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HIIRAAN ONLINE
E D E T O R I A L
Monday, May 26, 2008
This is editorial piece is dedicated to Hiiraan region – our namesake – even though the policy prescription we present here is applicable, and indeed intended for all Somali regions and districts - from Galgadud to Gedo and everything in-between.
As we were drafting this piece, we tuned in to the BBC Somali Service and ironically, the discussion topic was about Hiiraan region! More astonishingly, the BBC was interviewing two men who each claimed that he is the legitimate governor of Hiiraan region. What was more amusing was that the BBC interviewer informed both claimants of Hiiraan governorship that a third politician, the Secretary of Interior for the Asmara based opposition, was in Jalaqsi and Bula Burte - two vital Hiiraan districts – and he was in the midst of forming new administrations for the same Hiiraan region that the two ‘governors” were fighting over.
In that BBC interview, each of the two “governors” was backing his governorship claims with the assertion that the President of the TFG or the Prime Minister or the Speaker of the Parliament signed his letter of appointment. Amazingly though, article 11 of the Charter of the Transitional Federal Government states that the, “Transitional Federal Government of the Somali Republic shall have a decentralised system of administration based on federalism.”
The Charter even spells out that regions such as Hiiraan shall have exclusively jurisdiction in the following areas “Education, Health, Regional Roads, Environment protection, Regional police, Housing, Water and Electricity Development. Agricultural Development and Water Management, Livestock and rangeland development, Development of small businesses and states business co-operations Settlement of population, Develop state constitutions their state flags and state emblem, Appoint their state election committees and implement the state elections, Collect all direct taxes Promote sports, arts, literature and folklore, Business licenses, Town planning and construction permits, Public sanitation, Recreation centres and child gardens, General Public Health.”
What the Hiiraan “governors” failed to realize is that according to the TFG Charter, it is the people of Hiiraan whose consent they should have sought and receive and not the TFG leaders. To claim on public forum such as the BBC the governorship of Hiiraan without first acquiring the consent of the governed, i.e. the people of Hiiraan, clearly shows that these men are not familiar with the TFG Charter.
For hundreds of thousands of Hiiraan residents, the claims and counterclaims of those contesting governors is not an abstract academic exercise or remote amusing event. This clash poses for Hiiraan inhabitants a clear and present danger including death, destruction and twenty years of perpetual mayhem.
Hiiraan is located in the centre of Somalia and it produced some of the most revered politicians Somalia has ever known including the founding father of the Republic, President Aden Abdulle Osman as well as astute politicians such as the star MP of 1960s politics, Sheikh Ali Jimale and Abdullahi Isse, the first Prime Minister of Somalia under the Italian Trusteeship Administration . In terms of culture, traditional Hiiraan chiefs are some the most genuine and respected in the country and therefore it is indeed unacceptable and unbecoming of Hiiraan to be a theatre of mediocre politics and unending and useless wars.
In our opinion, the people of Hiiraan as well as people of every Somali district deserve better. In order to therefore turn the corner and establish vital services for the residents of this region, what the people of Hiiraan (and citizens everywhere) need to do is to set up local governance structures. We believe the residents of the five Hiiraan districts namely Beled Weyne, Bula Burte, Jalalaqsi, Mataban and Mahaas should elect mayors and local councilors who are competent and who could tend to the needs of this ill-treated population. Likewise, there should be a Hiiraan-wide election where the residents elect an able and accountable governor. Self-appointed leaders or TFG imposed governors would not be able to harness the talent and resources of Hiiraan residents. Galvanizing the populace is a prerequisite for overcoming the mammoth economic, education, healthcare, infrastructure and developmental needs of this region.
The people of Hiiraan need not to accept this contempt shown by the self-styled politicians who want to govern without the consent of the people. We call upon all residents of Hiiraan as well as genuine politicians, academics, expatriates, and the great traditional elders of this region to work in unison in order to halt the chaos and power usurpation by unqualified individuals. Every son of Hiiraan region must play a role in the facilitation of free and fair local election where the people of Hiiraan elect their mayors, councilors, governor and regional parliament.
We also call on the UNDP and other relevant UN agencies to assist the people of Hiiraan as the UN agencies have already assisted the people of Bay, Bakol, Somaliland and Puntland in the establishment of effective and accountable local democratic institutions.
Political scientists often come up with theories and among the well-known political science theories is the Democratic Peace Theory. This hypothesis states that democratic countries do not fight. The theory insists that democracies solve their disputes though peaceful means and there are a lot of empirical evidence to support this argument.
In the Somalia case, we would like to hypothesize that locally created governments, authorities or institutions (whatever form they may have) prevent perpetual war like the ones that has destroyed central and south Somalia. Diverse and geographically apart districts such as Borama, Galdogob and Garowe enjoy twenty years of relative peace while Beled Weyne, Kismayo, and Mogadishu are seeing uninterrupted decades of conflict and destruction. The only difference between the peaceful and war-ravaged districts is that peaceful districts have locally created institutions (no matter how rudimentary these institutions) whereas the conflict-ridden districts and regions failed to set up democratically elected or locally accepted governance structures. Wherever there is no local, responsible governance system, charlatans try to set up a shop there.
Responsible local governance is the best protection from exported, predatory and mediocre wars.
The people of Hiiraan should stand up for their right and go forth to elect local governments. Failing to discharge this neglected responsibilities will result in the continuation of the current mayhem.
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