The President’s annual address to the joint session of Congress was informative and showed the breakneck pace with which his administration has accomplished many things – number of schools built, number of youths employed in government and the impressive work that went into to implementing the National Service program and much more.
Immediately
after the speech, commentary from both the public and politicians alike was as
polarized as ever. Some have critiqued the fact that the heads of the different
branches of the Armed Forces were lined behind the President during his speech;
others are discussing a manufactured constitutional crisis involving the emblem
that was on the podium while others think it was the greatest political speech
given in the history of speeches.
You see, the people of Somaliland are used to an avalanche of information from unscripted politicians who often speak off-the-cuff. Remember the fiasco created by the President’s Accra/Ankara comment in Dubai? Of course you don’t, many things has happened since. This was different, he was painfully scripted, disciplined and rather matter of fact.
What
is not being discussed is the substance of President Bihi’s speech, what he
said, what he did not say and should have; the numbers and stats the President rattled
off have not been challenged in anyway
Those
that support President Bihi and his party either for ideology or other reasons clapped
incessantly and are still enamored by the President’s eloquence. For them, the President in infallible and
everything is working according to plan – Moving Forward!
For the opposition everything was wrong, it was heresy, the uniformed heads of different branches of the Armed forces symbolized the coming dictatorship and the sky was falling – with one notable exception Mr. Jirde of WADDANI who brought up the fact that the President did not address the fact that the entire country’s local government and council’s mandate will expire in 4 days.
But has anyone actually bothered to fact check the President? We are not implying that there were mistruths in his speech but we are certain that he relied on others to compile those numbers – some, not very competent, others facing criminal indictment stemming from corruption allegations.
So why has no one bothered to fact check the President?
One
example of progress the president cited is that 659,000 children across
Somaliland were vaccinated. We are curious if the vaccination were actually
done by the Ministry of Health or others such as WHO or UNICEF? Was a joint
effort where with external funding, Ministry of Health employees actually
vaccinated 659,000 kids?
President
Bihi also stated that the government efforts to improve health care have raised
the public’s confidence has resulted in 31% increase of the use of the country’s
medical facilities. This one actually makes no sense. Was the President
referring to the private hospitals or government hospitals? 31% increase over
what period of time and who actually gauged the public’s confidence in the
country’s medical system?
The answer to these questions moves the President’s claim to either the truth or false column. This is trust but verify and it is what we should all be asking instead of debating the color of the drapes behind the President and how the balloons did not resemble a crow or an eagle.
The Somali Federal Government has blamed the lack of payment on the discovery of large number of non-existent troops who have been drawing salaries.
According to Somalia’s Minister of Finance Dr. Baileh, only those who have bio-metrically registered will be receiving payments.
Wasiirka Maaliyadda ayaa ka hadlay muhiimada ay leedahay diiwan galinta Ciidanka ayadoo la isticmaalayo hanaanka casriga ah SFMIS ee fara ka qaadista ciidanka si loo xoojiyo isla xisaabtanka iyo cad-cadaanta pic.twitter.com/JtcliPwiQt
Somali President and Prime Minister at Mr. Saqar Abdalla’s funeral in Mogadishu.
The payment dispute between the Somali Federal Government and front line units of the Somali National Army comes at a time when Al-Shabaab has been gaining territory and has increased the frequency of its deadly attacks on Mogadishu.
Saqar Ibrahim Abdalla, Somalia’s deputy minister of labor and social affairs was among 15 people killed in Al-Shabaab’s latest attack on the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on Saturday.
In an interview with Horn Cable TV, Somaliland’s Attorney General Mr. Hassan Mohamed Adam confirmed that criminal complaints where submitted to his office by the Auditor General for the leadership of the ministries of Information and Defense.
The charges where filed against the Minister of Information and Culture Mr. Abdirahman Abdillahi Farah (Guri-Barwaqo) and the Defense Minister Mr. Issa Ahmed Hawar.
Minister of Information Mr. Abdirahman Abdillahi Farah (Guri-Barwaqo)
According to the Attorney General Mr. Adam, they are actively evaluating the criminal complaint and see if laws were broken and if the submitted evidence is sufficient to move ahead with criminal prosecution or if the case will be sent back to the Auditor General for further investigation.
President Bihi with Ministers of Interior and Defense and Chief of Police
It is unclear if President Bihi is planning to take any action in removing these ministers before they are officially charged with a crime by the Attorney General or if he had discussions with them regarding the active corruption investigation engulfing the Information and Defense portfolios.
Today, on early morning hours, Somaliland police has taken into custody the Director General and Director of Finance and Administration of the Ministry of Information and Culture.
The Director General, Dr. Osman Hussein Warsame
The Director General, Dr. Osman Hussein Warsame and the Admin and Finance Director Mr. Hassan Mahamoud Muhumed were taken into custody on corruption charges filed by the Attorney General following a long running financial audit in the Ministry of Information and Culture.
Admin and Finance Director Mr. Hassan Mahamoud Muhumed
According to sources, law enforcement acted on a tip that Mr. Warsame, a British National was planning to leave the country since resigning his position just days ago citing health reasons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i5L4Y9K31Q
Minister of Information
The arrest of these high ranking officials in President Muse Bihi’s government follows a long running audit in multiple government and agencies that has been reported to have uncovered substantial corruption.
According to a government source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, that there are more active arrest warrants for additional high ranking officials including at least two cabinet ministers.
Sources added that charges are pending for additional officials and that law enforcement has been instructed to wait until President Bihi releases them of their duties.
The news of the arrest has dominated the news cycle in Somaliland where many have hailed it as a step in the right direction. Corruption has become a common place in Somaliland since 1991 successive governments have failed to curb it.
President Muse Bihi Abdi is expected to make a major reshuffle in his cabinet in the coming days.
This is a developing story and we will update you as we know more.
Europe and Canada said they would seek their own guarantees over the safety of Boeing’s 737 MAX, further complicating plans to get the aircraft flying worldwide after they were grounded in the wake of two accidents killing more than 300 people.
As the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) analyses Boeing’s plans for a software fix prompted by the first crash five months ago, the European Union’s aviation safety agency EASA promised its own deep look at any design improvements.
“We will not allow the aircraft to fly if we have not found acceptable answers to all our questions,” EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky told an EU parliament committee hearing.
Canada said it would independently certify the 737 MAX in the future, rather than accepting FAA validation, and would conduct an “exhaustive review” of the automated flight control system in MAX aircraft, known as MCAS, which experts believe may have played a role in both crashes.
Canada also said it would send a team to help U.S. authorities evaluate proposed design changes and decide if others were needed.
Boeing Co declined to comment. The company on Tuesday reshuffled the top executives in its commercial airplanes unit to focus on the accident investigations.
U.S. government officials do not believe the two crashes will lead to a worldwide shift away from FAA certifications but U.S. lawmakers, as well as federal prosecutors, are scrutinizing the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX.
The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives transportation committee and another key Democrat asked the Transportation Department’s inspector general on Tuesday to examine key decisions made by the FAA in certifying the 737 MAX jet for use.
The FAA declined to comment on that request or on actions taken by other countries, but said in a statement that “the current, historic aviation safety record in the U.S. and globally is achieved through the FAA’s robust processes and full collaboration with the aviation community.”
The U.S. Transportation Department’s inspector general plans to audit the FAA’s certification of the jet, an official with the office said on Tuesday. The office can recommend changes or improvements to how the FAA operates. Boeing said it would cooperate with the audit.
UNUSUAL INTERVENTION
The unusual public intervention by two leading regulators came as a probe into the final minutes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 turned toward secrets hidden in the cockpit voice recorder.
The voices of Captain Yared Getachew and First Officer Ahmednur Mohammed could help explain the March 10 crash of the Boeing 737 MAX that has worrying parallels with another disaster involving the same model off Indonesia in October.
The twin disasters killed 346 people, but there is no conclusive evidence so far that they are linked.
Black box data was downloaded in France but only Ethiopian experts leading the probe have access to the dialogue between Getachew, 29, and Mohammed, 25. The data was back in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, sources familiar with the probe told Reuters.
Experts believe the new MCAS system, which is designed to stop stalling by dipping the nose, may have been a factor in both crashes, with pilots unable to override it as their jets plunged downwards.
Both came down just minutes after take-off after erratic flight patterns and loss of control reported by the pilots. However, every accident is a unique chain of human and technical factors, experts say.
The prestige of Ethiopian Airlines, one of Africa’s most successful companies, and Boeing, the world’s biggest planemaker and a massive U.S. exporter, are at stake.
AWKWARD QUESTIONS FOR INDUSTRY
Lawmakers and safety experts are questioning how thoroughly regulators vetted the MAX model and how well pilots were trained on new features. For now, global regulators have grounded the existing fleet of more than 300 MAX aircraft, and deliveries of nearly 5,000 more – worth well over $500 billion – are on hold. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2Hv2btC)
Pressure on Chicago-headquartered Boeing has grown with news that federal prosecutors are scrutinising how carefully the MAX model was developed, two people briefed on the matter said.
The U.S. Justice Department is also looking at the FAA’s oversight of Boeing, one of the people said. And a federal grand jury last week issued at least one subpoena to an entity involved in the plane’s development.
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to nominate former Delta Air Lines executive Steve Dickson to head the FAA on Tuesday. The agency has been without a permanent head for 14 months.
In the hope of getting its MAX line back into the air soon, Boeing has said it will roll out a software update and revise pilot training. In the case of the Lion Air crash in Indonesia, it has raised questions about whether crew used the correct procedures.
Development of the 737 MAX, which offers cost savings of about 15 percent on fuel, began in 2011 after the successful launch by its main rival of the Airbus A320neo. The 737 MAX entered service in 2017 after six years of preparation.
Argus Research cut Boeing stock to “hold” from “buy”, giving the planemaker at least its fourth downgrade since the crash, Refinitiv data showed. Its shares rose 0.3 percent on Tuesday, to close at $373.43. They are still down more than 11 percent since the crash in Ethiopia.
GLOBAL RAMIFICATIONS
Various firms are reconsidering Boeing orders, and some are revising financial forecasts given they now cannot count on maintenance and fuel savings factored in from the MAX.
Air Canada said it intended to keep its MAX aircraft grounded until at least July 1, would accelerate intake of recently acquired Airbus A321 planes, and had hired other carriers to provide extra capacity meantime.
Beyond the corporate ramifications, anguished relatives are still waiting to find out what happened.
Many have visited the crash site in a charred field to seek some closure, but there is anger at the slow pace of information and all they have been given for funerals is earth.
“I’m just so terribly sad. I had to leave here without the body of my dead brother,” said Abdulmajid Shariff, a Yemeni relative who headed home disappointed on Tuesday.
Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday visited his Qatari counterpart, seeking to enhance bilateral relations and strengthen efforts to attract investment from the gas rich nation.
Abiy, who announced plans to liberalise the economy last year, hopes to attract foreign direct investment into several sectors that have been previously state-controlled.
While in Doha, Abiy visited the Museum of Islamic Art, where he toured the museum’s collection, which houses the masterpieces of Islamic art, including metal, wood, ceramics, jewelry, textiles, coins and glass.
Ethiopia-Qatari business
In January, the Ethiopian embassy in Qatar’s capital, Doha organised an investment forum, where opportunities for economic and trade cooperation in the two countries’ private sectors were discussed.
The Ethiopian delegation presented investment opportunities to Qatari businessmen in the sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, services, medicines, building materials and others.
An Ethiopian-Qatari business forum is expected to be organised later this year.
A high level delegation led by the Eritrean Foreign Minister Mr. Osman Saleh arrived in Hargeisa, the capital of the Republic of Somaliland on an official state visit.
According to Mr. Saleh, the delegation was sent by the Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on a fact finding mission to have a first hand account of what is going on in Somaliland.
President Muse Bihi receives the Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Salah
The Minister holding a joint press briefing with his Somaliland counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mr. Yasin Hagi Mohamoud Hiir (Faratoon) on the purpose of their visit stated “The Eritrean delegation was sent and we are sent by our President, Isaias Afwerki, at least to know the situation what is going on in Somaliland. We have been away from the situation in the Horn of Africa for the last 20 years because we had a very bad situation. A war was waged against Eritrea by the TPLF Regime and later it was followed by a sanction on Eritrea and we were struggling from all these, what you call subjugation. Now at this moment peace has prevailed in the Horn of Africa, especially between Eritrea and Ethiopia and now we started our cooperation so we said, now we have been away and now it is time for us to go Somaliland and look into the Situation.”.
President Muse Bihi receives the Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Salah
Mr Salah added that his delegation have met the President of Somaliland, HE Muse Bihi Abdi and were briefed by the political and socio-economic situation of Somaliland. The Minister said “And now, we will go back and convey the situations prevailing in Somaliland to my President”.
This is the highest level Eritrean delegation to visit Somaliland since both countries gained independence in 1991 from Somali and Ethiopia respectively.
In October 2018, Somaliland’s Ministry of Investment and Salternas signed an agreement to develop the world’s largest solar salt production facility in Somaliland. This deal, according to the company will generate an estimated 9.6 Billion US dollars in 21 years, that is a whopping 450 million US dollars a year.
This is a good news, and if these figures hold any truth, this is the most lucrative deal Somaliland has ever signed. But before we get our hopes up, there are quite a few red flags with the deal, the company Salternas, its operators and some very basic facts. Let us examine this deal closely.
According to investor memorandum published by the company in its website, Somaliland government has conceded an area of 150 km2 of ocean front land in Berbera area.
“Already, Salternas has a binding agreement with the Somaliland Government for a renewable 25-year lease of 150 sq.km of oceanfront land to locate the project and its infrastructure, with an option for more, if required.”
To put the size of the area the company is claiming to have a binding contract on in perspective, the combined area of the UAE military base in Berbera and the port, currently managed by DP World is smaller than 150 km2.
The [shell of a] Company – Salternas
SALTERNAS PTY LTD is an Australian company created in 01-07-2012 (ABN 19 153 123 801) with two additional companies listed as subsidiaries Agrisal and Agrisalfood. The amount of information available on these entities is very limited.
Then there is the German subsidiary Salternas GmbH which according to the company is the entity that will be actually doing business in Somaliland to mitigate sovereign risk. Here is the company’s explanation and how Somalia also fits into its calculus of minimizing its risk.
What does this mean? Salternas GmbH will take Somalia to the International Court of Justice in the event of a dispute. And to further mitigate their risk, Salternas plans to obtain additional contractual approvals from Somalia.
The fact that Somaliland and Somalia are separate countries are irrelevant to Salternas. More on this later.
Document filed with the German authorities, the total share capital listed by Salternas GmbH is 25,000 Euros
So is Salternas qualified to undertake an effort of this magnitude? The answer lies in one of the risk factors the company lists in its information memo and its a resounding negative.
The Somalia Connection
Mr. Colin Roberts
Salternas is headed by Mr. Colin Roberts, an Australian Attorney who specializes in resources and dispute arbitration. Before Salternas, Mr. Roberts was the head of an Angolan mining interest called Sable Minerals GmbH. Sable Minerals operated as yet another subsidiary of Rift Valley Resources.
Turtles all the way down
Additionally, it has a team of former engineers with one notable Somali gentleman – Mr Mohamoud Jirdeh Hussein.
Mr. Mohamoud Jirdeh Hussein comes from one of the most prominent families in Somaliland but seems to have held various high level positions in successive Somali Governments.
Former Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham, Somali Sports Minister Mohamoud Jirdeh Hussein, and Prime Minister David Cameron in London, 3 August 2012.
Salternas displays a remarkable lack of basic understanding understanding in Somaliland especially how the public views those that are aligned with Somalia. This is Mr. Jirdeh Hussein’s bio on Salternas website “He was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Somali National Government Reconciliation Committee; Minister of Health; Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Youth and Sport; Somali Diplomatic Representative at London Olympics and attended the Non-Aligned Movement Conference in Iran“
This is the first time that he is reported to be involved in a business in Somaliland.
In addition to Mr. Jirdeh Hussein, there is also Mr John Balfe and a Somalia Connoisseur who seems to have done a lot of business with successive governments of Somalia including unspecified work on Somali Air Traffic Management.
This brings up an important question: Why hasn’t Salternas implement its salt production facility in Somalia where their principals are well connected?
Project Financing
Salternas has no money to finance a project of this magnitude and its operators are not putting any in skin in the game, instead, they have convinced Somaliland government to sign over 150 km2 of the most strategic and sought after land in the world on a handshake and perhaps a pie in the sky.
Salternas is currently raising 14 million Australian Dollars to finance the first phase of the project to conduct even the most basic aspect of a project of this magnitude.
It is unclear if Salternas has been successful in raising any funds so far.
The Deal
The most alarming part of this agreement between Somaliland and Salternas is the fact that Somaliland does not own any part of the salt production facility.
Additionally, there is absolutely no information related to if Salternas will pay ground rent to Somaliland for use of 150 km2 or the use of its natural resources to produce its core product of salt.
Even though Salternas and Mr. Roberts took great pains to explain to their investors how they have minimized and mitigated the risk from this project, there is simply no mention of how Somaliland will share in the profits with Salternas.
There is however, one thing that that Salternas will do for the people of Somaliland, and that is it will feed them in a rather non specific way by creating a zero hunger conditions in Somaliland and relieve them of famine.
Has Somaliland done its homework?
It does not look like Somaliland’s Ministry of Investment, though charged with the herculean task of attracting investment to Somaliland, has done any due diligence and may have signed a contract instead of a simple Memorandum of Understanding. According to Salternas, they have a binding contract with Somaliland.
Our search to information and details about this agreement has led us to the Ministry of Investment, where the Minister, Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Mohamoud was kind enough to give us some background on the project including the fact that the agreement was actually signed by the former Minister of Commerce Mr. Mohamed Abdillahi Omer and that he simply renewed an existing agreement.
Mr. Mohamed Abdillahi Omer Somaliland former Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs
We have reached out to the former Minister of Commerce Mr. Mohamed Abdillahi Omer to ask him about Salternas and the agreement he has signed with them on behalf of Somaliland. Here is his answer verbatim.
Dear [Somaliland Chronicle], Thank you for your contact . In relation to your question, I want to tell you that i have never signed a n agreement / concession with Australian or any any company. The Ministry of Mines are responsible for dealing such duties. but i recall an Australian man who was arrogant who called me when I because the trade minister on one occasions and asking me why I was not acting his Request for investment on project around Berbera area which I refused to process because it was clear how he was investing the project . I don’t recall the details of his project at the time . If that’s the case you are referring to I did not sign nor accepted his requests .. Regards – Mohamed
We have shared additional details with the ministry of investment including the recently made public Salternas Information Memorandum. It is unclear if the ministry will be taking any steps or undertaking a review of the agreement.
Salternas and Mr. Colin Roberts did not respond to our request for information for this report.
President of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi addresses the Somaliland community in UAE about his trip to the UAE, the topics he discussed with the UAE government as well as overall state of Somaliland, the challenges his government has encountered and successes they have achieved.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy/MC3 Kenneth Abbate)
An internal U.S. Navy review concluded that the service and its various industry partners are “under cyber siege” from Chinese hackers who are building Beijing’s military capabilities while eroding the U.S.’s advantage, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Chinese hackers have repeatedly hit the Navy, defense contractors, and even universities that partner with the service.
“We are under siege,” a senior Navy official told The Journal. “People think it’s much like a deadly virus — if we don’t do anything, we could die.”
Breaches have been “numerous,” according to the review. While China is identified as the primary threat, hackers from Russia and Iran have also been causing their share of trouble.
(U.S. Navy photo)
Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer launched the recently concluded review in October, warning that “attacks on our networks are not new, but attempts to steal critical information are increasing in both severity and sophistication.”
“We must act decisively to fully understand both the nature of these attacks and how to prevent further loss of vital military information,” he added.
In one high-profile incident last year, Chinese government hackers stole important data on U.S. Navy undersea-warfare programs from an unidentified contractor. Among the stolen information were plans for a new supersonic anti-ship missile, The Washington Post reported in June, citing U.S. officials.
That and a second breach led Navy leadership to order the review.
The Journal described the findings of the internal Navy cyber security review as “dire,” adding that the report “depicts a branch of the armed forces under relentless cyber attack by foreign adversaries and struggling in its response to the scale and sophistication of the problem.”
The Navy and the Pentagon reportedly “have only a limited understanding of the actual totality of losses that are occurring,” meaning the situation could be even worse than the Navy fears.
U.S. Fleet Cyber Command
Last week, The Journal reported that Chinese hackers have targeted more than two dozen universities in the US and elsewhere in an attempt to steal military secrets, particularly those related to maritime technology.
The Navy is not the only U.S. military service branch in China’s crosshairs.
Adm. Philip Davidson, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in April 2018 that Beijing is snatching anything not nailed down — “stealing technology in just about every domain and trying to use it to their advantage,” Stars and Stripes reported.
A U.S. defense official previously told The Journal that China was targeting America’s “weak underbelly,” saying that cybersecurity breaches are “an asymmetric way to engage the United States without ever having to fire a round.”
China has repeatedly denied engaging in cyberattacks against the U.S. or other countries.
