His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon today praised parliament’s decision to withdraw a planned no-confidence vote in the government and updated ministers on recent progress on Jubaland and ongoing discussions with Somaliland at the weekly Cabinet meeting.
Commenting on recent events in parliament, the Prime Minister praised the lawmakers’ responsiveness to public concerns.
“First of all, parliament has an absolute democratic right to hold our government to account and it is quite right for it to do so in this manner. I welcome the decision lawmakers have taken to withdraw the no-confidence vote because they listened to the people’s concerns, they heard the public outcry, and the demand that the vote be stopped. They recognized that this would be a step backwards towards the chaos of the past, at the same time as providing a negative image for Somalia. They came to the right decision.”
The Prime Minister congratulated Somalis for making their voice heard during recent days and convincing parliament to change its mind. He said it demonstrated a welcome and newfound political maturity and showed the world that Somalis could resolve their own problems without relying on foreign intervention.
“This experience gives us a new momentum. It has been an important education for the government, providing an invaluable lesson about how to deal with a crisis by working closely with parliament to resolve it. I pay tribute to our political colleagues on all sides who came together to resolve their differences, and reached a Somali solution for a Somali problem, without the customary international intervention. It is a really encouraging sign of political maturity. And we know we need to deliver.”
Updating the Cabinet on the situation with Jubaland, the Prime Minister said he completely shared the region’s desires to build a federal state and reiterated the government position that this process needs to evolve within the constitutional framework. He had sent a delegation of parliamentarians and a government minister to Kismayo to discuss reconciliation and a way forward on state formation.
“Let me be quite clear about this. As a government we want a united, federal, stable Somalia. We support reconciliation, we support the fight against Al Shabaab, we want Jubaland to become a federal state but this must happen in a legal way according to the constitution. This is what must be our guiding principle at all times. Look at what we are doing with regard to Somaliland. Negotiations are ongoing and we are looking forward to more progress at the talks in Turkey month. It is all happening in the proper manner.”
ENDS
Ahmed Adan
Prime Minister’s Media Office
Mogadishu, Somalia
Email: media@opm.gov.so
Mobile: +252 (0) 616 440 028
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