and neurosurgeon. The day before the transition was to happen, the president was assassinated.

Both claim they are the legitimate prime minister. But neither Joseph nor his would-be successor as prime minister have been approved by the Haitian legislature, a necessary step, because there is no functioning Haitian legislature at the moment. Lawmakers’ terms of office ended in January 2020 and President Moïse never held legislative elections to elect new lawmakers, as called for by statute.

So the country has been operating without a parliament for the past 18 months. Moïse ruled by decrees – “decret-lois” – that did not require legislative approval. In the U.S., executive orders would be a close parallel.

Haitian Prime Minister Claude Joseph speaks at a press conference at his residence.
Acting Haitian Prime Minister Claude Joseph at a press conference at his residence in Port-au-Prince on July 8, 2021. Getty Images/Getty Images News via Getty Images

2. Who is officially supposed to replace the president of Haiti if he dies or becomes incapacitated?

For long stretches of its history, the Haitian Constitution named the president of the Cour de Cassation – chief justice of the Haitian supreme court – as first in the line of succession, followed by all other judges of the high court, based on seniority.

The Constitution of 1987 was amended to say that the prime minister would become the transitional chief of state – but only after he had been ratified by both houses of the legislature, comprising the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

Well, Haiti’s legislature is not in operation right now. You have only 10 sitting senators out of 30, and no deputies left. So the constitutional provision cannot be applied. And the president of Haiti’s high court died of COVID-19 in June 2021.

This is the thing that’s most worrisome to me: Whatever the Constitution provides for at the moment cannot happen.

3. What is the US government’s position on Haiti’s leadership crisis?

The U.S. helped create the situation by its continued support of President Moïse, who had become despised by many Haitians even before he overstayed his four-year term. After his 2016 election, Moïse quickly lost all credibility because of a corruption scandal, with all sectors of the Haitian population – its small political elite class, the wealthy, the middle classes and the broad peasantry.

But former President Donald Trump liked Moïse. President Biden supported his administration, too, but hasn’t paid much attention to Haiti – until now. So far, the U.S. has denied a request from Haiti’s interim prime minister to send troops “to assist and help us.”

The U.S. has also called for national elections to be held by the end of the year, as scheduled – as if “democracy” means only elections. The definition of democracy in the U.S. is very instrumental: Either you have an election or don’t you have an election, so you’re either a democracy or you aren’t.

It’s not as simple as that. Democracy is a process.

4. So what would a Haitian democratic process look like?

Haitians have always sought democracy.

After all, Haiti was the first country the world to abolish slavery. Fourteen days after declaring independence from France, in 1804, the Haitian chief of state Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haiti would provided refuge and guaranteed freedom for all and any Black persons who reached its shores. Dessalines was soon killed.

What modern Haitians want is democracy – that’s “Haitian democracy, not American democracy,” to quote a peasant woman speaking to a reporter in 1987.

But what Haitians want has been ignored since 1915, the last time a Haitian president was assassinated. That opened the door for a brutal 19-year U.S. military invasion and occupation. Even before 1915, there were 19 U.S. military interventions in Haiti, and many more since.

It’s the rare Haitian president who can be elected without the consent of the United States, and none survive without Washington’s support. Several presidents elected by Haitians have been overthrown with the U.S. government’s help.

One was President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a Roman Catholic priest from the slums, who was elected in 1990. Poor Haitian people, the majority, massively voted for him, and he brought people like them – the peasants, the urban working classes – into power. This horrified the Haitian middle and upper classes.

Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide holds up his thumb covered in ink after voting.
Haitian presidential candidate Jean-Bertrand Aristide after voting in Haiti’s 1990 presidential election, Dec. 16, 1990. Aristide won in a landslide. JEROME DELAY/AFP via Getty Images

Aristide was overthrown by the Haitian army seven months into office. He later returned to power and was overthrown again – a coup he says was U.S.-backed. The U.S. denies involvement.

5. What does so much foreign intervention in Haiti’s history mean for its future?

If Haiti is to have a real representative democracy, the Haitian power structure must reflect the culture of the Haitian people. That may take a revolution – and with the U.S. engagement there, that’s unlikely to happen.

One moment in which this process began to occur was the 1987 constitution, which was published in both Creole and in French. Voted on in a referendum, it passed with stunning popular approval.

In several moves aimed at removing colonial influence, the new constitution made Haitian Creole the official language of Haiti and removed Catholicism – the French faith – as the state religion. It also decriminalized the Haitian religion Vodou.

[Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today.]

The changes mandated by the new constitution are very much still in progress. Ninety-five percent of Haitians do not speak a lick of French – but the schools overwhelmingly teach in French. Until recently the courts and the legislature conducted all their business in French. This means the people don’t know what’s going on in their country.

If the state institutions do not reflect the country’s culture, then a country can never be democratic.

Patrick D Bellegarde-Smith, Professor Emeritus of Africology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Why is Delta such a worry? It’s more infectious, probably causes more severe disease, and challenges our vaccines

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Michael Toole, Burnet Institute

While Australians may be focused on the havoc the Delta variant is wreaking on our shores, Delta is in fact driving waves of COVID infections all around the world.

With the World Health Organization (WHO) warning Delta will rapidly become the dominant strain, let’s take a look at this variant in a global context.

The rise and rise of Delta

The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) emerged quietly in the Indian state of Maharashtra in October 2020. It barely caused a ripple at a time when India was reporting around 40,000 to 80,000 cases a day, most being the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) first found in the United Kingdom.

That changed in April when India experienced a massive wave of infections peaking at close to 400,000 daily cases in mid-May. The Delta variant rapidly emerged as the dominant strain in India.

The WHO designated Delta as a variant of concern on May 11, making it the fourth such variant.

The Delta variant rapidly spread around the world and has been identified in at least 98 countries to date. It’s now the dominant strain in countries as diverse as the UK, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia and Fiji. And it’s on the rise.

In the United States, Delta made up one in five COVID cases in the two weeks up to June 19, compared to just 2.8% in the two weeks up to May 22.

Meanwhile, the most recent Public Health England weekly update reported an increase of 35,204 Delta cases since the previous week. More than 90% of sequenced cases were the Delta variant.

In just two months, Delta has replaced Alpha as the dominant strain of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK. The increase is primarily in younger age groups, a large proportion of whom are unvaccinated.

2 key mutations

Scientists have identified more than 20 mutations in the Delta variant, but two may be crucial in helping it transmit more effectively than earlier strains. This is why early reports from India called it a “double mutant”.

The first is the L452R mutation, which is also found in the Epsilon variant, designated by the WHO as a variant of interest. This mutation increases the spike protein’s ability to bind to human cells, thereby increasing its infectiousness.

Preliminary studies also suggest this mutation may aid the virus in evading the neutralising antibodies produced by both vaccines and previous infection.

A woman wearing a mask crosses the street in New York.
Evidence shows the Delta variant is more infectious. We can understand why by looking at its mutations. Shutterstock

The second is a novel T478K mutation. This mutation is located in the region of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein which interacts with the human ACE2 receptor, which facilitates viral entry into lung cells.

The recently described Delta Plus variant carries the K417N mutation too. This mutation is also found in the Beta variant, against which COVID vaccines may be less effective.


Read more: What’s the ‘Delta plus’ variant? And can it escape vaccines? An expert explains


One good thing about the Delta variant is the fact researchers can rapidly track it because its genome contains a marker the previously dominant Alpha variant lacks.

This marker — known as the “S gene target” — can be seen in the results of PCR tests used to detect COVID-19. So researchers can use positive S-target hits as a proxy to quickly map the spread of Delta, without needing to sequence samples fully.

Why is Delta a worry?

The most feared consequences of any variant of concern relate to infectiousness, severity of disease, and immunity conferred by previous infection and vaccines.

WHO estimates Delta is 55% more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which was itself around 50% more transmissible than the original Wuhan virus.

That translates to Delta’s effective reproductive rate (the number of people on average a person with the virus will infect, in the absence of controls such as vaccination) being five or higher. This compares to two to three for the original strain.

There has been some speculation the Delta variant reduces the so-called “serial interval”; the period of time between an index case being infected and their household contacts testing positive. However, in a pre-print study (a study which hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed), researchers in Singapore found the serial interval of household transmission was no shorter for Delta than for previous strains.

One study from Scotland, where the Delta variant is predominating, found Delta cases led to 85% higher hospital admissions than other strains. Most of these cases, however, were unvaccinated.

The same study found two doses of Pfizer offered 92% protection against symptomatic infection for Alpha and 79% for Delta. Protection from the AstraZeneca vaccine was substantial but reduced: 73% for Alpha versus 60% for Delta.

A study by Public Health England found a single dose of either vaccine was only 33% effective against symptomatic disease compared to 50% against the Alpha variant. So having a second dose is extremely important.

In a pre-print article, Moderna revealed their mRNA vaccine protected against Delta infection, although the antibody response was reduced compared to the original strain. This may affect how long immunity lasts.


Read more: The symptoms of the Delta variant appear to differ from traditional COVID symptoms. Here’s what to look out for


A global challenge to controlling the pandemic

The Delta variant is more transmissible, probably causes more severe disease, and current vaccines don’t work as well against it.

WHO warns low-income countries are most vulnerable to Delta as their vaccination rates are so low. New cases in Africa increased by 33% over the week to June 29, with COVID-19 deaths jumping 42%.

There has never been a time when accelerating the vaccine rollout across the world has been as urgent as it is now.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus has warned that in addition to vaccination, public health measures such as strong surveillance, isolation and clinical care remain key. Further, tackling the Delta variant will require continued mask use, physical distancing and keeping indoor areas well ventilated.

Michael Toole, Professor of International Health, Burnet Institute

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Minister of Trade Revokes the Operating License of A Company Representing Ethiopia’s Largest Shipping Company

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According to a directive from the Ministry of Trade, Industries and Tourism and signed by Minister Mohamoud Hassan Saad (Saajin), the Somaliland government has revoked the operating license of Integrated Shipping Services, a subsidiary of Laas Group. Somaliland’s largest bottling plant that produces Coca-Cola and other beverages is also a subsidiary of Laas Group.

The Ministry accused Integrated Shipping Services of breaking the law by bringing the Head of Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise to Berbera Port without the knowledge of the Somaliland government. In addition, the license revocation notice from the Ministry adds that the operating license of Integrated Shipping Services has expired on February 23rd, 2021 and that the request to revoke the company’s license is from Somaliland Port Authority. The Ministry did not specify what specific laws were broken.

On July 6th, Gibe, a large Ethiopian-flagged cargo ship owned and operated by Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise docked at Berbera Port. This was a highly publicized event that was hailed as historic, as this was the first time in 20 years an Ethiopian ship has come to Berbera. Another cargo vessel serviced by Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise, the Shebelle is expected to arrive in Berbera Port soon.

Sources close to Laas Group allege that the Minister of Trade, Industries, and Tourism Hon. Mohamoud Hassan Saad (Saajin) is acting on behalf of a private company with close ties to the Somaliland Presidency whose interest to represent Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise in Somaliland was rejected by the Ethiopian company due to its existing relationship with Integrated Shipping Services

The Chairman of Laas Group, Mr. Ahmed Osman Geele had previously locked horns with the current government of President Muse Bihi Abdi over an alleged extradition request from Djibouti.

Laas Group Chairman, Mr. Ahmed Osman Geele

Sources have dismissed the allegation leveled against Integrated Shipping Services and say that the Somaliland government was well aware of ESLSE officials and their visit to the Berbera Port and that the Ethiopian officials have met with multiple government officials including the head of Somaliland’s Chamber of Commerce, as well as DP World officials.

Minister Saajin was accused by DP World recently of playing favoritism among businesses when he intervened on behalf of a private company.

It is unclear how the revocation of the company representing the largest Ethiopian shipping company will impact the Berbera Port and its service to Ethiopia or if Integrated Shipping Services have any appeal or recourse.

Efforts to reach the Minister of Trade, Industries, and Tourism Hon. Mohamoud Hassan Saad (Saajin), the Chairman of Laas Group Chairman Mr. Ahmed Osman Geele were unsuccessful.

Police Officers Turn down Large Sum of Cash and Vehicle as Bribe from Alcohol Smugglers

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According to a statement by Somaliland Police, a shipment of alcohol disguised as khat was confiscated, and officers who seized the illegal shipment of alcohol have turned down a large sum of cash as a bribe. Somaliland law strictly bans the import, sale, and consumption of alcohol and carries stiff penalties that include a minimum mandatory sentence of six months.

Although the amount of confiscated alcohol is small compared to others ceased by Somaliland Police, the Chief of Police Brigadier General Mohamed Adan Saqadhi Mohamoud (Dabagale) who spoke to the media, stated the smugglers were getting clever and changing tactics by using disguising their narcotics and alcohol as other consumables. Widely known as Dabagale, the Police Commander said that the country was under attack and that the goal of this attack is directed at the moral fabric of our people and asked for the public’s help in curbing the rising import of illicit drugs and alcohol in Somaliland.

Commander Dabagale also spoke of the fact that the suspects in custody tried to bribe their way out and offered three thousand US dollars to the arresting officers and possibly the pickup vehicle that transported the alcohol, one of whom as stated by the Commander has not eaten at that. The Commander praised the Police officers for their integrity and stated that the police is under major transformation and that he has seen many incidents where police offers have refused to take bribes to let suspects go.

Police Commander Dabagale has warned Khat importers to be vigilant of alcohol smugglers that use their product and image to bring alcohol into Somaliland. In addition, he warned the public against the rampant culture of bribes added it is a serious crime to offer bribes to law enforcement offers.

Despite the rising cost of living in Somaliland, salaries of Police officers low compared to other areas of public service. Somaliland Police budget for 2020 was 134,785,031,865 Somaliland Shillings or roughly 15.8 million US dollars.

President Bihi Calls on The United States for a Direct Engagement With Somaliland

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In an opinion piece published on News Week, the President of the Republic of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi called on the United States of America to engage directly with Somaliland on security, trade, and cooperation. Highlighting Somaliland’s democratic values and strategic location and its 850-kilometer coastline in the Red Sea, President Bihi articulated why it is in the best interest of the United States to work with Somaliland.

Somaliland’s foreign policy has remained predictable and relatively passive but recently has taken on a newly aggressive posture that started with the establishment of bilateral ties with Taiwan and rejecting an investment package from the People’s Republic of China.

President Bihi drew a sharp contrast with other countries in the region where democratic values are receding with Somaliland’s successive peaceful transfers of power and its latest parliament and local council elections and pledged to continue this tradition to step down when the time comes for his successor and future 6th President of Somaliland.

On security collaboration between Somaliland and the United States, President Bihi spoke about turbulent East Africa without naming specific countries and how the active political disputes, ethnic tensions, and armed conflicts that surround Somaliland can adversely affect the strategic interest of the United States. Besides the open conflicts, President Bihi mentioned China’s growing military presence as part of its String of Pearls maritime initiative in the Red Sea and particularly Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

President Bihi spoke of Somaliland’s collaboration with DP World to expand and modernize Berbera Port to handle two million TEU and its potential to transform the region’s economy and invited American investment in Somaliland as an alternative to China’s debt trap that other countries in the region have chosen. Once again, President Bihi did not mention any countries including Djibouti, which owes tens of billions to the People’s Republic of China.

Continuing to make the case of why it’s in the United States and Somaliland’s interest to establish a direct line of communication, the President used America’s long-standing engagement and support of Taiwan as an example despite not being recognized and closes with “A similar opportunity awaits the U.S. in Somaliland, where our people have proven during 30 years of independence the power of democracy in an unsettled world.”.

Somaliland: Leading by Example

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There are no shortages of references, including academic research papers, how-to-books, or philosophical concepts describing the qualities of effective leadership; however, there is one very important piece of the puzzle that is often over-looked which complements and completes the leadership qualities of an effective leader, that is “honesty”. 

A community can be mobilized through voluntarism principles by their leaders when they are shown that the end results of their deeds are for the good of their own and that of the general population. 

On July 8, 2021, we have all witnessed a unique phenomenon unfold in the middle of “Dooxa Hargeisa” or the dry creek of Hargeisa when the public heeded the calling of an honest, strong, patriotic and caring leader, Abdikarim Ahmed Mooge; the new Hargeisa Mayor. 

He led the way with his gloves and his yellow vest on, cleaning and removing the garbage with his own hands. He made this a priority and his first order of business before putting his feet up on his new office desk and self-congratulate on his victory lap. 

This was an effort to solve environmental and health concerns including bringing back the beauty of the site to its original looks where children could enjoy and play their new clean riverbed. 

Voluntarism is not a new phenomenon to Somalilanders, they did their share during the former dictator, Siad Bare. Sadly, their reward was devastating death and destruction of lives and property.

The Hargeisa self-help phenomenon was different, people showed up before dawn, after Fajr prayer, filled with happiness and joy looking forward to the task ahead, and stand side-by-side with their new mayor, Abdikarim Ahmed Mooge. 

It was a day that brought the young, the elderly, boys and girls, and mothers who were feeding them on the side while they were engaged in cleaning their environment. It was a day that will remain in Somaliland history forever. 

Abdikarim’s calling to challenge his constituents was exemplary for all other leaders in public offices to follow in his footsteps and make their priorities the needs of the public they serve, not their own self-interest. 

Well done Mr. Mayor, your future is bright. Who knows, you might be called Mr. President in the near future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mohamed Adan Samatar is a Former State of Arizona Government Management and holds BSc, MS Agriculture. He can be reached madan.samatar01[@]gmail.com

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints of the Somaliland Chronicle, and its staff. 

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Notice: This article by Somaliland Chronicle is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Under this license, all reprints and non-commercial distribution of this work is permitted.

New Contract Reduces Hargeisa Municipality Fuel Cost by more than Half.

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The newly elected Mayor of Hargeisa Mr. Abdikarim Ahmed Moge and Hargeisa City Council held a bid today for a new fuel contract for Hargeisa Municipality. Although it is unclear if a tender was advertised or how deeply the existing fuel and other service contracts with the city were examined, the new fuel prices are much lower and could save the city more than half in its fuel costs.

The new bid to supply the city’s fuel was won by two local providers who will charge the city about 0.75 US dollars for a liter of petrol and .73 cents for diesel. This is significantly lower than the alledged 1.75 cents average the city has paid for fuel per liter in the past.

No detail regarding the new contract to supply fuel to the local municipality has been shared in the unavailing event or how a recent sharp rise in fuel costs in Somaliland will affect the contract.

Mayor Moge, who has taken the helm at Hargeisa local municipality on July 1st, has successfully mobilized Hargeisa residents by the thousands including religious and other community leaders for a refuse clean-up at the city’s central valley is already winning major praise from the public. Other cities have made similar calls to the public for clean-up campaigns.

Somaliland Constitutional Court Officially Certifies Parliamentary Election Results

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The Constitutional court of Somaliland has officially certified the parliamentary election the results provisionally announced by the National Election Commission. The court has reviewed and vacated cases filed by candidates who did not win the required votes for a Parliament or Local Council and has agreed with the results announced by the Election Commission.

Parliamentary and Local Council election of some 900 candidates has concluded on May 31st, 2021. Local councils have already taken over from previous delegates around the country and the new Parliament is scheduled to have its first session in days.

The court’s certification of the results were attended by members of the national parties of Kulmiye, Waddani, UCID, the National Election Commission and other government officials.

A heated contest for the position of the Speaker has been ongoing between the ruling party of Kulmiye and a recently established coalition of opposition parties of Waddani and UCID with combined majority seats in the newly elected Somaliland Parliament. It is unclear if Kulmiye will retain the parliament speakership or the coalition of the opposition parties will materialize in legislative substance and restore the Parliament’s independence from the Executive Branch.

Despite repeated delays of parliamentary and local council elections, Somaliland has been widely priased for conducting a fair and transparent elections with minimum outside support.

Amoud University Student Shot Dead by Campus Police

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Mr. Ibrahim Abdishakur Ibrahim, a second-year Faculty of Engineering student from the University of Amoud in Borama was shot dead by a university campus police officer. Reports indicate the student tried to enter the university campus to retrieve a cellphone he had forgotten and was shot dead following an altercation. It is unclear if the campus Police officer and Mr. Ibrahim had a verbal or a physical altercation before the incident that resulted in Mr. Ibrahim’s death.

The police officer that shot Mr. Ibrahim, whose identity has not been made public, is in custody in custody. Somaliland Police provide security to many public and private institutions, including Amoud University where the shooting occurred.

Somaliland Police has not released a statement on the shooting death of Mr. Ibrahim and it is clear if this incident will prompt any changes in how police interact with the public and use of lethal force.

Earlier reports, including one from a Voice of America reporter, falsely linked Mr. Ibrahim’s death to an ongoing issue where some youth displayed the Somali flag and used an image from an incident in Mogadishu with a victim wearing a blue shirt.

This is a developing story: We’ll give updates on the situation as we learn more.