Guurti's latest distraction…

The economic sub-committee of the House of the Guurti recently presented a long-winded report to the house on six ministries that the committee visited in the past few months. The sub-committee visited ministries like the Finance, Fisheries, Livestock, Planning and National Coordination, and Rural development. These ministries were said to be involved in the ‘productive’ sectors of the economy.

Although one cannot but be cynical about the timing of this latest Guurti visit to the ministries, their achievements were, nonetheless, negligible. The elders went to these ministries in Land Cruisers and listened to whatever ministers and senior functionaries told them, only to pass this back later to the house of Guurti.

To show the futility of these exercises, let’s examine the work of the sub-committee in two of the ministries that they visited.

In the first instance, the elders met with the minister and some senior officials of the Ministry of Fisheries and the Coastal Development. In the ministry, the sub-committee were informed of the fact that the ministry entered into various agreements with all kinds of ships, big and small, owned by Egyptians, Indians and Greeks, among others, to fish from the territorial waters of the country; they learned of the fact that the ministry did not have the wherewithal to protect these territorial waters; of the fact that numerous illegal fishing vessels come and fish from the area ; and of the fact that private individuals give permission to some foreign vessels to fish in the territorial waters.

The Guurti sub-committee did not deeply explore those important issues with the minister and the other officials they met, nor did they pose the right questions warranted by the occasion. The elders did not examine, and report back to the House, the contents of the alleged agreements the ministry signed with these foreign fishing vessels; the legality of these agreements; their effect on the local fishing industry and marine life, and how the revenue from these foreign fishing vessel is being utilized. The committee, by design or default, ignored these important issues.

The salience of these issues is underscored, however, by fact that there is a persistent allegation that the ‘first lady’ is engaged in a kind of business deal with some foreign vessels, fishing from the territorial waters of the country, particularly vessels under Egyptian flagship.

In the second instance, the sub-committee visited the Ministry of Planning and National coordination. Upon arrival of the ministry, the sub-committee found out that they lacked the requisite mandate to supervise the ministry. That mandate was given to the Political and International Relations Committee of the House by Guurti by-laws. The Guurti elders, embarrassed as they were, requested the house to clarify Guurti by-laws, to avoid such confusion in the future. The Guurti commitees in their thirteenth years of existence has yet to learn their roles in the political system.

One can question the existence of such sub-committees in the first place. The primary responsibility the constitution of the country grants to the Guurti is the maintenance of the peace and stability in the country and protecting the culture and religion of the people. In fact, the qualification for membership in the House comes down to someone learned either in religion or traditions and culture of the people. And while many in the Guurti House are even in short supply of these, dividing them into sub-committees and giving them the responsibility to oversee and talk about complex issues like ‘foreign’ policy and the economy is beyond me. They cannot meaningfully discuss about these complex issues.

The latest Guurti visit to the ministries has been aimed at stealing the limelight from elected House of parliament at a time the latter was engaged in a similar mission to the ministries. The elders keep on devising ways to maintain themselves in the picture and appear useful to the system.

Guurti elders have relatively played a positive role in the restoration and maintenance of peace and stability in the country. However, as time progressed, their peace making role has been reduced to supporting one political group over another, always basing their support to the one on the rule of the thumb, while leaving simmering communal flash points, like Caada in Gabilay, to explode into serious threats to the peace.

In the long run, the continued existence of the Guurti in the system, un-elected and without the mandate of the people, is a threat to peace and security in the country. In fact, as I argued elsewhere, the traditional system, which the elders represent, seamlessly fuses with the pervasive malaise of corruption in the country and the majority of Guurti are as corrupt today as the ‘ministers’ in the government.

Now that we have an elected House of parliament in place, the House of the Guurti should be dissolved.

Let the elders seek the democratic mandate of the people in the country. The sooner they do that, the better.

President Riyaale's foreign trips and the chaos that ensues on the road to the airport

It has now become a commonplace that whenever president Riyaale is going to or returning from a foreign trip, the road from the airport all the way to his residence turns into an occupation zone. Uniformed Policemen, trigger happy soldiers, and plain cloths line every five or so meters along the road to the airport. Add this to the numerous battle wagons, including anti-aircraft mounted ones that accompany the president, his vice president and some of his ministers and you will be forgiven to think that you are living in a country ruled by a military junta, rather than a democratically elected government.

These heavy security arrangements put in place at the times when the President is leaving for or returning from a foreign trip interfere with the free movement of citizens and terrorize women and children, while reminding the people of the days of the military dictatorship in the country.

It is important to ensure the maximum security of the president and his entourage. It is equally important not turn the whole route the president travels on into a war zone. The president may as well ‘purchase’ a helicopter to take him to and from the airport to save citizens from the inconveniences attendant on his foreign trips and spare his security men from the painful travails they undergo during his movements. Far fetched? Perhaps not, given the huge budget allocated to the presidency, which exceeds, by some accounts, two million dollars annually. That money is spent, definitely, on anything but roads and schools.

In fact, these exaggerated security arrangements are deliberately concocted by the ministers responsible for the security of the country (i.e. the interior and the defense ministers) for a number of reasons. First, these ministers try to impress the president and make themselves indispensable in his eyes. Second, the ministers show off the forces at their command so that the opposition groups may not make mischievous calculation during the absence of the president abroad and, possibly, during his presence in the country. Lastly, these security arrangements are intended to awe citizens into total submission.

The conduct of these ministers reflects negatively on the administration of Mr. Riyaale, under whose guise these arrangements are made. Mr. Riyaale should review his security arrangements and see what is adequate for his protection on his route to and from the airport and what is the exaggerated ego of his ministers. Hargeisa in not like Baghdad and the road to the airport is not like the road to Baghdad airport.

Mr. Riyaale should be reminded of the fact that he did not assume power by the barrel of the gun, but by a democratically conducted free and fair election in the country. In fact, the exaggerated security arrangements decrease the security environment of the president due to the presence of multiple, gun totting security operatives in close proximity with him.In addition, these security arrangements create an impression that the president has the enemy in his own citizens. All this is not to suggest that the president should disavow his security entourage. Rather, he should moderate it to a level that is commensurate with his needs.

Clearly, a government that sends armored military carriers into civilian hospitals trusts the power of the gun more than the power of persuasion.