BiyoKulule Online  Bosaso,  Somalia                       

The Somali Joint Needs Assessment and the Controversy

- Part Two of the Critique -

1.0       The Feedback to “Part One” of the Critique

Readers’ reactions to “part one” of my critique were overwhelmingly positive and encouraging.  Many have expressed their dismay and indignation over the way the UN and the World Bank have mishandled the JNA in collusion with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG).  Others have expressed their fear that the critique, notwithstanding its relevance, might fall on deaf ears because they contend that our leaders – even the educated among them - do not read anything, and the UN and the World Bank pay no heed to any criticism directed to them. 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.

2.0       Reactions to JNA

Ministers and parliamentarians in tune with the political agenda of Jowhar camp, and their opponents in Mogadishu, have both coalesced to condemn the blunder committed by the Transitional Federal Government in collusion with the UN and World Bank Coordination Secretariat in Nairobi. Clan and religious elders, youth and women organizations, and other members of the civil society in Baidoa and other cities in Bay and Bakool took to the streets en masse to demonstrate against the tampering of their regions and against the way JNA programme is manipulated to mollify certain groups within the TFG.

Moreover, about 200 – 250 natives of southern Somalia in the diaspora who have participated in the First Annual Conference of the Southern Somali Union, convened in Columbus, Ohio on December 24- 25, 2005[[1]], vehemently condemned the atrocities perpetrated against the indigenous populations of Benadir, Lower Shabelle, Juba, and Gedo, and strongly voiced their opposition to the mechanics of implementing the recently proposed JNA for Somalia. They called the UN and the World Bank to immediately suspend the implementation of this project.

Nonetheless, the Transitional Federal Government and the UN and World Bank Coordination Secretariat in Nairobi have collectively dismissed the rebuke and sharp criticism by the concerned Somalis inside the country and in the diaspora as unwarranted ranting and unjustified hullabaloos, and accordingly proceeded with their plans regarding the future JNA workshops and field assessments. The timetable for zonal workshops has been scheduled as follows: Hargeisa (16-18 January 2006); Belet-Weyne (21-23 January 2006); Garowe (26-28 January 2006); Kisimayo (5-7 February 2006) and Mogadishu (10-12 February 2006) [[2]].

3.0       JNA Planning Workshop in Jowhar [[3]]

The UN and World Bank Coordination Secretariat for the JNA, in a recent communiqué, released after the convening of “JNA Planning Workshop in Jowhar (12-15 December 2005)”, has defiantly described the meeting as “a historical milestone in that it brought together Regional Governors, the TFG leadership, parliamentarians and civil society for the first time in over 14 years”.  I wish to draw the attention of the readers to the administrative blunder committed by the Coordination Secretariat, deliberately or inadvertently, by placing “regional governors” before “TFG leadership, the parliamentarians and the civil society”. If this is not an administrative oversight, inadvertently committed by the Secretariat’s typist, then we are compelled to assume that there is an overt and blatant recognition and legitimation of the self-proclaimed “governors” by the UN and the World Bank, and will, as a result, be considered a cut-and-dried violation of one of the most fundamental tenets of these important world bodies.

The communiqué went on to state “a substantial part of the meeting was allocated to dialogue between the Transitional Federal Government and the Governors, which resulted in an agreement on the way forward for regional participation in the JNA. The Governors highlighted to the JNA team the preliminary and prioritized needs of the people from their respective regions and suggested on how to proceed with ensuring regional participation”.

According to the communiqué, the Governors (or their deputies) representing Benadir, Middle Shebelle, Hiiraan, Galgaduud, Lower Shebelle, South Mudug, Bakool and Gedo regions signed a statement on 13 December 2005 stating:  “Having seen the structure and vision of the Joint Needs Assessment for reconstruction and development for Somalia and after we have deeply considered the content of the JNA, we recognize that it is absolutely important that the Somali community participate fully in the preparation of the Joint Needs Assessment for the reconstruction and development of the country”.

Having read the above statements as spelled out in the said communiqué released by UN/World Bank Coordination Secretariat of the JNA, I find it imperatively compelling to articulate the following:

·        Some members of the TFG together with the UN and the World Bank are defiantly pursuing the policy of engaging self-proclaimed “governors” – many of them installed by force and none elected by the people  – to be part of the JNA programme in complete disregard of the blatant injustices and human rights violations perpetrated by these warlord “governors”.

·        The Nairobi-based UN and World Bank representatives appear to be operating in tacit connivance with a group of TFG ministers, some members of the transitional parliament, and self-proclaimed governors with the view to treating the status quo in Benadir, Lower Shabelle, Bay and Bakool, Gedo, and Juba Valley as if it is a fait accompli.

·        And most troubling of all is to learn from the communiqué that the dialogue between the TFG and the “governors” that has occurred during the JNA Planning Workshop in Jowhar has led to an agreement on the way forward for the regional participation in the JNA.  During this dialogue, the “governors” put forth their “preliminary and prioritized needs of the people of their respective regions and suggested on how to proceed with ensuring regional participation”.  This is exactly what we were all expecting to occur: the legitimation and empowerment of the bogus and phony “governors”, most of them known for their human rights violations and their involvement in drug trafficking, among other illegal practices, as recently attested by the UN Security Council Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia[[4]].  This nonsensical policy promoted by the Nairobi-based UN and World Bank bureaucrats is ludicrous, immoral, inconsistent with the values and ethics of their respective organizations, and utterly unacceptable to the vast majority of Somalis who have succumbed to structural violence for over 14 years now. The UN and the World Bank are ambivalent in terms of how to deal with these “governors”. On one hand, they consider them criminals and drug traffickers, as argued in their reports and publications, and on the other, they welcome them as their interlocutors for the JNA, as revealed in the afore-mentioned communiqué.

4.0       Conclusion

As I conclude my “part two” of the critique, I must reiterate the fact that given the fragility and precariousness of the Somali society now, support from outside is crucial for its post-conflict peacebuilding and reconstruction. To avoid a relapse into another conflict in Somalia, international aid will be required to consolidate peace and reconciliation in the country. However, the funds provided by the European Commission, Italy, and Norway for the Somali JNA do not appear to be properly used to respond to the realities and complexity of the Somali conflict dynamics on the ground. The way this project is managed does not bode well for the natives of Benadir, Lower Shebelle, Bay and Bakool, Gedo, and Juba Valley. The Nairobi-based UN and the World Bank bureaucrats are participating in the tampering and the redrawing of the regional boundaries in Somalia. They are also taking part in the legitimation and empowerment of the self-proclaimed “governors”, a move seen as being totally inconsistent with the principles of the UN and the World Bank.  The Somali JNA will remain at the centre of political controversy unless some drastic measures are immediately taken to correct the blunder that has engendered the wrath and indignation of the indigenous people of Benadir, Lower Shabelle, Juba Valley, Bay and Bakool, and Gedo.

Burci M. Xamsa

Toronto, Canada

[email protected]

Biyo Kulule

BosasoCity
Togga Laag
Buurgaaban 

 Maydi
Geed Xiji 
President AbdillahiYusuf

           
Prime Minister Dr. Ali  Geddi
MohmoodGaidon  

Sakariya   Mohamed