The New Prime Minister was appointed on October 14, 2010 and October 20, 2010 the President and the New Prime Minister went to Parliament to plead confirmation but a block led by Sharif Hassan, the Speaker blocked and the speaker insisted that the vote a secret ballot instead of the usual of raising hands. However, it is reported that a deal was struck between the President, the Speaker and Prime Minister, clearing the way for the endorsement of the New Prime Minister. Thus, out of the 391 Members of Parliament present at the People’s Hall, 297 chosen in favor of the New Prime Minister, 92 MPs contrary while 2 mps abstained.

Nevertheless, if the finding of the middle ground reached between the President, the Speaker and the New Prime Minister is true to back up the New Prime Minister because nothing will change and the status quo will continue with impunity. Thus, Somalis have a reason to worry and the New Prime Minister has started off with the wrong foot that increases the chance for Coup Hazard in the Cabinet. The alleged deal agreed, suggest that the Speaker has asked six Ministers (i.e., we all know who they are), two from Darod, two from Hawiye, two from Dir, 5 Ambassadors, three way power-sharing, and all agreement that he has signed to be implemented. Also, agreed that, neither the President nor the Prime Minister can accuse the Speaker of past corruption or financial crimes and scandalous deals etc.

The speaker will also appoint the quota of Ministers from Digil and Mirifle and this will give him a power in the Cabinet controlling ten out of the eighteen envisioned for the next Cabinet. For instance, if the Cabinet is limited to 18 Minister; the Speaker will control 10 Ministers out of the eighteen (i.e., 2 Minister from Hawiye, 2 Ministers from Darod, 2 Ministers fro Dir and 4 Ministers from Digil & Mirifle). However, if the President and the New Prime Minister appoint a cabinet without the inclusion of Sharif Hassan’s protégées, the vote of confidence for the Cabinet will be in jeopardy. But, we the results of the vote in the Parliament have rattled the Speaker and cut the iron-fisted intolerant down to size and many who feared now feel bold enough to remove the a diminished Speaker from power.

The PM cannot do with mediocre Cabinet or he cannot do with mediocre public service officials, diplomats or and military and police officers. First, at any cost the Pm must put a stringent limit to the size of the Cabinet 18-24. Secondly, he should appoint technocrat Cabinet, Members of Parliament cannot be appointed. Consequently, the Pm has taken away an important tool from the President and Speaker in Somali politics- the use of Cabinet position as patronage to recruit loyalty. Only, this way the Pm can avoid appointing more Ministers that are contra-productive and lower professional quality of the Cabinet and also depoliticize and down the Cabinet and clip the wings of the President and the Speaker who want to entrench themselves and stabilize their rule through the Cabinet will be considerably reduced.

Finally, the PM has on his side the “Court of Public Opinion” and enjoys their confidence that he will uphold his duties as a matter of personal dignity and professional integrity. However, his legacy will be defined by his success in the following, and of course by a failure of his predecessors:

1. Transparency International (TI), the global ant-graft watch-dog, has placed Somalia the most corrupt country in the world. Out of the 178 in the latest global ranking released on Tuesday, October, 26, 2010, Somalia slipped one position down from its 177^th ranking in 2009 and at the time only less corrupt than Afghanistan .
2. Somalia, there are no national issues and things revolve around personality and there are no measures to crack down individuals committed acts of crime.
3. Any Parliamentary Committee findings can be washed away by the President or the Speaker and leaders in government can hang on to their positions and that sets a lower threshold for a leadership in the country.
4. The mandate of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) ends on August 20, 2011 and there won’t be any extensions that has what the International players so often have been doing since the inception of the TFG
5. Former Prime Minister and the Speaker mapped out specific steps and tasks to undertake what they call a priority tasks to benefit them such as: passing public procurement law, passing the labor law/revision of the civil servants law, passing public finance law, amending the transitional federal charter to provide for 1) identify alternative mechanism for ratification, of the constitution; 2) indirect elections managed by interim election commission, passing the law on indirect elections for MPs.
6. Piracy, which is a multi-million business where some ship companies are abetting piracy barons and deliver payoff money to pirates for kickbacks. Of course, we will only be able to bring piracy under control when peace finally prevails in the country.
7. The International players do not want to make financial commitments to fight piracy in land where it is most effective or support Puntland and Somaliland to develop adequate legal system, support of the prosecution, bringing witnesses, imprisonment, prison conditions in order to curtail the vice.
8. First, how to end the never ending conflict in Somalia that set in train the events that ruined our country that is our own creation. Second, our outsiders are to blame and how we stop meddling in Somalia ’s internal affairs, using proxies.
9. Somali, armed forces are poorly trained outside the country, ill-equipped, not paid regularly or given regular food rations and no medical services available to attend the sick and wounded.
10. The problem of former Military and Police Officers who fought and defended for their country courageously and who command the respect and admiration of Somali people are denied to rejoin Somalia’s armed forces.

Dr. Abdi Mohamed Ulusso

drabdi2000@yahoo.com