Breakthrough as Somali Cabinet agreed
Mogadishu,Somalia (SOMALI AGENDA) – Key stakeholders in Mogadishu have reached a breakthrough over the shape of Somalia’s next cabinet as the clock ticks on the February 5th deadline set by the parliament for Prime Minister Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke to finalize his government.
According to people familiar with the ongoing negotiation process a working deal has been reached between various stakeholders comprising Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawaari and his deputies, both opposition camps in parliament, the Prime Minister and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. SOMALI AGENDA has received a tentative breakdown of the 25 cabinet ministers:
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud: Receives 7 seats in the upcoming Cabinet. Crucially, the President is able to defiantly place his powerful Justice Minister Farah Sheikh Abdulqadir, Interior & Federal Affairs Minister Abdikarim Hussein Guled, Finance Minister Hussein Abdi Halane and National Security Minister Abdullahi Mohamed Ali back into the cabinet although sources tell SOMALI AGENDA these individuals might carry different portfolios.
Sources additionally tell SOMALI AGENDA the inclusion of these key Presidential allies is a shrewd move by the President’s camp to weaken the growing momentum of the opposition parliamentarians and expose them as self-serving opportunistic group who have previously blocked Prime Minister Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke’s cabinet over the inclusion of the same individuals.
Prime Minister Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke: receives 2 slots in his cabinet.
Opposition Parliamentarians:10 cabinet seats with 8 of them going to MPs loyal to ex Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed and the remaining two being allocated to former parliamentarian allies of the President in the camp led by former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fowzia Yusuf Haji and Abdurehman Hosh Jibril.
Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawaari and his deputies: 3 cabinet seats allocated for the Speaker and additional 3 seats for both his deputies.
Somalia has been without real government since the latest round of political gridlock paralyzed the nation following a fallout between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his now deposed Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed on October 25th of last year.
