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Can Sharmarke Rescue Villa Somalia?

By Faisal A. Roble

Introductory Remarks

If Villa Somalia has been unstable because of a near-absence of legitimacy, can Sharmarke, who is the third Prime Ministers in Hassan Sheikh Mohamed’s beleaguered administration, bring sorely needed political commodity to govern the country in the next 20 months? His success or the lack thereof should be measured not by how he pulls Somalia out of its protracted quagmire, but by his ability to bring legitimacy to Villa Somalia, stabilize governance, and grab some of the low hanging fruits.

omer_HassanIn nominating Sharmarke, Hassan Sheikh Mohmoud underscored the importance of legitimacy and consensus-building in the following Wardheernews byline: “While the constitution gives me the sole right to appoint my Prime Minister, this was a decision in which I valued the input of different Somalis, representing different sections of the Somali community as well as the international community.” Better late than never!

As the son of one of the most recognizable former presidents and one of its founding fathers, Omar Abdi-Rashid Ali Sharmarke was born two weeks prior (June 18, 1960) to the declaration of the independent and unified Somali national state. His father, Abdi Rashid Ali Sharmarke, came of age, when President John F. Kennedy’s idealism and optimism was sweeping the newly independent continent of Africa.

It was with that optimism that the late Sharmarke was hosted at the White House by J. F. Kennedy. If anyone has tasted the pride of an Independent and beautiful Somalia, it got to be this new Prime Minister, whose father’s picture is hanged on Whitehouse’s walls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0VWkhB8HyQ

His grandfather, Ali Sharmarke, belonging to the royalty of the kingdom of Ali Kenadid, was instrumental in fashioning and crafting modern Somali nationalism. If anyone can lend legitimacy to the beleaguered Villa Somalia, that person is Sharmarke. Nonetheless, many pressing policy issues are on his plate.

Pressing Issues

“Somalia must act swiftly to resolve several outstanding tasks linked to security, political and development progress. There is much to do, and little time. The important process of nation-building as per Vision 2016, and ensuring the security and development initiatives of the New Deal Somali Compact are quickly implemented are crucial.” (Hassan Sheikh Mohamed)

Cabinet formation:   The most immediate political challenge for the new Prime Minister is the formation of his cabinet within thirty days after his appointment. Putting together a functional cabinet entails balancing and accommodating regional and clan stakeholders, showing independence in selecting the best, and choosing those who are compatible with his views. To that end, he needs to project an image that he is consulting with the President without succumbing to Villa Somalia’s pressure. Doing so feeds into the Prime Minister Office’s legitimacy.

Regional conflicts: The foremost political problem lies in narrowing the cleavage between Garowe and Mogadishu, two cities that have grown apart for the last two decades, with their leaders currently at loggerheads with each other. Souring relationship between the two cities has roots in the 1991 civil war, properties looted and the absence of comprehensive reconciliation agenda that could have moved the nation forward. The two sides also hold different views about federating Somalia.

Moreover, some more recent sources for their sour relationship lay in how to revise the Draft Constitution, sharing international aid, the formation of the Galmudg state, and the dispensation of the Jubbaland state. Garowe accuses Mogadishu of diluting and distorting the Federal constitution. He is also expected to play a decisive role in reconciling leaders of Puntland and Khatumo.

Security and tax collection:  Although security has improved in and around Mogadishu, the war on Al-Shabab, the absence of meaningful unified national army, and national vision to liberate the entire country remain untenable. A near-absence of an orderly market place for tax collection and interstate commerce weighs heavily on the ability to collect revenue. As reported elsewhere, “having served at the height of Mogadishu’s insecurity and helping to rebuild the country’s security apparatus from scratch, Sharmarke understands the existing security challenges and how to overcome them.”

Somali compact: Completing the Draft constitution and readying it for its ratification in 2016 is not only a monumental task, but a phantom road to the purported one-man one-vote national election as provided for in the Somali Compact, an implementation tool of the 2016 New Deal for Somalia. This goal, as currently proposed, a prescriptive goal, gives more meaning to the donors than to Somalis. To make matters worse, none of the commissions stipulated by the constitution is in place.

To get to the top of the mountain, Sharmarke may end up rearranging Somalia’s goals toward 2016, and rather opt for more obtainable objectives as opposed to chasing a mirage of goals set out by donors. Governance should be viewed as what is locally possible and not what Copenhagen and the West expect. If and when change is designed, Sharmarke may opt for discoursing publicly and communicating his new goals to all the stakeholders.

Abdirahman-Duale_beileh
Dr. Abdirahman D. Beileh

Governance and institution building: Shattered by over quarter of a century of statelessness, Somalia’s institutional framework is practically in-existent. According to multiple UN Monitory reports, the country has been haunted by massive corruption. Ministries are more of symbols for clan representation than functioning institutions. A case in point is the Foreign Ministry which has been accused of carrying out projects for the leisure of the Minister than other wise. As others have already called for, the PM must institute an anti-corruption Czar to align government functions with national priorities.

Rarely do ministries in Mogadishu have meaningful work programs; more often than not they function in the dark. The new PM must make the current bare minimum institutions capable to carry out respective work programs and start delivering services. An insider admitted to me that the little institutional framework that Mogadishu has is what it inherited from the first administration of Sharmarke in 2009. Such optimism by some government leaders’ auger well for Sharmarke’s future dispensation of his authority.

Start with Low Hanging Fruits

All politics is local: As the long time speaker of the US Congress from Massachusetts Tip O’Neill intuitively used to say, that “all politics is local,” most issues that plague Somalia are local in nature, and that bodes well for this new Prime Minister. As to the conflict between Garowe and Mogadishu, for example, he is the perfect candidate to ameliorate, if not solve, this nagging issue. Born to the Sharmarke family lends him unprecedented legitimacy at the national and local levels.

All politics is personal: In the tradition of Ralph Wright, Vermont’s longest serving House Speaker, his ability to understand the other side’s desires and goals, and enabling them to reach those goals, gave him unprecedented ability to work with tremendous oddities. Likewise, Mr. Sharmarke’s mild manners and moderate political views on Somalia may come handy. Sharmarke in the past has shown to reach across the aisle and bring contending interested groups to the table.

Following his nomination for the Somali Ambassadorship to Washington DC, for example, Sharmarke paid a rare visit to Minneapolis, where Somali views about their home country are diabolically opposed. By reaching out to opposing groups, galvanizing the elderly and the educated, he mended fences in Minneapolis within a short period of time. No one has done before or after what Prime Minister Sharmarke did. As someone who closely watched his diplomatic maneuvering through a difficult diaspora maze, I found him to possess critical political skills that Villa Somalia so far lacked.

Legitimacy to Villa Somalia: Given his constructive role in the cessation of hostilities and the [subsequent] successful formation of the Jubbland state, he assumes his position while he is enjoying higher degree of credibility among his constituents. Equally, he is well respected by most of Somalia’s political groups, a key ingredient in governance. His advocacy for Jubbaland should also be viewed an insurmountable political asset on his favor.

Until now, Villa Somalia suffered from a serious shortage in legitimacy and that is something his premiership can ameliorate. To restore legitimacy, one of the top priorities for Sharmarke includes a comprehensive national reconciliation hosted not only in Mogadishu, but in Garowe, Kismayo, Bydhabo and Hargaysa. To be successful, such a reconciliation project must not be manipulated as has been several cases in the past.

Somalia’s governance problems are monumental and may need generational hard work to transcend. Meanwhile, Sharmarke can selectively tackle some of the key issues his country needs to address to move forward. He must move on and grab the low hanging fruits by (1) bringing Garowe and Mogadishu to the table, (2) foster a comprehensive national reconciliation and reach out to all stakeholders, particular to those in the diaspora whom Villa Somalia relegated to the periphery; and (3) start reviewing the Somali Compact and evaluating to find out what his administration can practically achieve by 2016, and what can be postponed for future attainment.

Faisal A. Roble
Email:[email protected]


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