Hosh and his run-ins with Parliament

The minister who is known to respond directly to his critics through the social media has also been accused by the OC of dismissing the 2018 budget vote for the Constitutional Review process as illegal

The declaration by a parliamentary committee that it had lost confidence in Constitutional Affairs Minister Abdi Hosh and that he was unfit to steer the review process adds to a series of disputes the minister has had with Parliament.

Hosh is not new to fights with lawmakers. The vocal politician survived a no-confidence motion last August following a move by the Lower House to drop impeachment proceedings against him after he apologised for earlier remarks.

The Minister had lambasted the Lower House for its vote to declare the High Court ruling annulling the election of five MPs in the 2016 election unconstitutional and nonbinding. “Somali parliament is out to lunch. Parliament cannot overturn the verdict of the highest court of the land,” the minister said in a tweet drawing the ire of parliamentarians who wanted him kicked out.

But the Parliamentary Constitutional Oversight Committee (OC) and the Independent Constitution Review and Implementation Commission (ICRIC) have by far had the most fights with the minister accusing him of usurping their powers and running a one man show. The two bodies last year wrote to the President, Parliament and the International Community seeking their intervention but their efforts seemed not to have borne fruit as the minister went ahead to unilaterally organize for a constitutional review conference in Mogadishu slated for October 10.

The conference though came a cropper after the two bodies and the Federal Member States declared they would give it a wide berth.

The government convened a crisis meeting November 14 to reconcile the three and subsequently signed a memorandum of understanding to rejuvenate the review and implementation process. However, the statement by the parliamentary committee Monday attests to a conflict unresolved.

READ ALSO: Constitutional review process at stake as Parliamentary Committee and Hosh clash again

Government and constitutional review bodies sign MoU to jump-start process

The minister who is known to respond directly to his critics through the social media has also been accused by the OC of dismissing the 2018 budget vote for the Constitutional Review process as illegal. Himself involved in the drafting of the Provisional Constitution, Hosh has become a thorn in the flesh for OC and ICRIC who have severally questioned his rationale for convening constitutional review consultative talks without their knowledge or input.

Parliament is re-opening for the third session next week and should it consider the recommendations of the committee then the minister could find himself on the firing line.

 

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