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| Africa Horn |
| Somali PM dismisses cabinet in drive for unity |
| 2007-12-17 |
| Somalia's new prime minister dismissed his cabinet on Sunday in a drive to unify an interim government crippled by a power-sharing row. Nur Hussan Hussein's announcement came barely two weeks after five senior officials quit his cabinet, complaining that their clans had not been sufficiently represented. "After meeting my ministers I decided to form a new government," Hussein told a news conference in the southern trading town of Baidoa where parliament is based. As a result of the deadlock, parliament failed to endorse the line-up forcing Hussein to go back to the drawing board. "The international community expressed their displeasure with the number of ministers chosen from outside the parliament," Hussein noted, saying half the new cabinet would be selected from parliament, the rest from outside. A constitutional change has permitted Hussein to bring in more experienced technocrats to his cabinet but only a handful came from outside parliament. Many of Hussein's ministers had belonged to earlier governments. Hussein's appointment late last month was widely seen as an opportunity for reconciliation in a government paralysed by infighting since its formation three years ago. Political turmoil has all but thwarted the government's efforts to stem an Islamist-led insurgency, helping to create what the United Nations says is Africa's worst humanitarian crisis. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Where's all the international screaming and hand-wringing, as when Perv did the same in paki-waki land? (Crickets) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-12-17 17:47 |