FIXING MOGADISHU’S INSECURITY Prime Minister Mohamed says the new cabinet he chose is made up of professional and promises to change the way the government conducts its businesses. He is also very keen to see government forces getting stipends and salaries, Mogadishu (Sunatimes) Somalia’s youthful Prime Minister Mohamed
Abdullahi is urging his war weary countrymen to be prepared for change
as a new lean cabinet made up technocrats he recently swore in
prepares to turn around events in the lawless Horn of African country
plagued by 19 years of conflict.

Security, government accountability, reconciliation and revenue
collection are top in his list which he hopes to achieve with help
from his team of 18 ministers, many of who are from the Diaspora just

like the premier.

Many ordinary Somalis have high hopes of the new cabinet and see them
new as the best chance for the beleaguered Somali government to assert
its authority amid an Islamist onslaught by the ruthless Al-Shabab
militias who have completely made it impossible for the young
administration to provide much needed social services to its majority
poor population.

The biggest challenge facing the new team is time. They have less than
a year before the mandate of the transitional federal government
expires in August 2011. However, Prime Minister Mohamed is optimistic
his team can deliver the peace and stability that has eluded Somalis
since 1991 when the previous government was overthrown.

The 48 year old Mohamed served as a colonel in the Somali army before
moving to the Foreign Ministry of the ousted government of President
Mohamed Siad Barre. He later worked in the Somali embassy in
Washington from 1985 to 1989 where he remained until his recent
appointment to the challenging office of Premiership.

“Our people should know that time has come to embrace peace and
stability. This is something my government intends to accomplish. Its
time for change. If every Somali citizen can play his part and work
with this government we will achieve our goal. The people should not
loose hope. I think we can defeat this enemy called Al-Shabab and
bring peace and stability to this great country called Somalia,” he
said, speaking from a roof top at the main base of African Union
peacekeepers backing his government

FIXING MOGADISHU’S INSECURITY
Prime Minister Mohamed says the new cabinet he chose is made up of
professional and promises to change the way the government conducts
its businesses. He is also very keen to see government forces getting
stipends and salaries, something that previous governments failed to
honour and which is believed by many people as single biggest reason
why previous administrations have flopped.

“Our troops should be given first priority not only on material or
monetary things but we also have to provide them with anything they
need in order to give them a reason and purpose to fight for their
country. After we fix the issue of insecurity in Mogadishu then we
have to think of ways to settle the political issues through genuine
reconciliation and then we can start collecting revenues or taxes. In
future, the government must be self sufficient,” Prime Minister
Mohamed said.

Unlike his predecessors, Mohamed comes with knowledge of financial
management from his previous jobs in New York where he managed funds
estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. He warned corrupt
government officials saying he would not tolerate corruption.


“We have to make sure our people feel proud of their government. Every
government revenues or expenditure has to be made public and anyone
who tries to engage in corruption will be exposed and put to trial.
This new cabinet knows the problems the previous governments have been
through and we have to learn from past mistakes. This is our country
and we cannot gamble with it. We have to restore hope and bring back
peace. There is no any other option for us since our people are
suffering,” he said, choosing his words very carefully.

He heaped praise on President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda who
this week become the first head of state to visit Mogadishu. Museveni
is also the first President to have sent his forces in Somalia in 2007
to serve as African Union peacekeepers, where they are still stationed
together with Burundian forces who later joined them.

“I think the people of Uganda are really fortunate to have a President
like Museveni who is a great leader. The courage and leadership he
showed come to Mogadishu and send his forces is simply tremendous. I
hope his visit will pave way for other leaders to follow suit and
visit Somalia which has been portrayed as an inhospitable place where
nothing but war is going on. This is a fallacy and we hope the world
will not close its doors on us,” he added.

By Guled Mohamed