|
 President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also said in an interview that he
was working to improve public finances management after the
resignation of two central bank governors last year rattled Western
and other donors.
The election by parliament in 2012 of Mohamud, a 58-year-old
ex-academic, eased two decades of political chaos and conflict,
first at the hands of feuding warlords and then al Shabaab militants
who vow allegiance to al Qaeda.
Since he took office, the battered capital has enjoyed a building
boom, some Somalis who fled have returned and, in a sign of greater
international confidence, the U.N. Security Council partially
rescinded an embargo, letting Mogadishu import light arms for its
army for one year until March 2014.
Yet huge challenges remain for Mohamud's government as it struggles
to extend federal rule in a fractured nation and rebuild
institutions to run a modern state, while still battling Islamist
rebels who control swathes of countryside.
"Every Somali and our international partners have to understand: as
far as there is territory that is not controlled by the government,
the phenomenon of al Shabaab, al Qaeda and terrorists will always be
there," the president said in Addis Ababa, speaking during a trip
for an African Union summit.
He said that to extend its control, the national army needs improved
equipment and training but this would be denied if the full arms
embargo was reimposed.
Some diplomats had voiced concerns last year about even a partial
lifting, saying the Horn of Africa state was already awash with guns
and these could end up in the wrong hands.
NEW OFFENSIVE
But Mohamud said his government had met demands for monitoring any
weapons brought in. "I think we have all the right now to request
the U.N. Security Council extend that (suspension) and ultimately
lift the embargo."
Mohamud said Somali troops would gain strength by fighting alongside
the newly expanded African peacekeeping force, AMISOM, which has
driven al Shabaab out of major urban areas.
Asked when a widely expected new offensive against al Shabaab would
start, Mohamud only said: "It is not far away."
As well as seeking to establish security in a nation that became an
epitome of a "failed state", the president has the daunting task of
rebuilding institutions such as the central bank essential to
bringing more order to the economy and managing state funds. It has
been an uneasy process.
A report by U.N. experts last year said they had evidence of graft
in the way the central bank was run, prompting the then-governor to
resign, although he denied the charges.
[to top of second column] |
A second governor quit days after taking office, a decision
diplomats said was driven by her concerns about graft. That
unsettled donors further.
Mohamud dismissed such worries, saying his government was working
closely with international partners on reforming public financial
management, but that it was a difficult job in a nation where any
past system had collapsed.
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
"We started everything from scratch and I think today we have
institutions that started working," he said, but more action was
needed. "We have our international partners fully engaged supporting
those institutions in that reform."
He cited moves to set up a joint financial management advisory
authority, with Somali officials and representatives from
institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
A new central bank board would also be picked.
An interim central bank governor, whose 90-day term runs out in
about a month, was not expected to have his assignment extended but
could apply for the permanent post, Mohamud said.
Another challenge facing Mohamud is implementing federal rule in a
nation where trust in central government is in short supply. One
region, Somaliland, declared independence two decades ago, while
ties with another, Puntland, are strained.
But the president said he was working to rebuild trust.
The election of a new president in Puntland, replacing a man who
broke relations with Mogadishu after accusing the central government
of failing to share power, was creating "momentum for coming
closer", Mohamud said.
He said rebuilding ties with Somaliland required more negotiations,
but that three rounds of talks since 2012 in Turkey between
officials from Somaliland and the federal government was a sign of
modest progress.
"There were times when even sitting together was not possible,"
Mohamud said.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
