Somalilandsun – Dr Ali Issa Abdi is fooling his Associates in the office as well as the international community too long. He is misappropriating the organization’s power and it’s funds in financing Khatumo, an armed rebel in Sool region of Somaliland, that he has established by himself with his co-founder Professor Ali Khalif Galydh, the current leader of the insurgents.
Khatumo is shrinking now to few founders and to a number of armed militia around Saaxdher area, a village on the border between Ethiopia and Somaliland. The other strategic and major districts in Sool and some parts of Sanaag and buhodle area are in fact distanced themselves from Khatumo and its G6 architects. As a matter of fact the G6 (committee of 6) did more harm than good in the district since 2011.
Generally, the community in Sool and Buhoodle suffers a political indecision in which they divided into 3 categories of which the majority are in favour of Somaliland while the least (G6) are in favour of establishing a regional state of Somalia (Khatumo), an impractical state but has destructive personal agenda.
And that is why Khatumo is not viable state of its own and it is also at war with both Somaliland and Puntland but signalling to Mogadishu which has no any land or sea or air connection with the area that Khatumo claims, only few Parliamentarians similar to those in Garowe or in Hargeisa are there in Mogadishu.
However, it is common and less harmful than the Khatumo group that some politicians of Dhulbanante or some armed militia with technical to change side ones or twice or more than that with Somaliland or Puntland, for instance Mr Ahmed Xaabsade has changed sides more than two times and now he is in Garowe after he lost his position in Hargeisa. Nevertheless, the worst contributors of the region is the Diaspora who put in nothing to homeland but violence, the G6 is hailed from this group and Dr Ali Issa and Prof. Galaydh are one of them and mastermind is Dr Ali.
who is Dr Ali Issa Abdi, the man behind the crisis in Sool? for those who are not familiar with him here he is: a well spoken, well experienced in terms of western view and well educated with MBA in International Finance and a PhD in Economics. He was a senior economist and manager at the International Monetary Fund for number of years, and a Senior Representative of the IMF in Tanzania and in Ethiopia. He worked as an economist with Citibank and the Central Bank of Somalia; and taught economics at universities in the United States. And he also provided macroeconomic policy advice in many countries (in Africa, Middle East and Western Hemisphere) and published widely on economic issues. After all he caused death and displacement to his own people.
Currently, Dr Ali Issa Abdi, is the Managing Director of The Horn Economic and Social policy Institute (HESPI) in Addis Ababa. The institute was founded in 2006 by intellectuals or 25 professional associates (as stated by the Dr in an interview) who were mainly hailed from the countries in East Africa with the overall objective of improving the economy and social policy for those countries in the Horn of Africa.
However, the organization is now more involved in South Sudan and Somalia with the public notion or registered view of making for economic growth and poverty reduction. But the HESPI has incited insecurity and tribal insurgence to Sool region of Somaliland, the homeland district of managing Director.
After half-a-decade of the office establishment, it seems that the organization is in a pseudo management as it has deviated from a number of its core activities under the HESPI’s objectives and Goals that has been stated on the organization’s literature.
in fact the Managing Director of the institute, Dr Ali Essa Abdi is the culprit of this fraudulent act of management as has created a political and economic havoc in Sool region of Northern Somalia by instigating social and tribal unrest by forming a rebel and an armed militia in the name of Khatumo in Sool by personally financing them from the organisation’s funds.
Although Dr Ali I Abdi had been in the backstage of a unionist group known G6 before Khatumo came into play, he came in the front desk in 2011 by chairing a meeting in London for two opposing factions (G6 and SSC) and participated by a 200 politically motivated members of Dhulbanante Diaspora including the present Somaliland Minister of Health, Mr Saleban Isse Xaglo-Toosiye who was then the leader of SSC (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn).
The meeting in Taleh that Khatumo was announced in January 2012, Dr Ali Abdi was the backbone of the gathering and he was chairing the sensitive parts of the conference for the intention of dislodging the SSC and empowering his Group of G6 that Pro Ali Khalif was one of them who was then an MP in Somali Federal Government in Mogadishu.
The SSC was fighting then for a power sharing with Somaliland administration whose most of the major post held by the dominant tribe (Isaq) of Somaliland and that is why the G6 has hijacked the agent and the closing of the conference.
Dr Ali Abdi Issa was acting since that time as a tribal warlord rather than a managing director of a non-profit making organization that has the mandate and funding for helping the economic growth and poverty reduction for those countries in the Horn that have been afflicted with conflict or poor economy like Somalia and Somaliland.
To the contrary Dr Ali Isse has fostered poverty, displacement and death in his native land of Sool and Buhoodle by financing, chairing and providing consultancy and political platform to Khatumo Group. Dr Ali Abdi has invited Pro Ali Khalif Galaydh and Khatumo delegates to attend a conference on Federalism sponsored by his office in Addis Ababa to give Ali Khalif, the Khatumo Leader, a political window to cast his political voice and his claim of presidency of Khatumo estate of Somalia and that was the sole purpose of the conference, even the participants in the venue were not balanced regionally. It was simply a set up to showcase Khatumo and it was a complete a misuse of organizations funds.
Dr Ali Issa’s involvement in Khatumo rebels is an uncalculated move and a discouraging and derailing one opposing the set objectives of his organisation towards the regional economic and social integration. And by using the privilege of his office in Addis Ababa and his network; it is apparent that Dr Ali Issa is working towards creating a full fledging conflict in Somaliland that will affect the stability of the whole region including Ethiopia. It is worth to mention the brave decision that the Ethiopian central Government has reached to deport Prof Ali khalif Galaydh on 22 October 2014 from Addis Ababa. and it was a devastating blow to Dr Ali and Prof. Galaydh’s Agenda.
We strongly advise the Security department of Ethiopian Government in Addis Ababa to scrutinize Dr Ali Isse’s activities in Khatumo group and his misappropriation of the office funds spend towards the destabilization activities in Sool and Buhoodle area as well as the border between Ethiopia and Somaliland of that vicinity.
We also advice the Somaliland administration to open a dialogue with Prof. Ali Khalif Galaydh in order to resolve the difference between Somaliland government and Khatumo resistance by all means. The UN special representative, The United States representative, and the EU ambassador for Somalia as well as the British and Ethiopian governments should also contribute to the dialogue to find a lasting solution to the multi-faced problem of Sool and Buhodle.
it is also very important that the Federal Government of Somalia headed by Hassan Shiekh Mohamud not to be tempted to get involved with the affairs and political settlements with in Somaliland particularly Sool and Buhodle issue and the international community should also monitor this.
similarly,Dr Abdi- Weli Gas of Puntland should also mind his business in Puntland (Majertenia) and respect the territorial integrity of Somaliland as it had been before the union, in 1960.
Finally, we are demanding an answer from the other associates who established The Horn Economic and Social policy Institute (HESPI) with Dr Ali Issa Abdi to clarity their position in the damages and the insecurity that the funds of Organization has caused to Sool region that Dr Ali has misappropriated to finance Khatumo.
Mohamoud Hassan Arrale
arrale3@yahoo.com
