Somali political leaders on Wednesday night ended a four day gathering by the National Consultative Council…
Somali political leaders on Wednesday night ended a four day gathering by the National Consultative Council in which the leaders of the Federal Government and those of the Federal Member States failed to reach a consensus on major issues, according to a press statement released by Villa Somalia.
The leaders of the Federal Government, Puntland, Southwest State, Jubbaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and the Banadir Regional Administration have convened in Mogadishu amid a soaring divisions within the federal government and at least two of the regional states. The political instability in Southwest State and the ongoing interference on Puntland electoral process by the Villa Somalia were among contentious issues.
According to the joint press release, the regional leaders and the federal government agreed on several points, except the Puntland State which did not sign the agreement. They expressed their concern about the recent armed clashes in Baidoa in which innocent civilians were killed and injured.
Puntland rejected two major points: federalising the judicial services and the he delineation of powers at both national and regional government levels.
Puntland presidential sources said that it was not clear for them how these issues will be addressed practically and that “no officially written points were produced” resulting the Puntland leader, Said Abdullahi Deni to skip the signature of the agreement.
JUDICIAL FEDERAL PROCESS
“The Council, with the exception of Puntland, signed a political agreement on the judiciary federalisation process, agreeing to adopt a unified judicial process,” the joint press release added.
“The council, apart from Puntland, agreed and signed a political agreement on the delineation of powers at the government levels, which are: the powers that are unique to the federal level, those that are unique to the federal member states level and those that are shared between the two levels of the government.”
Somalia’s ongoing federal experiment has not met popular expectations of ending power abuses and stabilising the fragile country.
Marred by rampant corruption and incompetence, president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration is facing serious challenges including the inability to control his close inner circle of Hawiye men who are bent on abusing their power and enriching themselves from the state coffers.
