Puntland and TFG differences look insurmountable
By Liban Ahmad
November 20, 2009
Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government president Sh. Sharif Ahmed and Puntland president, Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, met in Nairobi last week. The meeting ended in disagreement over the workings of a partnership agreement signed by the Puntland president and Transitional Federal Government prime minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. As Garowe Online reported the agreement signed in Galka’yo will make Puntland “ a base for counter-piracy operations, host the process of drafting federal constitution, and receive 25% of the education funds allocated for Somalia including scholarships. It also allows Puntland to participate in international conferences on Somalia alongside TFG officials, enter into agreements with international agencies and commercial deals with foreign companies until Somalia's federal constitution is passed and approved in a public referendum.”
President Sharif did not oppose this agreement in public but his close former Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia members in TFG cabinet and parliament, criticised the agreement because they think such an agreement will make the TFG a powerless entity beholden to Puntland. Puntland’s main argument is that it has laid foundations in a self-rule that will provide basis for a federal Somalia and that it financed the TFG before the international community support for the TFG started to flow. Puntland sent a chunk of the revenue from Bosaso Port to Baydhabo when Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, was president of the TFG in the hope of entrenching Puntland in the future Federal Somalia structure. That dream was dashed when the international community put pressure on the former TFG president to resign, paving the way for a new TFG and an expanded parliament. Puntland’s financial support for the TFG affected negatively Puntland institutions. For instance for many months security forces of Puntland did not receive salaries, that had severe damaging impact on the morale of members of the forces.
The cause for collapse of Puntland-TFG leaders’ talks has something to do with the TFG president’s desire to renegotiate the terms of the agreement although the TFG is now mired in corruption controversy regarding the inflated numbers of the new Somali army recruits. The VOA Somali Service interviewed a member of TFG’s Security Service officer, Colonel Abdullahi Ma’ow, who alleged that the president and the prime minster did not endorse the list of Somali army recruits ( 16,0000) submitted by the Somali army commanders. Colonel Ma’ow alleged that the Islamist insurgents use wiretapping to listen to government communications.
“The former Somali National Security Service communications system was secure but the one used by the TFG is not,” he told the VOA. The TFG Minister of National Security, Abdulllahi Mohamed Ali, countered that the number of army recruits to which Colonel Ma’ow referred had been proposed by the national security committee. The Minister of National Planning, Abdirahman Abdishakur, admitted there was confusion about the number of Somali army recruits. The Minister for National Security challenged the colonel’s remarks about weaknesses in the TFG’s communications system although the information the Minister is supposed to act on is supplied by the security service agnates. Mr Ma’ow said security forces alerted the TFG to the suicide attack that was used against African Peace Keeping Forces Mission (AMISOM) in Somalia several months ago. “It is cheap propaganda to say Al Shabab had infiltrated the Somali security forces”, the Somali Minister for National Security said. Sheikh Mohamed who defected from Al Shabbab to the government corroborates the Somali Security officer’s remarks about write-tapping and widespread Al Shabab infiltration in the Transitional Government security offices. (Musuq-maasuq ka dhexjira ciidanka dowlada KMG)
The Somali president’s decision to raise questions and the Puntland-TFG agreement shows shrewd timing. Puntland is facing security challenges. Last week a judge and a member of Puntland people’s assembly were murdered in Bosaso and Garowe respectively.
Neither the TFG nor Puntland argued its case on the basis of the transitional federal charter. Does the charter allow for multiple governments with parallel domestic and foreign policy mandates? Should Puntland work on its development through the TFG or should it sign agreement with foreign companies without the input of TFG. The TFG-Puntland agreement looks set to become stillborn.
Liban Ahmad
E-mail:
Libahm@gmail.com
Markad baryo, xoog iyo waxkasta aad wax ku heeli waydeen ayaad iis ledihiin Somalia kuso dhuunta.
was raised in Hargeisa when they received the indepence should tell you they werent a country on their own, but rather Somalia 4 days before the rest of us!!
IRIRSM