Silanyo contains fall out, appoints new ministers after mass resignation

Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo has appointed seven ministers and government spokesman a day after several ministers including his spokesman resigned following a fall out over the ruling party’s chair nomination.

In a gazette notice Tuesday, Silanyo filled the vacant positions picking Hussein Aden Age as presidential spokesman. Silanyo yesterday told the media he was not perturbed by the resignations noting that there was a pool of qualified candidates to choose from.

The immediate former cabinet ministers who hailed from the same party, Kulmiye with the president had protested the president’s unilateral choice of his favourite candidate Muse Bihi Abdi as the party’s chair and a likely presidential flag bearer.

Sahad Ali Shire has been appointed Foreign Affairs and International Affairs Minister, Mahamoud Abdi Hashi in charge of Presidential Affairs docket while Ali Hassan Mohamed has been tasked with running the Public Works, Housing and Transport Ministry.

The president also chose Ali Mahmoud Ahmed as minister of Social Affairs and Labour while Osman Abdullah Sahardid has been appointed Civil Aviation and Air Transport Minister.

Others include Alu Hussein Ismail (National Planning and Development) and Ahmed Farah Cadare as Justice Minister.

The president’s swift move to appoint the ministers exemplifies the import of the mass resignation which is likely to dent not only his government standing but also the party given that some of those who resigned were political heavyweights in the party.

The announcement yesterday by some 60 Federal MPs from Somaliland and the Chief Justice suggesting a unionist approach in handling the electoral process of 2016 could further shake Silanyo’s bid to continue a secessionist agenda in the northern state.

The MPs called for inclusive process without treating Somaliland as a special case noting that giving special mention to Somaliland only serves to embolden the breakaway region’s quest for independence.

Somaliland was to conduct elections June this year but it was put off to June 2017.