Somalia’s Parliament on Monday agreed to give more time to Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre to form a government, reported The Africa News.
Barre was expected to name a cabinet within 30 days of his appointment on June 25. The 48-year-old replaced Mohamed Hussein Roble who has been in office since September 2020. At that time, he said he would form a quality government that would work to create an inclusive political stability in line with the President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s motto of a reconciled Somalia that is at peace with the world.
But, he said that delay in the formation of the Somalia’s new government is due to the country’s protracted election process that culminated in May with the selection of Mohamud as president.
“In order to form a… balanced government, it is necessary that I spend sufficient time in consultations with various politicians of the country and civil society,” Barre said in a statement released on Monday.
He has vowed to establish Somalia’s new government within 10 days after parliament approved the extension.
“The prime minister asked for an extension of 10 days, and this seemed credible because … the prime minister is in consultation with other stakeholders,” said Mohammed Dhabancad, one of the legislators.
The new government will face a host of challenges including a looming famine and a grinding insurgency by Al-Shabaab jihadists.
A severe drought across the Horn of Africa has left about 7.1 million Somalis, nearly half the population, battling hunger, with more than 200,000 on the brink of starvation, according to UN figures.
The UN agencies claim that a fourth consecutive rainy season had failed in Somalia, and meteorologists are warning of another below-average rainy season in the Horn of Africa country later this year. They have appealed the international community to prevent widespread famine in Somalia.
