Somalia roots for central system of governance

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

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Somalia is pushing ahead with the formation of a central government against attempts by Kenya and Ethiopia to have a devolved system.

According to IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, the move threatens to derail the peace process in the horn of Africa as clans in the Jubba region — considered the country’s economic nerve centre — say the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) will have broken its promise to set up Jubbaland as an autonomous state in Somalia.

“The newly created Somali Federal Government, under new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, reversed its earlier position and now opposes the establishment of Jubbaland,” said the US based think tank in its report released this month.

“This decision has created new political tensions and allegations of bias from clans and figures in Jubbaland as the government has endorsed the establishment of an autonomous regional authority in Hiiraan.”

Clans in Jubba region say TFG forces promised them that their co-operation in fighting the Al Shabaab would be rewarded with the setting up of Jubbaland. This would be an autonomous state like others such as Puntland, Galmudug, and Khartoumo, once the area was liberated, the IHS notes.

The Al Shabaab militia were defeated by a combination of the Kenya Defence Forces and the TFG forces in September 2012 with the capture of the port of Kismayu.

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