Statement by Dr. Ali Khalif Galaydh,
The Somali Prime Minister,
to the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed
Countries
Mr.
President, Excellencies, Ladies, Gentlemen, and Honourable Guests
Allow
me to express to you, the Conference organizers, particularly the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the European Union, our deep
gratitude for affording us to participate fully in this program which aims at
alleviating poverty and integrating beneficially the Least Development
Countries into the global economy. While there seem to be general lack of
progress in the socio-economic development in the LDC in the 1990s, few other
countries experienced the kind of complete socio-economic collapse that
engulfed Somalia during the 1990s. The Somali State literally collapsed in
January 1991 right after the 1990 Paris Conference for the LDC Group.
During
our decade of self-destruction and the absence from the discourse on
development strategies and action programs, the number of the LDC group has
increased, and in the words of President Obasanjo, the pains and frustration of
helplessness appear to be on the upswing. While globalization has brought in
increased prosperity and optimism to the industrialized countries and a good
number of the developing countries, the LDC group is more mired in increased
lack of social peace, sharp deficit in democratic governance, worsening terms
of trade, near collapse of health delivery systems in the face of pandemics and
the relative gains in the educational sector seem to be arrested.
Frankly
the economic, social and political indices of the human condition in the LDCs
during our absence portray a grim reality. The palpable contraction in the
human spirit in these countries has caused the convening of this crucial conference.
Whether the call for a compact among the LDCs, the industrialized countries
and international organizations will assure the marshalling of the political
will and the mobilization and the channeling of the requisite resources to
enhance democratic governance, sustainable development and poverty alleviation
is to be seen. Somalia is trying to come back from the brink of the abyss
of the cumulative effects of a failed State.
Unless
the participants of the Conference address the complex inter-related problems
of good governance, sustainable development and poverty eradication the
experience of Somalia will not be an isolated one. The increased cross border
problems of public health, crime, drugs, environment and migration are making
international public policy making a relevant and significant issue. For the
sake of our collective well-being, our collective security and collective human
aspiration my delegation wishes the Conference every success.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let
me provide you a quick brief on the recent developments in Somalia. The events
of the Arta Peace Process that had led to the establishment of the Transitional
National Assembly and Government in Somalia must now be familiar to all of
you. Thanks to the foresight and perseverance
of President Ismail Omar Guelleh and the people of Djibouti, representatives
of a legitimate Government are in your midst today. The “bottom-up” approach
was obviously the sole mechanism that could bring the Somali people together
in Arta, Djibouti to determine their own fate.
The
Arta Process was conceived to embrace the whole Somali society, both inside and
outside the country, every region and every clan. It was comprehensive,
inclusive, transparent, excluding no individual, group, sector, or region. The Interim Constitution, the most
fundamental pillar of the Arta Process, provides for the respect of the human
rights, a decentralized system of democratic governance, the reconstitution of
peace and stability in Somalia and in the Horn of Africa.
The
Transitional National Government of Somalia and other State institutions are,
therefore, a product of the will and determination of the Somali people --- the
desire to rebuild a nation that had been destroyed by the ravages of anarchy
and factional fighting that lasted for over a decade. As the Somali people are
determined to bring about law and order and stability to Somalia, they hail the
commitment of the international community to support the efforts of the
Transitional National Government aimed at reconstituting a new Somali State
committed to good neighbourliness, peace and stability, and democratic
governance.
Thanks
to the Arta Peace Process, Somalia has assumed its rightful place in the UN,
the OAU, the League of Arab States, the OIC, and IGAD. The “Decisions and
Resolutions on Somalia” unanimously approved by these Organisations reaffirm
the commitment of the World Community to stand by the Transitional National
Government - the sole legitimate authority in Somalia.
The
outcome of the Arta Peace Process will also remain to be a fundamental national
objective upon which our pursuit of the Somali national reconstruction and
reconciliation will be built. Thanks to this Process the Transitional National
Government has since its inception been engaged in peaceful and constructive
dialogue with its opponents.
The
Transitional National Government of Somalia is seriously committed to pursue
the path of dialogue and engage those faction leaders who are opposed to the
Arta Process to join the reconciliation efforts. We have succeeded in engaging two out of the five factions based
in Mogadishu who were not supportive of the Arta Conference. We have also
formed a National Reconciliation Commission that is composed of twenty-five
prominent political and historical figures.
This will be an independent Commission, which will be led by a former
Prime Minister of a post-independent Government in 1960s. We firmly believe
that if we are left alone to pursue our reconciliation efforts, we are confident
that the Government and the remaining groups who are outside the Arta framework
can work out acceptable and honourable agreements.
Somalia,
after long periods of violence, destruction and instability, is currently fragile
and exhibits a great deal of weakness and vulnerability. It is sad to state
that despite this, the Ethiopian regime is determined to abort any endeavour
aimed at reconstituting the Somali State and restore peace and stability for
the beleaguered people of Somalia. Contrary to the wish of the World Community,
the Ethiopian leadership has unleashed relentless and vigorous campaigns with
the view to destroying any hope for the re-birth of an independent Somali
State. If Somalia relapses again into
anarchy because of this outrageous intervention in the internal affairs of an
independent State, the International Community will be in part blamed for
having failed in its responsibility to impede this intervention and to provide
the country with all the support it needs to rebuild its shuttered economy.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The
collapse of the Somali State has ensured the lack of progress on all fronts. Little has been implemented
of the 1990 Paris Conference’s agreed upon three-tiered mechanism covering
national, regional and global follow-up. As all the Somali government buildings
and records were destroyed during the last 10 years of civil war, the Programme
of action presented below for the decade 2001-2010, does not benefit much from
past national plans.
A.
National development objectives and targets
1.
Long-term development goals are to:
• Attain
sustainable political stability by promoting decentralization of power and
federalism.
Attain
sustainable growth by integrating economic, social and environmental
objectives.
Alleviating
poverty by taking an orientation that enables the poor to fully participate in
the process of affecting equitable distribution of income and wealth.
2. The Programme of Action’s first priority is :
Strengthening the peace by disarming militia groups and
interning them in camps designed to integrate them into members of the former
national army and police forces.
B.
Constraining factors on the country’s economic and social development:
The
complete collapse of both physical and human infrastructures as well as huge
damage to the environment represent major challenges.
C.
Summarized national actions that need development partners support
Commitment 1: People-centred policy framework.
Cultivating political and social situation that allows
for complete and lasting reconciliation among Somali clans and regions.
Commitment 2: Promoting good governance
Establish administrative and legal system that:
Promotes the decentralization of power, and political
and social tolerance.
Commitment 3: Building human capacities
With the support of international development
partners, the TNG aims at achieving tangible results in the following areas:
Resettlement:
Disarm, rehabilitate and retrain about 20,000
militias. Ten thousand are already in training camps.
Design and implement an effective housing policy that
facilitates the return of hundreds of thousands of Somalis in refugee camps in
neighbouring countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen, and Djibouti, and an even
larger number of internally displaced individuals, families and communities.
Education:
Accelerate the rehabilitation of the schools and other
buildings destroyed by the civil war to re-start the public school system.
This will include moving internally displaced refugees who are now occupying
most of those buildings.
Retrain former teachers and train new ones.
Health:
Like any other government ministry, most of the buildings
of the ministry of health, as well as the hospitals were destroyed during
the last 10 years of civil war. Rehabilitating those hospitals and buildings
is a main priority. However, in order to build a strong health system, we
are going to adopt a policy that promotes environmental health and controls
communicable diseases. To those ends we will carryout the following activities:
Build a primary health care system that gives special
importance to disease prevention and control, child and maternal health, family
planning and nutrition.
Water and sanitation
Rehabilitate water and sanitation facilities. Most of
the major water facilities, especially those in and around Mogadishu were
destroyed during the war and need extensive rehabilitation.
To implement our main objective of providing save
drinking water to the general population, we will strive to build such
facilities in rural areas as well.
Commitment 4: Building productive capacities - Private
sector development
As the public sector is in complete ruins, the
government objective aims at creating an environment that allows the private
sector to play a major role in the economic development.
Agriculture and fisheries
Reconstruct the farming infrastructure to rehabilitate
the productive capacity of the agricultural sector, which used to employ more
than 70% of the labour force before the civil war.
Fisheries
As Somalia has one of the longest coastal lines in Africa,
the government aims at re-launching the fisheries industry.
Oil and Mining
Create an environment that attracts large-scale foreign
investment capital into the hitherto untapped deposits of oil and gas, and
other minerals like gold and emerald in the country.
Transport
The government aims at the rehabilitation of the existing
transport network and the construction of new ones.
Telecommunication and Postal services
Our programme aims at:
Building upon the achievements of the
Telecommunication sector, a consolidation and rationalization plan is to be
worked jointly by the government and the private sector. Rural telephony is to
be provided in partnership with the private sector.
The aggressive introduction of an affordable internet
is to be launched in partnership with the private sector.
Ensuring that rural areas get adequate level of postal
services.
Energy
The government aims at rehabilitating the old electric
producing facilities and building new ones to cover immediate electricity
needs.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is a pleasure and a privilege for Somalia to
participate in this historic meeting. We in Somalia are attempting to provide
our population with the required security arrangements. A Civil protection
program which incorporates the re-establishment of the police force, of an
independent judiciary system and a prison system is the top priority of the
Transitional National Government. The important matter of law and order is to
be seen in the context of the rule of law and the honoring of the social and
human rights of the Somali people. Enshrined in the National Charter is
democratic governance which is essential for both national reconciliation and
peace and stability.
Devolution of power is the preferred option for the new Somalia. The old
centralized administrative and political arrangements are to be replaced by a
federal system. Citizen participation, rule of law and the institutionalization
of social and human rights are the essential components of guiding principle of
democratic governance principles of the Third Somali Republic. A representative
and responsive bureaucracy of the city, district, regional (state) and national
level are also the requisites for good governance. The reconstruction and
rehabilitation of the infrastructure are pre-conditions for the recovery of the
economy. The re-creation of the infrastructural capacity is also crucial for
growth and sustainable development.
Somalia
is in solidarity with the other members of the LDC group in seeking debt relief
and development assistance. Without
a continued program of expanding market access the efforts of sustainable
development are going to be in vain. The policy initiatives of a duty and
quota free access to the European Union market are welcome. We are looking
forward to the adoption of similar initiatives by the other industrialized
countries. Increased development assistance and the provision of market access
are to be matched by internal reforms to assure good governance. Somalia is
committed to meet its obligation and to create an enabling environment in
which democratic practice; accountability, transparency and good governance
are valued.
Again, Thank you very much for affording us this opportunity to be with you and to take our rightful place among all of you.