As Somalia gears up for a presidential election on October 30, one of the leading candidates, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, the flag bearer of Wadajir party, has launched the first political manifesto that addresses a wide range of issues in the country.
Mr Abdirahman Abdishakur, a former minister of planning and international cooperation and special adviser to the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) to Somalia, also launched his presidential campaign Thursday last week, promising to make Somalia self-reliant and place it on the path to political stability, security and recovery.
“With the Electoral Commission having announced a tentative date of October 25, 2016 for the Presidential election, there is another opportunity for Somalia, and its international partners to take up the opportunity and create a self-sustaining nation.
“Our struggle has now reached a definitive stage, in which there is need to implement radical socio-economic transformation to meaningfully address insecurity, poverty and unemployment among other social ills,” said Mr Abdishakur while unveiling his manifesto, which he said would be based on Iskutashi, a vision
premised on transformation of Somalia into a prosperous, self-reliant economy.
After extensive consultation with key stakeholders and local communities in Somalia, the former minister made his announcement in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, laying out a vision to match his incoming campaign slogan, “Make Somalia Self-reliant.”
The former minister played a key role in facilitating Djibouti’s political agreement in 2008, which sought the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia thus paving way for a comprehensive political settlement in Somalia. This was both a sign of his overwhelming success in diplomacy and promise of a better country.
Mr Abdishakur said Somalia had lost a lot of opportunities because of wanton corruption in government and promised to put an end to the practice. He added that the Al-Shabaab has been able to exploit the failures of the current government to consolidate control, establish local administrations, provide security and build public trust.
The combination of weak institutions and governance structures, low absorption capacity and inflows of foreign aid, he said, had conspired to provide high opportunities for corruption and abuse, with relatively low risks of being caught and adequately punished.
“Under framework of Iskutashi we will do our utmost and urgently prioritise the war on corruption. An affront on corruption will rest on the twin pillars of strengthening enforcement and reducing opportunities. Specific actions include the establishment of an anti-corruption policy and legal framework.
“We will also develop a strategy to implement the policy to help with enforcement of the legislation. The anti-corruption strategy will guide institutional building to control corruption,” said Mr Abdishakur.
He promised to put forward a strong, ambitious national economic plan to aid Somalia’s economic growth and social infrastructure. He said the transformation would be driven by solid regulatory frameworks and expressed optimism it would have great potential to unlock and revive the country’s traditionally resourceful sectors.
Mr Abdishakur regretted the two decades civil war, which he said had led to the destruction of the country’s basic infrastructure and public institutions and promised to institute measures to aid recovery. He also pledged to improve public service, infrastructure, education, health services and food security.
[crp]
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