Friday, October 12, 2012
By ABDULKADIR KHALIF
A section of Somali traffic police officers during training in Mogadishu in September 2012. The officers will be charged with enforcing laws. ABDULKADIR KHALIF | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Somalia's transportation ministry has announced all vehicles in the capital Mogadishu will be offered official registration.
Mr Mohamed Osman Ali, the ministry's director general said that vehicles using roads in Mogadishu must have documentation of ownership among other details.
"The document will bear out who owns each vehicle,” said Mr Ali.
"No motorised means of transport will be allowed to shuttle along the roads without proper documentation."
According to security officers in Mogadishu, there have been no proper records of transfer of vehicle ownership over the past two decades, generating confusion and security risks in the country.
"Some vehicles were imported with a set of documents showing the buyer,” said Mr Ali, while others underwent several changes of ownership without any documentation.
"The new ministerial directive will help the security apparatus to identify wrongdoers during checks," said Mr Ali who said his ministry had acted on request of government departments dealing with internal security.
In September, a large number of traffic police received training in Mogadishu for the first time following over 20 years of chaos.
"Both the police and the public must be enlightened to better understand the traffic rules,” said Gene Ali Hersi Barre at the end of the training organised by Somali Channel, a largely Somali news TV broadcaster.
Since the collapse of the central government in 1991, state institutions have failed to function properly.
The new federal government is attempting to revive strategic organs such as those dealing with law enforcement and the judiciary.