From: Yemane Natnael (yemane_natnael@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Aug 04 2008 - 12:24:44 EDT
Resignation of ministers shows growing rift in transitional gov't
By Abdurrahman Warsameh
MOGADISHU, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Eleven ministers
in the Somali transitional government have announced their resignation
from the cabinet to protest Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein's sacking
of Mayor of Mogadishu Mohamed Omar Habeeb without consulting them.
Their resignation on Saturday showed a growing rift between President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and the prime minister.
Prime Minister Hussein fired Habeeb,
who is also the governor of Banadir region, on Wednesday, citing the
mayor's incompetence mismanagement, embezzlement, insubordination, and
abuse of power.
But Habeeb refused to leave office,
saying he had the official endorsement of the president, who Habeeb
said only has the final say in his sacking.
Habeeb, also known as Mohamed
Dheere, has been mayor and governor since his appointment by the former
Somali Premier Ali Mohamed Gedi in April 2007.
On Wednesday, Habeeb told the media
that Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who is close ally of the
mayor, was unhappy about his sacking.
President Yusuf has not so far
commented on the mayor's dismissal. But some reports has said the
president was not pleased with it and there were also other reports
saying he has reinstated the mayor.
The ministers who rendered their
resignation included two deputy prime ministers who also hold
ministerial posts, eight ministers and one deputy minister.
Reports here also have indicated
that a rift has emerged between the president and the prime minister
recently over a wide range of issues including the national
reconciliation. It was also reported that the president was not pleased
with the way the prime minister was conducting the reconciliation with
the opposition.
Announcing their resignation, the
ministers, for their part, accused the prime minister of failing to
uphold the National Federal Charter, saying he did not submit a budget
to parliament for the past seven months.
The ministers, who are mainly
supporters of the Somali President, also alleged that the prime
minister went against the National Federal Charter and failed to set up
a budget for the government since his nomination late last year.
The Prime Minister dismissed the
claims by the ministers, saying that his decision to sack the mayor was
the right one citing "the support expressed by the people and
traditional elders in the capital".
He said that the aim of the
resignations of the ministers was to create political instability in
the country and disrupt the implementation of the Djibouti agreement
between the Somali government and the opposition in Djibouti early last
June.
"The aim of the resignations (of
the ministers) is to create political instability in the country and
disrupt the implementation of the Djibouti agreement between the Somali
transitional government and the opposition in Djibouti," the Somali
premier said in a press briefing in Mogadishu, the Somali capital,
hours after the ministers announced their resignation.
Hussein said that he did not
officially receive any letters of resignation from the ministers but
added that he will accept if he gets them.
"It is the right of any minister to
render their resignation ... they can rest assured that their posts
will be filled," the Prime Minister added.
The prime minister said that he was
aware of moves to impeach him in the transitional parliament and called
for him to resign.
"I have no plans to resign but if
the Parliament dissolves the government then I would accept, I will
also resign if that would help the peace process," Hussein told
reporters in Mogadishu.
The Somali parliament is expected
to discuss the crisis soon and reports say that a number of lawmakers
are petitioning to impeach the second Premier of the Somali government.
Hundreds of people took to the
streets in Mogadishu and surrounding regions in support of the prime
minister's move to sack the mayor.
The Horn of Africa nation has been
rocked by violence with local insurgents launching near-daily attacks
on the transitional administration backed by Ethiopian troops. The
country has not had a functioning government since 1991.
A roadside bomb exploded early on
Sunday in the north of the capital, killing at least 15 people and
injured more than 40 others.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN
Special Representative for Somalia, has called on all Somalis to work
together for peace and reconciliation.
"The Somali people knew there would
be challenges on the path to peace and they should not be discouraged,"
said Ould-Abdallah in a statement received in Nairobi.
"As the end of the transition
period is less than a year away, I call on the Somali people to remain
united and solve their political problems," he said.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/03/content_8932512.htm
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----