Somalia needs strong, stable govt. institutions: African analyst

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Muqdisho | Agoosto 23, 2105- Press TV has conducted an interview with Nii Akuetteh, an African policy analyst in Washington, to discuss a looming no-confidence vote in Somalia to unseat the president.Following is a rough transcription of the interview.Press TV.

As the opposition MPs say, this motion is not aimed at sabotaging the peace process, but rather to correct it. Do you see it that way as well?Akuetteh: I am afraid I do not, but you know, any time you have an elected government and there is an opposition, they will use any chance they get to try and unseat the president. So I think that what is going to happen actually when you look at the international envoys there who are focused on Somalia – the UN, the Europeans, the Americans, the African Union and even the regional body IGAD (the Intergovernmental Authority on Development) – they have all come together and say that they do not think this is well-advised even though they respect Somalia’s sovereignty.

So what I read in it is that behind the scenes, they will twist a lot of arms of the parliamentarians so that either they do not go forward with it or that they push it through quickly and the president – it is actually an impeachment which means a trial – and that he will be found not guilty. So I will be very surprised if at the end of the day the president is removed through these efforts.

Press TV: But don’t these efforts even if they are not fruitful in removing the president from power, don’t they provide instability to the country that needs strong leadership and stability in the months to come?

Akuetteh: You are completely correct that what Somalia needs is strong, stable government institutions. Unfortunately, they do not have that now. They have not had it for almost a quarter of a century but they have been making progress. On the military side, it is this international coalition that has provided them African troops to beat al-Shabab out of the areas they hold, and so they have made some progress and I think they will push.

Now the other thing is that Mr. Mohamud’s presidency. He has to hold elections by August of next year and so one way is if he is unpopular, he can lose the elections. So I think this is a serious bump in the road but again I will be surprised if it ends in the president being removed.

Press TV: And one of the concerns that are being expressed by the opposition MPs in order to hold this no-confidence vote, aren’t those legitimate?

Akuetteh: I think they are very legitimate, because there are all kinds of complaints and sentiment that there is corruption in the country, but this is a very divided country. They get a lot of money from outside, from official sources, also sent by Somalis outside the country, so some of it goes awry, and because they are doing this as an impeachment, then the issue is you have to prove the president guilty beyond the reasonable doubt.

So you are right that the concerns are serious and there are people who are grieved. I just do not think that they will be able to muster what is needed to formally remove the president, especially when the international community is so determined that they should not do this when we have just a year to go for elections.

Source: Press TV

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