By: Yusuf M Hasan
MOGADISHU (Somaliland sun) – Acrimonies between the Somalia Federal Government’s-SFG top honchos president Hasan Sheikh and premier Abdiweli Sheikh have exacerbated with imminent impeachment of the PM.
This development follows a motion of no confidence in PM Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed signed by more than 140 members of the Somali parliament in Mogadishu on the 6th November 2014 thence launching the final phase of a dispute that emanates from unclear constitutional guidelines on the line dividing the authority of the two senior SFG chiefs.
According to a report by Bloomberg the vote of no confidence lodged by the Somali lawmakers against the prime minister, shall deepen a political crisis in the war-torn nation whose leadership feud has sparked warnings by the United Nations and European Union that it’s undermining efforts to rebuild the Horn of Africa nation’s institutions.
The MP Dahir Amin Jesow fronted no confidence vote in which the legislators accuse PM Abdiweli of incompetence, is clearly a move supportive of the embattled SFG president who is embroiled in a dispute with the PM over powers to appoint and fire government ministers.
Ahmed’
s “government did little to improve the lives of the people during his tenure in office,” Jesow said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. “Therefore, we decided to lodge a vote of no confidence to the speaker of the parliament, which he eventually accepted.”
An opponent of the Motion MP Mohamed Abti Doon whose group is urging the speaker of the SFG parliament Prof Javari to reject the no confidence motion says that the removal of the second prime minister in a year will “only add insult to injury” and worsen the country’s political deadlock.
Somalia has been mired in civil war since 1991, when the dictator Mohamed Said Barre was removed from power. The government is using recent military advances against the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab to try to attract investors to help reconstruct its economy.
Owing to the lack of constitutional guidelines with clear stipulations on the powers vested on the two it is impossible for the SFG to ever have a president who is in total agreement and proper political and administrative PM since both of them have executive powers thence perpetual clash among holders.
While Speaker Javari is expected to respond to the motion in five days from date of submission thence launch debate, the removal of Abdiweli as PM shall not change things says Abdshir Ahmed a lawyer practicing in Mogadishu adding that amending the constitution as per removal of executive powers from either and bestowing it on only one office, President or PM, is the only remedy.
In the meanwhile the cacophony of poor constitutional arrangements and subsequent power struggles in Mogadishu shall continue to embroil Mogadishu in political wrangles while citizens of the war torn country continue to suffer from the wrath of Al-Shabaab an Islamic group that controls a large swath of territory despite an onslaught by AMISOM the over 20,000 strong AU force propping the SFG.
