The year 2018 was marked by headline-grabbing developments ranging from sustained souring of relations between the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Federal Member States (FMS) to sweeping thawing of relations among countries in the Horn as Somalia, for the first time in 30 years qualified for pre-arrears clearance funding from the World Bank.
The spectre of the Gulf Crisis continued to hang above President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s administration like the proverbial sword of Damocles widening the rift between Mogadishu and the FMS, culminating into severance of ties and long-running battles which saw states like Galmudug muddied to dysfunction as South West wrestled over the candidacy of former Al-Shabaab deputy leader, Mukhtar Robow.
Over 700,000 people were affected by floods with over 200,000 uprooted from their homes as Rivers Shabelle and Jubba burst their banks while regions such as Banaadir suffered deadly flash floods compounding an already precarious situation for over a million internally displaced people.
The Lower House remained mired in political contests which saw veteran House Speaker Prof. Mohamed Osman Jawari disgracefully hounded out in a palace coup style while in South West long serving political maverick Sharif Sheikh Adan bowed to pressure from Mogadishu, quit the presidency and bundled out of the presidential race.
The U.S ramped up airstrikes against Al-Shabaab and ISIL extending targets to central Somalia as AU/Somali forces denied the militants more space in ground and air offensives. However the two extremist groups managed to wage deadly attacks in various parts of the country with the capital Mogadishu taking the biggest hit in coordinated bomb attacks and targeted killings. Goobjoog News covered all these events and many more and brings you a selection of some of the stories that dominated the headlines in 2018.
FEBRUARY 18, 2018: BAKARO MARKET CLOSED AS TRADERS PROTEST NEW GOVERNMENT TAX
The Federal Government enforced the new Sales Tax measures which required importers to pay sales tax upfront at the ports of Mogadishu. Traders protested the move resulting into two days closure of the country’s biggest market-Bakaro paralyzing business in the city and neighbouring regions which depend on the ports seaport and airport of Mogadishu. Finance and Budget Committee and that of Trade declared the taxation illegal but Finance Minister Abdirahman Beileh stood ground noting the taxes were crucial in move to boost domestic revenue to finance the budget. The government carried the day.
APRIL 9, 2018: LOWER HOUSE SPEAKER MOHAMED JAWARI RESIGNS
Month-long political run-ins in Mogadishu that saw the AU force, AMISOM send forces to parliament and the regional bloc IGAD wary culminated into the resignation of Speaker Mohamed Jawari and installation of current Speaker Mohamed Mursal. Despite what looked like a long drawn battle, Jawari surprised the opposition faction when he threw in the towel and later announced his exit was ‘not in exchange for the dollar’. In his final speech during a joint press conference with President Farmaajo, Jawari said he decided quit for the interest of stability and functioning of parliament. Jawari denied claims he had been given ‘huge sums’ of money to quit. But what was clear is that in the exit deal, Jawari would remain in Villa Hargeisa-the official residence of the
