Galmudug Residents Praised for Efforts Made in Reconciliation and State Building

The people of Galmudug have been commended by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), for setting the path for reconciliation and state building efforts in the country.

The acting head of AMISOM, Maj-Gen Fidza Dludlu, said the joint efforts of Galmudug leaders and the people of Galmudug had made many look up to them as one of the success stories.

The acting head of AMISOM made the remarks when he officially opened a five-day training workshop for the Galmudug regional assembly in Mogadishu.

“This workshop will start to help them (Galmudug regional assembly members) create an assembly, know the processes of a parliamentary assembly and legislative assembly. This is a start to what we are helping them on now. And as we go forward we will continue to support them,”Maj. Gen. Dludlu added.

The Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Hared Ali Hared, lauded AMISOM for giving Galmudug the first opportunity to undergo the training of its legislators who are the pioneers of the regional assembly.

“This is our first training with AMISOM. Thus we are very grateful to AMISOM for facilitating this seminar. Also my great honour to say thank you for the efforts AMISOM has put in organizing the workshop”, Mr Hared added.

The training is in line with the mandate of the Mission of helping stabilize Somalia by aiding the locals establish strong institutions capable of serving the public effectively.

Maj. Gen. Dludlu, however warned, that the road ahead of the new state legislature was not easy, as it will be confronted by many challenges, only surmountable with total cooperation of leaders and residents.

He added that one of the main objectives of the training is to help the 89 members of the regional assembly know how to deal with some of the challenges whenever they occur.

Maj. Gen. Dludlu said AMISOM had assembled some of the best Somali experts in constitutional and parliamentary development, to train the members of the Galmudug regional assembly.

Two legislators from the assembly also lauded AMISOM for offering the training, noting that it would help the members understand their responsibilities better.

“The training will benefit us in many ways as it will help us in dealing with the tasks before us. The parliament is a legislative organ and the training will develop our capacity to legislate and pass laws. It was a much needed training by the Galmudug members of parliament and we hope this to be the start not the end. We need more such trainings in future”, said an MP from the assembly Ms Asha Mohamud Warsame.

Another MP from the assembly, Mr Daud Mohamed Maalim, described the responsibilities facing them as daunting but surmountable.

“It is not an easy job. The knowledge of legislation and experience is paramount to diligently executing your tasks. One of the challenges working as an MP is lack of experience. Secondly, the challenges you face from the public especially when passing laws as they lack awareness about the importance of certain laws. The parliamentarians themselves have got no much experience of the job but if the parliamentarians themselves acquire the knowledge, they can then pass it on to the public,” Mr Maalim added.

The opening ceremony was attended by the AMISOM Chief of Staff (CoS) Ambassador Epiphanie Kabushemeye and Senior Political officer Mr. Hajj Kissinzzigo.