Somalia’s acting Prime Minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, was given the job full time on Thursday by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and will form a government whose goal will be to quash a rebellion.
“He is a good man and worked hard while he was the deputy for the former PM. I hope he will improve the situation of Somalia,” Ahmed said while announcing the appointment at a news conference in the capital, Mogadishu.
Former prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was forced out by a deal struck this month in Kampala between the president and speaker of Parliament that extended the beleaguered administration’s mandate by 12 months.
Persistent wrangling
The Kampala agreement ended persistent wrangling between the two that had angered international donors, who are keen to see an acceleration in the pace of political reform and military gains against al-Shabaab rebels linked to al-Qaeda.
Somalia’s latest administration was due to be dissolved in August and the president, a former Islamist rebel leader, and speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, who covets the top job, were at loggerheads over what should happen then.
The government said Ali, who has also served as minister for planning and international cooperation, brings a breadth of experience to the job.
Like his predecessor, Ali comes from the Somali diaspora. Before joining Somalia’s transitional government, he was a professor of economics in the United States.
“Somalia is in a difficult situation, there is an economic crisis and insecurity. I hope I will succeed in overcoming all these problems. I urge the entire government and Somalis to help me achieve this,” the new prime minister said.
The ministry of information said in a statement that Ali would consult members of Parliament and clan elders as he embarked on forming his Cabinet over the next few weeks. — Reuters