Policies to prioritize by the new Leadership

August 03 (Jowhar.com)-Five years of brutal repression by the previous regime paved the way for change and placed a new leadership at the helm. Hassan Sheik Mohamud ensured a very rare victory and became the first president to be reelected in Somali history.

President Mohamud is one of those rare people at the top of the Somali politics who chose to stay the country and reconcile people after the civil war broke in 1991. He helped establish schools to revive the education system, preventing the vulnerable youth from being recruited by the warring sides.

I myself was one of those beneficiaries of his educational initiatives. Mohamud using his knowledge of the Somali context spent much of his time seeking solutions for Somalia’s prolonged conflict, making him the perfect candidate to help Somalia reach a lasting peace and development.

Before President Mohamud was given another chance to lead the country in one of its darkest moments (Drought and famine, widespread youth unemployment fueling insecurity and instability and political and social grievances that need to be dealt with), his campaign rightfully recognized challenges ahead which probably convinced majority of the members of the parliament to elect him again and now it’s time for the president and his team including Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre to assemble a team capable of turning those promises into actions and outcomes that help improve people’s lives.

RE-ESTABLISHING JUSTICE

It is common for people living in war torn countries to experience repression due to the limited access to a credible judicial system. Therefore, setting up an effective, free and fair judicial institutions which focuses on resolving societal issues that lead to more instability in the country is crucial. For this reason, moving away from the current predatory system which works for the people willing to pay to get justice is extremely important because it prevents people supposed to access the system particularly marginalized citizens from having an equal access to justice.

Getting equal access to justice by removing barriers help societies recovering from prolonged conflict to attain sustainable peace. Conversely, restricting access to the legal proceeding forces citizens to take the law into their own hands while others seek justice from groups like Al-shabaab. Therefore, establishing accessible judicial institutions creates an atmosphere of trust between the people and their government, reducing other means of settling disputes in Somalia.

In Somalia, people mostly rely on and solve civil disputes through informal mechanisms like (traditional elders, intellectuals and religious leaders). But there are certain cases which are beyond the capacity of traditional actors sch as organized crimes, and this is where formal institutions are most needed.

REFORMING ADMINISTRATIVE AND SECURITY SECTOR INSTITUTIONS

Administrative institutions are the most important engine that drives the government’s work since it’s responsible for making and implementing policies, for this reason, reforming existing institutions and making them capable institutions that can transform ideas into actions is important. The development of an effective responsive administrative state reflects the seriousness of the government in helping Somalia move forward, therefore, attracting talented and highly skilled personnel must be prioritized since they are going to execute policies aimed at improving people’s lives.

Conversely, corrupting the recruitment process and continuing Clan favoritism and nepotism sure undermines the credibility and effectiveness of the government. Furthermore, promoting cross government cooperation and mobilizing resources collectively reduce challenges, foster transparency and help President Mohamud to achieve desired goals.

Reform in the security sector is equally important because the primary responsibility of every pos-conflict government is to stabilize the country and keep citizens from harm’s way.

However, Somalia’s post-conflict governments combine lack of an effective disarmament policies with reliable security institutions capable of addressing widespread insecurity steaming from people’s easy access to guns among other things. The military coup in 1969 got Somalia’s democratic process crippled and eventually resulted in a complete collapse of the state, hence, attainment of effective, accountable and professional armed forces whose sole task is to safeguard the country and not to intermingle the contesting politics is crucial.

Since the ratification of the professional federal constitution in August 2012, the country was widely undergoing a decentralization process by applying core principles of federalism, hence, security reform through corresponding policies is mandatory. And most importantly, localization of the security duties makes people feel ownership to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies.

Furthermore, coming up with a good strategy by bringing Al-shabaab at the negotiation table by any means necessary also helps to strike peace settlement and prosperous Somalia.