NAIROBI, 11 March 2017 – Members of the Jubbaland regional assembly are in Kenya to enhance their parliamentary capacity as Somalia enhances peace and reconciliation efforts.
Apart from intensive trainings and lectures facilitated by prominent legislative and political experts, the 30 leaders of 13 parliamentary committees, will also tour Kenya’s National Assembly and the Nairobi City County Assembly to witness proceedings in the two chambers.
The Danish government through its support to AMISOM’s Stabilization and Early Recovery Programme is funding the one-week tour that began Wednesday and ends next Tuesday. The tour seeks to expose the leaders to democracy and enlighten them on issues revolving around separation of powers, role of parliament in a democracy, conflict resolution, effective parliamentary committees, and the AMISOM mandate and role, among other topics.
The tour is part of AMISOM’s quest to build the technical capacity for various Somali stakeholders, so that they can reconcile and bring peace to their country. Early this week, 21 leaders from diverse backgrounds were in Nairobi for a three-day workshop on negotiations and mediations.
The Special Representative to the AU Commission Chairperson and Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, told the Mps the tour was critical, both for the legislators and AMISOM, in their shared process of stabilizing Somalia. “It’s a milestone in the continuous cooperation between AMISOM and regional governments,” Amb. Madeira said in his address to the assembly members, in the Kenyan capital.
“Parliaments are pillars of a democratic government, a deciding factor in nation-building. It has three key roles – legislation, oversight and outreach. MPs are the mouthpiece of the people, to interpret the will of their people,” he said.
“Parliament is centre of negotiation and compromise.”
Amb. Madeira further noted that Parliament cannot function effectively “without adequate and well trained committees’ leadership and professional staff (back-up)”.
He said it is only after such training that legislators can “express correctly real problems facing their people, if they want to find solutions”.
Dr Opiyo Ododa, AMISOM’s head of Stabilization and Early Recovery programme, provided a background to the formation of Jubbaland regional assembly, which was inaugurated in April 2015, with 75 members, four of them female.
Dr. Opiyo noted that the assembly had passed a number of legislative bills, which he added were “very important for running the State.”
Abdi Mohamed Abdulrahman, Speaker of the Jubbaland Regional Assembly appreciated the sacrifices made by AMISOM, to bring peace to Somalia. “If you die in another country for their people, it’s a really sacrifice,” he said in apparent reference to the Mission’s troops who have died in line of duty.
Abbas Ali Ebrahim, the vice-chair of the Ethics Committee of Jubbaland regional assembly, said he was satisfied with the capacity building trip and urged AMISOM to hold more workshops of a similar nature. “Help us, support us as a child who is growing up until they mature. We are like a child, nurture us,” he stressed.
