Ceelka soo jiid caweys iyo ciyaar dhaafee? In my opinion and in the view of many educated, nationalist Somalis, what our country needs today is a much slimmer cabinet; one that is not bigger than the cabinet we had at the time of gaining our independence in 1960. I would strongly and sincerely argue that Somalia does not honestly require more than a maximum of 14 ministers. And that was the size of our cabinet in early 1960s – a time when, I would also argue, Somalia was in a much better position, relatively speaking, because it was in peace with itself; was not experiencing a devastating civil war; had great hopes for a brighter future; and had a central government -- not perfect but at least a functioning one. I would even go a step further by specifying the kind of line ministries that our unfortunate country needs during its reconstruction – if at all we can embark upon this arduous task earnestly. The 14 line ministries that I would propose are as follows: (1) Ministry of Interior & National Security (2) Ministry of Defense (3) Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (4) Ministry of Education (5) Ministry of Health (6) Ministry of Finance & National Economy (7) Ministry of Trade and Industry (8) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (9) Ministry of Planning & International Cooperation (10) Ministry of Justice & Religious Affairs (11) Ministry of Post & Telecommunications (12) Ministry of Transport & Public Works (13) Ministry of Information & Culture, and (14) Ministry of Reconciliation & Somali Diaspora As such, there is no need for such ridiculous designations as Ministry of Tourism or Ministry of Petroleum. Who in his right mind would go to war-torn Somalia for a nice holiday? What is there to see except death and destruction? And why a country that has never produced a single barrel of oil would need a Minister for petroleum affairs? This absurdity is beyond me. As to the remaining essential functions of state, they could be carried out in the form of general directorates/departments within the above 14 main ministries or through several autonomous public enterprises/agencies, as was the case when we had a fully functioning national government. In this connection, I also wish to suggest that, in terms of qualifications, the proposed ministers – particularly those to be selected should possess at least a first university degree and a minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 17:56:09 +0000
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