Politics

Somalia rejects Ethiopia/ Somaliland port deal

Published

11 months ago

January 2, 2024

A deal that allows Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia, to use a major port with access to the Red Sea in exchange for recognition as an independent state was rejected by Somalia on Tuesday.

Somalia maintains that Somaliland is still a part of its territory and asserts that the agreement has no legal standing. To discuss the agreement that Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi, and Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, signed on Monday, it also recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia.

Somalia’s President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said in parliament that “no one has the power to give away a piece of Somalia” after an emergency cabinet meeting that said the deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland was “an open interference with Somalia’s sovereignty, freedom, and unity” and “null and void.”

Mohamud also said, “Somaliland, you are the northern regions of Somalia, and Ethiopia has no recognition for you. If Ethiopia claimed it gave you recognition, then it is not a recognition that exists.”

The agreement would give landlocked Ethiopia, which depends primarily on neighbouring Djibouti for its maritime trade, a 50-year lease for its navy and commercial uses around the port of Berbera, which is located on the Gulf of Aden with access to the Red Sea, covering 20 kilometres. The leader of Somaliland agreed to Ethiopia’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent nation in return, making Ethiopia the first to do so.

Somaliland’s interior minister, Mohamed Kahin, responded by telling reporters on Tuesday that Somaliland could never accept Somalia’s stance on the agreement with Ethiopia. Kahin said at a press conference, “We demand an apology from Somalia for its assertion that Somaliland is a part of Somalia.”

In 1991, Somaliland, an autonomous region in Somalia’s north, proclaimed its independence. Although no foreign power recognises Somaliland’s sovereignty, it is self-governing with an independent government, democratic elections, and a distinct history.

Related Topics:Ethiopia Featured Somalia Somaliland

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Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

1 day ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.

Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.