A country that is still grappling with the impact of state collapse should not be rushing to join a community whose member states have a lot in common institutionally and politically
Mogadishu (Comment) — Somalia poses the most difficult ethical challenge to global politics in the 21st century. A country that does exercise full sovereignty and whose federal institutions are protected by African peacekeeping forces seeks to join the East African Community. The Federal Government of Somalia does not control the whole country, but seeks to make Somalia a member state of EAC. Somalia has no national currency, and its sovereignty is, according to a Kenyan journalist, “fluid”.
At the London Conference of 2017 António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said that ATMIS forces “are in Somalia to respond to global threat”. It is not only institutional disparities that prevent Somalia from becoming an equal member of the East African Community, it is the nature of politics practised in Somalia that predisposes Somalia to become an economic underdog in EAC. The relevant comparison we can make pertains to Somalia and Kenya. In Somalia property rights do not exist, whereas in Kenya a legal system made up of the common law, customary law and the Islamic law makes Kenya a preferable investment location for Somalis compared to their homeland.
A country that is still grappling with the impact of state collapse that shook the foundations of the nation state in 1991 should not be rushing to join a community whose member states have a lot in common institutionally and politically.
Oblivious: President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (left, with EAC heads of member states) turns a blind eye to institutional weaknesses that other EAC member states can exploit to keep Somalia in a cycle of underdevelopment.
Somali economists who object to Somalia’s initiative to join EAC point to the fiscal fall out should the membership be formally consummated. Somalia will not be able to tax imports from EAC member countries, a decision that will further reduce the meagre tax revenues the budding Somali federal institutions collect to supplement the national budget.
The export capacity of Somalia is severely limited, which makes the country a dumping ground for imports from EAC member countries. Somalia has a weaker industrial base compared to EAC member countries, a situation that other countries with competitive manufacturing sectors can exploit at the expense of the rudimentary industries of Somalia. No nation-wide consultations have been made with Federal Member States about the initiative to join EAC nor was independent economic advice sought to explore the pros and cons of a war-torn country joining EAC.
It is an appalling case of sovereignty misuse to seek to expedite Somalia’s membership in EAC. In Somalia a discriminatory political system known as 4.5 exists in which the armed clans have granted themselves full citizenship rights to have political representation via federal member states, the control of districts among other ill-gotten political privileges. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud defended this notorious system in his PhD dissertation (“Examining the Challenges of Clan Politics in Statebuilding: A Case Study of Somalia”) to institutionalise deepening political and inequalities, and opposition to restorative justice.
Somalia’s International Partners, whose policy is based on preventing ungoverned spaces emerging in Somalia, has a moral obligation to address sovereignty misuse by the incumbent administration. Representative democracy is not in place in Somalia; elite bargain reigns. The national interest of Somalia is best served when leaders tread carefully and commit themselves to restitution policies, political equality and genuine nation-building initiatives instead of seeking headlines. The Federal Government of Somalia should not be allowed to make a mockery of the sovereignty of Somalia.
Ali S. Aweys is a former employee of the Central Bank of Somalia
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