The new Somali leader faces huge security, political, economic and diplomatic challenges.
After eight years of transitional governments and institutions, the newly constituted Somali Parliament on Monday September 10, 2012 elected the next President. Following several rounds of voting, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, 58, of the Peace and Development Party, beat the incumbent, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed by 190 to 79 votes. A total of 25 candidates went in for the race.
The renowned academic and civil society activist has been described as a moderate who could unite Somalia's deeply divided, largely clan-based, political groups. The challenges before the new leader are therefore huge, but surmountable. These include terrorism, piracy, rival militias, governance and corruption.
The looting of public funds by senior officials was the most crippling feature of the last government. A new UN report found that officials swindled eight out of every ten dollars donated to the country. President Mahmud ought to establish and empower - legally, politically and financially - an anti-corruption commission. There is also need for him to accept the Joint Financial Management Board proposed by the international community. The JFMB is designed to ensure transparency and accountability of public funds.
After eight years, two Presidents, five Prime Ministers and hundreds of millions of dollars donated by the international community, the only institution that has anything to show is the National Security Agency (NSA). The intelligence arm of the security services is heavily bankrolled by the West. Institutions that require quick rebuilding are the police, military and Coast Guard. Rebuilding will not be necessarily in terms of numbers, but the quality of training offered.
President Mohamud should continue the talks started between the defunct Transitional Federal Government, TFG, and the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. The engagement needs to be based on mutual respect, recognition of the human rights atrocities committed under former President Mohamed Siad Barre's rule against Somaliland and exploration of a common path between the two sides. There is also urgent need for a new, credible National Reconciliation Commission whose main task will be to reach out to nationalist elements within al-Shabab. If the right steps are taken, there is a good chance that pragmatic militants could abandon al-Shabaab and rejoin the national dispensation, thereby isolating the global jihadist movement.
The defunct TFG had introduced a new draft Constitution with almost no public consultations. The document institutionalises sectarianism and sets the country on the path to possible renewed clan-based civil unrest. It grants oversized powers to an unelected Prime Minister over the elected President - a perennial source of infighting in government. President Mohamud must be bold in re-drafting the constitution and reducing the job of the Prime Minister to a subordinate figure responsible for coordinating cabinet business.
Somalia’s geostrategic location in the Horn of Africa cannot be underestimated. In order for the new government to succeed, external stakeholders must stop meddling and imposing their will on Somali governments. Foreign-based Somali politicians need to give President Mohamud the space to chart his own path. Also, the international community ought to change the culture of supporting individuals over institutions. Much of the failure of Somalia's past institutions stemmed from foreign powers giving outsized influence to unelected politicians and armed groups.
