Former President Farmaajo and President Hassan Sheikh are two sides of the same coin. They both fought Puntland tooth and nail and Puntland prevailed
Former President Farmaajo and President Hassan Sheikh are two sides of the same coin. They both fought Puntland tooth and nail and Puntland prevailed on all counts. With President Hassan Sheikh’s new constitution and complete power grab now in mind, let me revisit an article from last year on what it takes to transfer FMS managed public institutions to the Federal Government. But let me digress a bit and first refresh your minds on Farmaajo and Hassan Sheikh.
During the NN era, Farmaajo wanted to destroy Federalism by putting puppet regional governors in FMS and conduct sham direct elections to install himself as a dictator once again in Somali politics. He didn’t learn from the Civil War, and he failed to reinstall himself as Somalia’s new dictator.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on the other hand wants to use Somalia’s Federalism cleverly as a weapon to disable it through the so-called “Madasha Qaranka” (National Consultative Forum) composed of the leaders of Federal Government, FMS and, paradoxically, the Governor of Benaadir Region. Madasha is an unconstitutional entity whose relevance doesn’t go beyond consultations (it has no legal authority whatsoever in all Federal and State Constitutions). A recent Mogadishu session of the “Madasha” in which HSM had attempted to weaponize the powers of the FMS against themselves to disable regional judiciary is still fresh in our minds. Only Puntland President, Said Abdullahi Deni, refused to succumb to HSM’s political shenanigans. So, nothing will come out of HSM’s sinister plans to undermine Federalism.
On the transfer of public institutions, for the flock of sheep still not in the know, there is an existing agreement between FGS and FMS signed in 2007 by the leaders of the Transitional Federal Government and Puntland State of Somalia, on behalf of existing and future FMS. This was signed by the leaders of TFG, President Abdullahi Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Geedi, on behalf of the Federal Government, and President Mohamud Muse Hersi (Adde Muse) for Puntland.
This Agreement stipulated that the transfer of public institutions, state agencies and infrastructures that come under the jurisdictions of FGS in accordance with the Provisional Federal Constitution, shall wait until the FGS develops institutional capacities and legal framework, including completion of Federal Constitution.
These FMS institutions or agencies included paramilitary forces (Daraawiish), border entry points like airports and seaports, customs, among others. Workers of these agencies of FMS must be paid by the FGS, and until that happens, a FMS shall continue to pay the salaries of these state workers, on behalf of the FGS.
No transfer of tax revenues from a FMS to FGS shall occur until FGS shall assume full responsibilities for running these state agencies that may come under its jurisdictions based on a fully agreed Federal Constitution.
This Agreement is valid today as it was in 2007, and the situation of the FGS remains exactly the same.
Until the requirements of this AGREEMENT are met, the Federal Government can’t demand the transfer or acquisition of airports, seaports, customs from a FMS. Moreover, most FMS public institutions like education, Judiciary etc., are independent from the Federal Government, and unless special arrangements to be agreed upon are enacted, both Federal and state constitutions guarantee that separation of powers.
END
By Ismail Haji Warsame | Former Chief of Staff of Puntland State Presidency | Warsame Digital Media | X: @ismailwarsame
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