04/03/06
Abdulkadir Khalif - Secretary General (SSU)    

The much talked about JNA program, which was marred in controversy immediately after it was proposed and which was put on hold quickly has raised its ugly head again-modified or rather camouflaged to appear more inclusive but actually re-entering the scene through the back door. It has only one new thing in it – which is the acknowledgement of the existence of some communities in the southern regions, and a small carrot has been thrown in their direction. What was the issue at stake when there was all that hula balu? 

To answer this question, I would want to draw your attention to the long analysis of the JNA by Burci M. Xamza which appeared on several websites towards the end of last year and early this year. It says and I quote:

“One of the readers dismissed the critique as being an attempt to take the “JNA thing” out of proportion. She argued that JNA’s mandate is not to redraw the regional boundaries of Somalia as some of the critics are saying – it is only a needs assessment tool and also a mechanism to bring transparency to any reconstruction and development programme that the TFG may be undertaking in the future. But she also stated that something is definitely wrong with the way JNA is managed by the TFG/UN/World Bank. Corrections must be made before the programme morphs into a destructive tool capable of tearing the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) apart. Others have declined, through emails, to give any comments on “part one” of the critique pending the completion of the remaining parts.”

Another imminent scholar Dr. Ali Faqi wrote on the same topic at about the same time. I quote him here below:

“Mr. Jurile who was the man behind the selection process of the Somali expertise has deliberately and with no remorse excluded the natives of Benadir, lower shabelle and Jubba regions, including Jareer Weyn from serving as members of experts for the JNA. Instead he opted to please the self-proclaimed warlords from the illegal administrations in the south and empowered them to select any one who they deem appropriate for the program. In an interview with Somaliweyn.com, he indicated that the government recognizes the existing illegal administrations in the south and he said that the self-proclaimed governors are selected by the local people.”

The two issues mentioned by these two prominent scholars are: (1). Is the JNA being used to cleverly demarcate the boundaries of the proposed 6 states of the planned Federation or is it just an administrative tool to perpetuate occupation and domination of the southern regions by the warlords from the central regions.

(2). has the JNA been hijacked by the likes of Juriile and Mohamed Dheere who would wish to fill important government and parastatals jobs with their cronies?

I would answer “yes” to both these two questions. The format in which the JNA was introduced is a direct violation of the Nairobi agreements which emphasized local (indigenous) controls of all forms of resources and adherence to the principles of affirmative action. Due to the resulting hue and cry, the proposals were quickly shelved only to re-appear yesterday under a new very thin guise. The proposed boundaries remained the same and the disputed allocations of positions are still constitutionally flawed. As a matter of fact the statement by the Deputy Prime Minister Prof. Salim Ibraw simply says: “The dye is cast. We can now move on.” Meanwhile some communities have been invited to send in their CVs ASAP so that they may be considered for recruitment. When one talks about recruitment one is saying that there are positions to fill for which applications are invited. What is required is for those positions to be advertised so that qualified people may know what they are preparing themselves for. Simply requesting for CVs is a way of placating and pre-empting criticisms while going ahead with employing the same people already earmarked for the positions. This we find both unacceptable and a blatant violation of the constitution and the charter agreed at the Nairobi peace talks.

We read from some websites that some ministers and members of parliament have been selected to negotiate with the illegal administrations in the Jubbas. They are supposed to go and beg for some seats in what has been designated to be a separate entity called “Jubbaland” to be formed from Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Gedo. The premise is that those three regions are demographically different from Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle. There is nothing further from the truth than this. Our position was, is and ever shall be that there will be only 4.5 states in the Federal country called Somalia. If one was to be honest he/she would say that for demographic, geographic and historical reasons Bay, Bakool and Gedo should be grouped together and Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Lower Shabelle should be grouped together for the purposes of the JNA program.

But I suspect that the idea of grouping these regions the way it has been announced is a sinister motive that is silently creating a sixth state from the union. Yesterday’s announcement constantly referred to “the 5 regions” creating the impression that the whole country is being divided into 5 autonomous states as has always been argued by some of us. But the announcers conveniently set Banaadir aside, and it is now known that, there are actually 6 (not 5) autonomous states in the future Federation. Well, here one group out of the 4.5 total is taking twice as much as they are supposed to in the Federal constitution. Who is this group, and why should they take more than the others?  Is this new “deal” different from the one that has been so quickly shelved only a month ago? What are the southern communities so excited about?

A constitution of any country is a bundle of legal cultures that have to be respected and followed to the letter. Any deviation from it will be a violation of its articles and principles. Any oversight is regrettable and a recipe for disaster. Ignoring little deviations now will make future corrections of whole violations very difficult. No matter how senseless or inconvenient a law may be it has to be respected as it says. Politicians make the laws and judges must interpret them accordingly. Any changes has to come through the legal machinery – parliament.

In the Federal Charter bundled together in Nairobi, everything in Somalia has to be shared according to the 4.5 formula. Whether that makes sense or is practical is beside the point. It is the law of the land and it has not yet been amended. We should therefore stick to it with bulldog tenacity. I think that yesterday’s announcement by the cabinet ministers, Prof. salim Ibraw and Mr. Ahmed Mashruuc feel far short of our expectation and border of constitutional violations.

If the D&M group gets 3 out of 16 international experts, it is assumed that the other 3 major clans will also get the same number therefore living nothing for the 5th group. Here you can imagine that the minority “others” group will get a raw deal. Meanwhile the 3 out of 16 civil service positions allocated to the D&M is well short of their constitutional allocation. If the same quota is allocated to the others there will a balance that will cause problems. I am deliberately picky about this because I want to be fair. The odd number that is making the rounds here is there because the JNA is fundamentally based on a premise of 6 states, which is unjust and a violation. Unless the fundamentals are resolved, this odd number bug will not go away.   

I can not emphasize this dogma more: Please read this and digest it:

Somalia shall be composed of 4 Federated states plus Banaadir. The states are as follows:

• Somaliland state (Awdal, W/Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag & Sool).
• Puntland State {Bari, Nugaal, Mudug(north of Gaalkacyo)}
• Central State {Galguduud (together with south Mudug), Hiiraan & Shabeelaha Dhexe}
• Jubbaland state (Gedo, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Shabeelaha Hoose, Bay and Bakool).

Anything outside of this is unacceptable, unconstitutional and will be considered as a continuation of the deprivation of the people of southern Somalia. As an organization that champions the causes of those peoples, we reject the “New Deal” as inadequate and one that would reverse the gains on the political and diplomatic front of the last few days.

khalif8888@hotmail.com