The Houston Chronicles quoted a resident of the Somali port town of Kismaayo as saying “We welcome the Islamic courtsâ€. The paper also reported Hirale’s deputy, Yusuf Mire Mohamud, as saying “the Juba Valley Alliance has collapsed today.â€.
Could Bosaaso and Berbera be next? It is unbelievable to see the speed of political and military advancement of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU)!
Click here to view the article.
I think ultimately you’re not going to be able to control something like corruption if you have an entire elite that believes that their primary duty is to their families rather than to the public good and there’s certainly lots and lots of countries around the world for which that’s true.Â
Prof. Francis Fukuyama, School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University . The Author of “End of History and the Last Manâ€Â
According to United Press International:
U.S. officials Tuesday denied reports the military had struck a deal with Somalia to conduct anti-piracy patrols along its coastal waters. The announcement runs counter to previous claims by the Somali prime minister, who has repeatedly called for help as attacks hinder humanitarian aid in the drought-stricken region. “The Somali government did not talk to the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Navy has no agreement with the Somali government,†said Lt. Commander Charlie Brown, spokesperson for the Bahrain-based fifth fleet which has already tracked Somali pirates in International waters in the Indian Ocean. The State Department confirmed in a statement that no contracts or agreements had been negotiated, saying it had only held “diplomatic discussions with representatives from (the transitional government of Somalia) concerning a number of areas of possible cooperation, including anti-piracy efforts.†Ali Mohamed Gedi, Somalia’s transitional prime minister, had earlier told reporters that he had reached a “milestone†agreement with the U.S. Navy to enforce security in his country’s territorial waters, where pirates have operated with increasing impunity. Â
Cali Maxamed Geedi; the Prime Minister of the Somali Transitional Federal Government looks like an amateur after this diplomatic and media management mishap!
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) for Somalia has said:Â
If the focus is only addressing immediate needs - whole livelihood systems could degenerate into relief-reliant communities, deepening poverty and prolonging the humanitarian crisis… (…) A full range of response is necessary, including: food aid, cash assistance, water relief and rehabilitation, livestock herd survival programmes, health and nutrition assistance, and protection of vulnerable groups.Â
FSAU concluded by saying:Â
A balanced, needs-based humanitarian response for the entire drought- affected region is necessary in order to prevent a further escalation of the crisis through cross-border population movements and outbreaks of conflict over resources. Â
Hand-outs never worked for any one. Indeed, as many people are beginning to realize now, aid only encourages dependency and long-term economic decay. Hence, what is need is food assistance programs that could help the Somali people to be become economically independent.Â
The Heritage Foundation declares Hong Kong as the World’s freest economy. Simon of the Simon’s world disagrees and says:
I shall give you my choice for the world’s No1. It is Somalia, which has no government at all and where a very free village-based economy is emerging. It is doing so with no foreign aid, for which Somalia may be grateful. Going by a benchmark measure that staging a one-hour African gun battle costs about US$100,000, and taking into account that Somalia no longer has any foreign money to divert to this pastime, it is also a more peaceful country than it might otherwise be. But Somalia certainly does not fit the foundation’s cookie-cutter approach to rating economic freedom and it was not even included in the index.
We have our rating, largely thanks to the approach the foundation has taken, which, whether deliberately or not, happens to emphasise foreign trade and foreign investment over domestic economic considerations. We fit that cookie cutter perfectly. And this suggests one last question for the foundation. How much of your funding, sirs, comes from Hong Kong donors?
I agree entirely with Simon, Somalia has, without a doubt, a truly “Laissez-faire†economic system and thus the world freest economy. And it should stay in that way forever. Neither the TFG nor any future Somali government should make any regulatory intervention in the economy. The socialist “Command and Control†economic system failed and failed us miserably. Our hope for economic survival rests entirely on free markets and the entrepreneurial free spirit of the Somali business community.
In short, the government must do what it is good at; security, international diplomacy, law and justice!.
Click here to view the full story on the Simon’s World. You may also click here to view the full economic freedom index.
The UN Says cost of corruption is three-fold: political, economic and social:
Political Costs: corruption constitutes a major obstacle to democracy and the rule of law. In a democratic system, offices and institutions lose their legitimacy when they are misused for private advantage. Though this is harmful in the established democracies, it is even more so in newly emerging ones. Accountable political leadership can not develop in a corrupt climate.
James Shikwati; the Director of the Inter Region Economic Network in Kenya Writes:
Albert Einstein once stated: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Intellectual Property Rights are often considered as serious obstacles to trade and the transfer of technologies related to the conservation of biological diversity. African countries are rich in biodiversity and indigenous knowledge which has flowed freely to the developed countries. However global market trends are such that Africa must urgently address issues pertaining property rights if they have to fit into the global economy and also stimulate inventions and innovations. The challenge facing Africa is how to produce high quality goods and services while at the same time tackling aspects of poverty and unemployment. Africa is seen to participate in IPR as late comers already faced with other priority issues and lacking capacity to enforce IPR regimes.
In an interview with the German magazine Spiegel the Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, says:
Aid to Africa does more harm than good (….). Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, and Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa’s problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn’t even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid.
I am that glad someone has spoken out at last. As I did mention in this blog many times before, I believe Foreign Aid is counter productive and it is harming African economic and political systems. Indeed, it creates corruption and it empowers illegitimate and dictatorial rulers. It must stop! The article is few months old.
Click here to view the full interview Mr. Shakwati by Spiegel magazine
According to the U.S. State Department:
The United States is taking strong and sustained action to help build democracy and economic opportunity and to reduce poverty and disease in Africa.
In my humble opinion American foreign policy towards African is a relic from a bygone era and it lacks bold vision with business oriented policy actions. Billions of US aid has been poured into Africa for over fifty years with nothing to show for it. In fact, Africa has been going backwards economically for the last decades despite the massive foreign aid being spent on misguided development projects. I think it is time to face the music and recognize the fact that foreign aid alone will not help lift Africa from poverty and economic stagnation. There must be a new thinking on how to help African to help it self by emphasizing more on trade than handouts. The United States must lead the way by becoming Africa’s true trading partner. One way of doing this is to reduce the massive US and European agricultural subsidies and allow Africa products to compete in the international markets. This will not only be good for Africa but also for the US and European consumers.
Click here to view the full fact sheet.
It is possible that it might trigger democratization and political reform and broader participation in the Arab world and if it does make it worth it. My own guess is that it won’t happen, and we have created a lot new problems for ourselves… Iraq has become the new Afghanistan, a centre for training and exporting terrorists…
Prof. Francis Fukuyama of the SAIS at the John Hopkins University and the Author of “The End of History and the Last Manâ€