UK: This is a significant and welcome U-turn from the Prime Minister – Keir Starmer (25.01.2017)

EU UK Flags

Keir Starmer MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, commenting on the Government’s announcement that they will publish a White Paper, said:

“This is a significant and welcome U-turn from the Prime Minister.

“Labour has repeatedly called for the Government to publish a plan for Brexit before Article 50 is triggered and we made clear Labour would table amendments on this to the Article 50 Bill.

“This U-turn comes just 24 hours after David Davis seemed to rule out a White Paper, and failed to answer repeated questions from MPs on all sides of the House.

“The Prime Minister now needs to confirm that this White Paper will be published in time to inform the Article 50 process, and that it will clear up the inconsistencies, gaps and risks outlined in her speech.”

CSBAG Statement: The Budget We Want 2017/18 (20.01.2017)

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Somalia: Press Statement on the Drought Appeal (20.01.2017)

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It is estimated that the drought is affecting close to 5 million people and they are in need of emergency food, water and medical supplies.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, January 20, 2017 –The President of Somali Federal Republic, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, hold a breakfast meeting for the Arab League Ambassadors and representatives in Mogadishu with the National Drought Response Committee, which consists of FGS FMS, Civil Societies. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the drought situation and its implications on the people and their livelihoods.

The Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Interior and Federal Affairs, Dr Yahye Ibrahim, who chairs the committee, briefed the President, the Ambassadors and representatives on the relentless drought and its severity. He informed that this devastating drought did not only affect the livestock and farming which is the livelihood of rural populations but also caused the death of our people due to insufficient rainfall in the last four seasons. It is estimated that the drought is affecting close to 5 million people and they are in need of emergency food, water and medical supplies. Records indicate that this is the worst drought in 25 years if not sixty years.

Shiekh Nur Barud Gurxan, an active committee member and respected Islamic Scholar , reinforces the message of urgency and the dire need for an emergency support to affected communities. He noted that the Arab League has continuously been supportive of the Somali people in its hour of need. We are aware of the calamities in other Arab, brotherly nations of Yemen, Libya and Syria. We wish them, but the Somali drought situation is very critical.

Speaking on behalf of the League of Arab nations. Amb Mohamed Idris welcomed the government’s initiative. He commented on the progress Somali made over the years but at the same time acknowledged the difficult it faces with this biting drought. Ambassador Idris promised that there would be a swift action for the Arab League member states to support the Somali people. He said that they don’t want to see a repeat of the 2010/11/12 drought. He also further said “Rest assured we will mobilise the Arab League member states, and we are here to work with you in your hour of need”.

The President, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, thanked the Arab League diplomatic community for attending this breakfast. The President also thanked the Committee for the excellent work they have done so far.

His Excellency, the President, reiterated that this is of the worst droughts for a long time. It hugely affected nomadic communities and those rely on subsistence farming. The vulnerable groups such as the sick, children and the elderly are dying due to hunger. The President told the gathering diplomats and other dignitaries that as a nation “we are trying to organise ourselves, and there is a local mobilisation effort underway to support those severely affected. For example, all government institutions are making financial donations. We are about to start levying extra taxes on certain commodities and services and deductions from the salaries of the civil servents”. Unfortunately, our efforts alone will not be enough. The Arab League Member States had always been supportive of the Somali people.

The President strongly requested the Arab League diplomats to engage the Arab media to inform the Arab masses of the situation of the Somali drought.

The President acknowledges the unwavering support of the International community to the Somali people; further welcoming the recent humanitarian appeal for the Somali drought.

Finally, the President sent an emergency appeal to the League of Arab Nations, Organisation of Islam Countries to positively respond to this drought appeal; your immediate intervention is critical.

OAG Muwanga reports that the Local Government misuse of public funds, while Court Awards are going unpaid!

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Parts of this has been reported before, but that was as reports of the coverage from Parliament as the Auditor General John Muwanga we’re attending preliminary sessions and delivering OAG Report of 31st December 2016, which is the end of year report from the OAG. That one has stories to tell. Parts of this are known, but they are proving that words in Parliament had other numbers than the report that is released later on online. Still, the vast waste of funds and the unallocated or unaccounted funds proves questionable use of public coffers in the Local Government, the districts, parish and municipalities. These funds are important that is well spent and accounted for, because the funds are supposed to go to local government salaries and investments for the citizens. Therefore the mismanagement of this is thieving or maladministration from the civil servants or the locally elected officials. Take a look!

Outstanding Court Awards:

“Government had outstanding amounts in court awards, compensations and other liabilities totaling to UGX.684Bn as at 30th June 2016. The outstanding amount in Court awards and compensations has been accumulating over the last five financial years raising from 54Bn to now 684Bn. I observed that as a result of government’s failure to pay these court awards on time, the awards have accumulated interest and in some instances the interest has exceeded the principal award. As at the close of the year outstanding interest had accumulated to UGX.175.3Bn” (OAG, P: 12, 2016).

Local Government issues:

“The amount is comprised of UGX .1.310Bn which lacked procurement files, UGX.21.225Bn where there was breach of procurement procedures, UGX .4.695Bn involving inadequate contract management and UGX.0.315Bn of unauthorized contract variations. Conse­quently, it becomes difficult to ascertain whether value for money was achieved” (…) “Expenditure amounting to UGX.3.896Bn was identified as funds unaccounted for. Consequently, I could not confirm that the funds were utilized for the intended purposes. The delayed submission of accountability may also lead to falsification of documents resulting into loss of funds. This was caused by failure of Accounting Officers to enforce accountability controls and lack of an advances ledger to monitor advances” (…) “Regulation 32 of the Local Governments Financial and Accounting Regulations, 2007 requires Councils to ensure collection of all budgeted revenue in an approved manner. Review of revenue performance revealed significant under collection of Local revenue in 161 Councils amounting to UGX.17.165Bn” (OAG, P: 31, 2016). “Out of 307 Local Governments, 148 entities representing 48% of the Local governments lacked land titles for the land where council properties are located. There is a risk that council land is exposed to encroachment and disputes which later leads to litigation in courts of law arising from land disputes between the Councils and the Communities” (OAG, P: 33, 2016).

Here you can see the numbers and it is dozens of Presidential Handshakes, the handshakes of the President could go unaccounted for a dozens of times. That the Government have learned from the Parliament and Central Government is clear, since this is rampant and seems to indicated in many local governments. It cannot be okay that the lacking of documentation and of how the monies where spent. Of how and where the documentations went before the allocation of the funds. That shows malpractice and maladministration in the Local Government. Something that is also evident in the Courts, the Courts hasn’t paid out their awards on time and adds extra interests, which the government have to pay as well. Peace.

Reference:

Office of Auditor General (OAG) – ‘Extracts of the Summary of Key Findings of the Annual Report of the Auditor General for the Year Ended 31st December 2016’ (31.12.2016)

Somalia: Humanitarians launch US$864 million appeal to reach 3.9 million People (17.01.2017)

 

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The Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia for 2017 plan was launched today in Mogadishu with calls to the international community for timely support to help bolster humanitarian operations and meet urgent humanitarian needs.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, January 17, 2017 -The humanitarian community in Somalia is seeking US$864 million to reach 3.9 million people with urgent life-saving humanitarian assistance. The Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia for 2017 plan was launched today in Mogadishu with calls to the international community for timely support to help bolster humanitarian operations and meet urgent humanitarian needs.

“The humanitarian situation remains grim for millions of Somalis. We are faced with a slight but steady increase in the number of people in need, and most recently with a significant risk of further deterioration to famine,” said Peter de Clercq, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.

The launch of the HRP comes against a backdrop of a worsening humanitarian situation in Somalia. Expanding drought conditions have left hundreds of thousands of Somalis facing severe food and water shortages. Overall, some 5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. About 320,000 children under the age of 5 years are acutely malnourished and in need of urgent nutrition support. Of these, 50,000 children are severely malnourished and far more vulnerable than any other group.

Protection violations remain at the centre of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia and widespread human rights violations, instability and insecurity drive displacement and weaken the resilience of the most vulnerable. At least 1.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable people are exposed to protection risks. Some 3.3 million people lack access to emergency health services and require improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene. Giving birth is one of the greatest risks to a Somali woman’s life. The maternal mortality ratio for Somalia is among the highest in the world at 732 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Around 3 million school-age children are still out of school with numbers increasing and placing children at greater risk as the impacts of shocks deepen.

“Immediate support is required to prevent a significant deterioration of the humanitarian situation. Given the early warning provided by the humanitarian community and the Federal Government on the drought situation, early action is the only way to demonstrate that we have learnt the lessons from the past to avert another catastrophe,” added de Clercq.

The response plan seeks to strengthen emergency response preparedness measures, in collaboration with federal and local authorities, to mitigate the impact of predictable shocks and continue to build stronger linkages between life-saving and development-based durable solutions. It provides an opportunity for humanitarian and development actors to strengthen collaboration in addressing both life-saving and long term durable solutions to address underlying causes of vulnerability.

The 2017 plan is part of a three-year strategy (2016-2018), which recognizes that the drivers of risk and vulnerability in Somalia are largely cyclical and long-running, and cannot be resolved in a single year. Enhancing communities’ ability to cope with shocks through the long-term sustainable livelihood support and basic services, including durable solutions, in a community-based approach, will be vital in addressing underlying causes of vulnerabilities.

International community expresses concern over developments in Galmudug (12.01.2017)

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The United Nations, African Union, European Union, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, Ethiopia, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States are concerned about the unfolding dispute within the Galmudug regional assembly and between members of the assembly and President Abdikarim Guled.

The dispute, which has led to a vote to remove the President from office, with the President and the Speaker of the assembly rejecting the vote as illegal, is potentially destabilizing.

The international partners call on all the stakeholders in Galmudug, in particular members of the regional assembly, the Speaker of the assembly and the President, to resolve the underlying issues through dialogue and refrain from resorting to any acts of violence.

The international partners call on all Somalis, including the security forces, to now focus on consolidating and building on the gains from the electoral and state-building processes and make every effort to avoid actions that could undermine the progress that is unfolding in the country.

Incumbent Speaker of Somalia’s House of the People re-elected (11.01.2017)

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Mogadishu, 11 January 2017 – The incumbent Speaker of the federal parliament’s House of the People, Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari, was re-elected to another four-year term during voting that was held today in the Somali capital.

Mr. Jawari received 141 votes to defeat three other candidates for the key legislative post.
In his victory speech, Mr. Jawari appealed to his fellow members of parliament (MPs) to put aside their political differences for the sake of their constituents. “Today there is no winner or loser. It is the Somali people who have won,” he said.

The runner-up in the voting for the Speaker’s post was Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig, who garnered 97 votes, followed by Abdifatah Mohamed Ibrahim Geesey and Idriss Abdi Dhaqtar, who received 17 votes and two votes, respectively. Two ballots were spoilt.

“It was an honour for me to contest for the seat of Speaker of Parliament. Speaker Jawari is my friend and I congratulate him for the win,” said Mr. Hidig, who pledged to explore other avenues for serving the Somali people.

Members of parliament expressed confidence in Mr. Jawari’s leadership. “I look forward to his leadership, seeing him set up parliamentary structures. We have high expectations of him because he has the experience,” said Mariam Haji Abdi Gedi, an MP from Galmudug state.

Two hundred and fifty-nine members of the House of the People voted in the landmark election that was witnessed by representatives of the international community, key stakeholders and senior federal government officials.

Mr. Jawari was elected Speaker of the country’s ninth federal Parliament in 2012, after having previously served as a cabinet minister in the Siad Barre regime.

As Speaker of the House of the People, he will preside over the election of two deputy speakers later this week. Mr. Jawari will then join his counterpart as speaker of the Upper House in overseeing the upcoming presidential election in both houses of the federal parliament.

Amid dwindling donor support, one million displaced Somali refugees grow hopeless, UN agency warns (11.01.2017)

Dadaab Refugee Camp

The Somali refugee crisis is one of the longest-running in the world, with people who have been displaced for more than 20 years.

NEW YORK, United States of America, January 11, 2017 – More than one million Somali refugees who have been displaced from their homes for decades are becoming despondent as they continue to be unable to return home and donor support is growing fatigued, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

“There is a growing sense of helplessness in the camps because people are feeling forgotten,” said Mohamed Abdi Affey, the Special Envoy to the Somali refugee situation for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The Somali refugee crisis is one of the longest-running in the world, with people who have been displaced for more than 20 years. Some one million live in camps throughout the Horn of Africa, while an additional 1.1 million are displaced within Somalia.

“There has been some real progress in Somalia over the past few months, including the successful organization of elections inside the country,” acknowledged the Special Envoy. “What’s needed now is to build up infrastructures across the country so refugees do not suffer when they go back.”

UNHCR is backing a regional summit, led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa, which will take place in March to determine lasting solutions for Somali refugees. A proposed regional response would provide continued protection to 262,000 Somali refugees in a camp in Kenya that has been hosting people for more than 20 years. When a decision was made last year to close the camp, UNHCR lobbied the government with a new plan of action and successfully delayed its closure.

“Nobody wants to be a refugee forever. A regional solution is the most viable solution for the Somali situation,” said Mr. Affey.

Mr. Affey, who previously served as the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister in Kenya, spoke in Geneva yesterday following a visit to Somalia and to refugee camps in Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, where 905,060 Somalis live – some since the 1990s. He also visited Yemen last month, where refugees face increasingly desperate conditions in a country torn apart by war.

Because of emergencies elsewhere – particularly in Syria and South Sudan – donors have been unable to continue their support.

“Meanwhile, hunger is growing; meanwhile, frustration is growing; meanwhile, desperation is setting in and people are becoming angry,” reported the Special Envoy.

In addition to dwindling food rations, Mr. Affey said that the ongoing drought in East Africa has led to further complications, including limited access to education and skills training, especially for young people.

“Refugees should be skilled enough, trained to prepare them for an eventual return so that they can participate in the reconstruction of their country. So that they don’t go back after 30 years without skills – within the camps we must create these conditions and possibilities.”

UNHCR began supporting the voluntary return of Somali refugees from Kenya in 2014. Since then, a total of 39,316 have returned. However, Mr. Affey noted that security and socio-economic conditions in many parts of Somalia are not yet where they need to be in order to support large-scale returns. He appealed to the international community to strengthen efforts to build stability in a country that has suffered under more than two decades of armed conflict.

Somalia: Madaxweynaha Dowlad Goboleedka Galmou – “Galmudug president declares a regional state of emergency following overwhelmingly losing a vote of confidence in parliament” (09.01.2017)

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Opinion: Ugandan Government rising debt levels, brings fear of higher inflation, devalued currency and defaulting on the debt!

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Well, an election year and campaigning as a tyrant and dictator cost, the fortunes splashed on fellow peers and citizens to buy goodwill costs. The price usually happens after the splash funds on villages and on buses. The estimated exhaust of funds and State House can strain the economy. Therefore after elections in the past there been rising food-prices, more expensive oil and gas and other needed imported goods for the average citizen.

This is happening as the donor-community doesn’t have the same faith in the Movement or the President that been there since 1986. His longevity is now hurting him, as his tricks of trade isn’t building steady progress, instead he is using up every single allocation to make sure the loyal servants and movement peers are paid-in-full, even as his own party haven’t paid salaries for months. There are rumours of how the Special Force Command with Maj. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba has gotten their salaries received as much there are questions of the government bailouts of the friends and business-mates of Gen. Salim Selah.

Still, the economic problems continue to arise, the ill-minded would say there hope of wealth, but the lack of transparency, misused funds as the Uganda Revenue Authority – Oil Money scheme and other’s prove there are lacking accountability for how the government funds are spent. This with the knowledge of the lacking salaries to teachers and even Local Government funds that are spent without concern of showing where it got spent; all these activities doesn’t give confidence and trust between the stakeholders and citizens.

With all of this in mind the revelation that the growing debt are now eating too much of government spending, as the arising splashing of funds to civil servants are happening; the reports from Bank of Uganda (BoU) isn’t a beautiful fairy-tale, instead it is doom.

“In its state-of-the-economy report for December 2016, BOU said: “There are also perceptions in the market that Uganda may not be able to service its rising debt levels.” (…) “The central bank said external debt has grown rapidly and, on a commitment basis, is now estimated at $10.7bn as at end of October 2016. BOU said: “A lump up [in] infrastructure investment has contributed to a rise in our debt portfolio in recent years.” (…) “Uganda’s public debt burden has risen by 12.7 per cent to 38.6 per cent of GDP in 2016/17 from 25.9 per cent of GDP in 2012/13. BOU says it is projected to continue rising towards 45 per cent of GDP by 2020” (Mwesigwa, 2017).

Highlights on the 2015/16 budget (New Vision Graphic)
Highlights on the 2015/16 budget (New Vision Graphic)

That the Movement and the NRM are not able to service their debt, is an indication and will also create a problem with the banks and multi-national financial institutions that has offered these loans to help the government with the day-to-day operations of a sufficient government, as well as offering loans to promising infrastructure projects. These all are now in danger of defaulting loans. These levels are estimated to become 45% of the income of the Republic, which is not the sign of riches; more of poverty and mismanagement. The Executive that has been leading the nations for the decades have seen the signs of the wall, but instead of telling the truth; he has promised industrial revolution and amazing progress that would be bigger than when the United Kingdom found out how to earn money on the Steam-Engine. The same kind of promises to become a middle income nation, when your debt burden is arising as rapidly as it is doing now.

This should be worrying as the Movement has revealed and gotten released plans for own total production and releasing own notes, that could also increase possibilities of devaluing the currency, this with growing debt can create a hyper-inflation that only his fellow comrade has been able to create in Zimbabwe. That is the worst case scenario if the bank-notes production gets out of bond to sort of make quick fortunes for the Movement.

The Movement has all their days used any kind of acts to get monies for themselves and hide it away, only when gotten public they needed to have inquiries and detain the ones that not kingpins, but the low-level employees that doesn’t hurt the leadership. Therefore the concern of not a fiscal well-thought monetary policy, as the Movement are more settled on building projects without having to have giant loans from Multi-National Monetary lenders like IMF; AfDB and others. These loans has to be paid back and also with interest. As the Government bonds has also lost their track compared to the need of sufficient funding. These institutional defaults and as well with the lack of clear conscience of the use of funds, shows the Movement has to step up their game if they don’t want their currency and their budget to lack funds for the coming budget year.

The growing loans will also stop the amount of absorbed funds in the republic goes down as the government has to use bigger parts of the resources on loans, as the extended collected funds from URA might have grown, but they are not collecting enough to keep up with the debt. If so they wouldn’t have defaulted and probably would have paid their interest and debt rate as promised when they we’re accepting taking on the debt.

Time for the Movement and their regime to charge, change patterns, their eating as much as they can, but they will leave the next one with a huge bill of no-confidence, while their short-term riches will be spoiled and devalued as the coming depressing economic stability will not give the market and the currency the needed trust as it should has a tool for exchange values between two parties. Peace.

Reference:

Mwesigwa, Alon – ‘CENTRAL BANK WARNS ABOUT RISING DEBT’ (06.01.2017) link: http://www.observer.ug/business/50631-central-bank-warns-about-rising-debt