Weekly Press Conference on the Progress of the Government

Mogadishu, 24 January 2015 – The Minister of Information, H.E. Mustafa Duhulow, today addressed the media, providing an update on the progress of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) over the last week. The Minister discussed various issues: the continuing fight against corruption; the signing of the Convention of the Rights of Children; celebrations to mark Somalia Media Day; progress in the Constitution Making process; progress in implementing Federalism; the progress on integration of militias, the rehabilitation of mosques; and efforts to bring out the beauty of the capital city.
The Continuing Fight Against Corruption
The Minister of Information spoke on the continuing fight against corruption: “The FGS has been continuing the fight against corruption and as a part of this continuing campaign on January 21st, 2015 and on the orders of the Attorney General, security forces arrested the Governor and the Mayor of Bule Burde district in Hiiraan region for food aid diversion. The Somali Police Force (SPF) has been investigating the diversion of food aid delivered to Bule Burde as the people in the area continued to suffer considerable hardship despite significant deliveries of aid. Somali National Army (SNA) escorted the food aid from Mogadishu to Bule Burde as Al-Shabaab were attempting to block food aid being delivered to the area. The Attorney General said that the Government made huge efforts to deliver food aid to those who are desperately in need of food aid and is completely unacceptable to attempt divert food aid for personal gain. The Governor and the Mayor of Bule Burde will soon be brought to trial. A number of businessmen that bought the food aid were also arrested. The FGS is committed to fighting corruption and will continue to do all that it can to stamp it out in all its forms.”
The Signing of the Convention of the Rights of Children
The Minister of Information spoke on the signing of the Convention of the Rights of the Children: “HE the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, officially ratified the decree of the Convention of the Rights of the Children on January 20th, 2015. Somali Parliament approved the Convention on 13 December 2014. The signing ceremony took place at Hamar Jabjab School in the presence of the Ministers of Women & Human Rights, Justice & Constitutional Affairs, Information and Agriculture, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Director of UNICEF Somalia. H.E. the Minister of Women & Human Rights, Khadijo Mohamed Dirie, said that she was pleased to see the end result, the ratification of the convention, that her ministry has been working for some time. The President of Somalia signed the decree of the Convention in front of Somali students and stated that the FGS is totally committed to implementing an action plan to ensure that Somali children receive full protection of their rights.”
Celebration of Somalia Media Day
The Minister of Information spoke on the celebration of Somalia Media Day: “H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the President of Somalia, H.E. Mohamed Sheikh Osman (Jawari), the Speaker of the Parliament, Ministers, MPs and representatives of civil society groups were present at an event to celebrate and commemorate Somalia Media Day in Mogadishu. January 21st, 1993 was the occasion of the printing of the first Somali language newspaper, called ‘Xidigta October’ was launched while January 21st was the 42nd Anniversary of the orthographic establishment of the Somali language. H.E. Mustafa Duhulow, the Minister of Information and H.E. Duale Mohamed Adam, minister of Higher Education spoke at the event to emphasise the importance of Somali language. The Speaker of the Parliament asked Somalis to continue to enhance and improve the Somali language, as the language needs to continue to develop. The President of Somalia stated the day was a big day for Somalia and that the FGS will do all it can to improve the mother tongue. The President ordered all institutions to avoid using other languages during office work and directed the only language to be used was the Somali language.”
Progress in the Constitution Making Process
The Minister of Information spoke on progress in the Constitution Making Process: “H.E. Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir, the Minister of Justice & Constitutional Affairs, on January 20th, 2015 closed a three day seminar to enhance the capacity and the knowledge of staff towards public awareness campaigns on the provisional constitution. The Minister stressed the importance of public awareness campaigns and the need to reach out to all communities so that their feedback and comments can be included in the provisional constitution. The Ministry of Justice & Constitutional Affairs has been working closely with the Independent Commission to Review the Constitution and the Parliamentary Oversight Committee to advance the constitution making process, one of the key priorities in the achievement of Vision 2016.”
Progress in Implementing Federalism
The Minister of Information spoke on progress in implementing Federalism: “Ahmed Mohamed Islaam (Madobe) officially launched preparations for the selection of members of the parliament of Jubbaland on January 20th and urged traditional leaders to select the best candidates to represent Jubbaland constituency. The Deputy Minister of Interior of the Federal Government, the ambassadors of the UK, IGAD and the EU, as well as deputies of the representatives of UN, Ethiopia and AU were present at the launch event in Kismayo. The Federal Government welcomes progress in the implementation of the Addis Agreement in order to establish the Jubbaland State of Somalia. This is a huge step towards the implementation of Federalism in Somalia, one of key pillars of Vision 2016.”
The progress of the Integration of militias
The Minister of Information spoke on the progress of the integration of militias: “The Federal Government of Somalia has been implementing a plan to integrate various militias in order to build a strong Somali National Army (SNA) that can bring peace and stability back to the country. On January 23rd, 2015, over 300 militias entered training in order to become soldiers of the SNA. The training took place at Har-Qaboobe, the Somali National Army Training School, in Guriel district in Galgadud region. Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamai’a and other local militias were amongst those receiving training. Senior military officials including General Mohamed Gobale encouraged the troops under training and emphasized the importance of the training and the prestige that they will receive from the public once they become soldiers of the SNA. He encouraged them to work hard during training as their professionalism is very important in bringing peace and stability in the country and in protect Somali citizens.”
Rehabilitation of Mosques in Mogadishu
The Minister of Information spoke on the rehabilitation of mosques in Mogadishu: “A project to rehabilitate the Isbaheysiga Mosque is almost complete and the FGS will soon officially open the refurbished mosque. This is the biggest mosque in Somalia, and its refurbishment will help more Somalis to pray and to study religious studies. As well as this, the Ministry of Religious Affairs officially opened another rehabilitated mosque near Dabka junction in the Howlwadaag district of the city. Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salad, the Chairman of Somali Religious Scholars, Sheikh Ali Wajis and Sheikh Ali Dhere, the Driector of the Ministry of Religious Affairs were all present at the opening ceremony.”
Efforts to Bring Back the Beauty of the Capital City
The Minister of Information spoke on the efforts to bring back the beauty of the capital city: “On January 18th, 2015 Banadir Regional Administration dismantled all illegal shops and business trading on the pavements of Mogadishu. The operation took place between the Jubba and Dabka junctions of Makka Al-Mukarama and the aim was to bring out the old beauty of the capital city in preparation for the impending visit of world leaders to the capital city of Mogadishu.”