Source: Anadolu Agency, Saturday March 28, 2020

Somalia is sending over 20 doctors to help fight coronavirus in Italy, the country where the virus has claimed the most lives.

Ismail Mukhtar Orongo, a Somali government spokesman, told Anadolu Agency over the phone on Friday that the doctors are volunteers from Somali National University in the capital Mogadishu.

“Twenty volunteer doctors from National University in Mogadishu are registered at Italy’s Embassy and will go to Italy to help the country’s fight against coronavirus,” he said.

They are being sent in response to a call by Italy’s government for help, and they are now ready and waiting for their charter flight to Italy, he added.

On Thursday, Italy’s Civil Protection reported 712 new deaths, bringing the country’s death toll from the virus to date to 8,215.

Meanwhile, Somalia on Friday confirmed the third case of coronavirus in the Horn of Africa nation.

According to the UN assistance mission in Somalia, a UN commercial contractor tested positive for coronavirus on Friday.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China, in December, the virus, has spread to at least 176 countries and regions, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows more than 553,200 cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll over 25,000, and more than 127,500 recoveries.

Source: Daily Nation, Kenya, Saturday March 28, 2020

Infighting among the top leadership of Somali-based militia Al-Shabaab over finances is threatening to split the group, an intelligence report seen by the Nation shows

Late last month, the group’s leader Ahmed Diriye, aka Abu Ubeyda, attempted to expel head of finance and intelligence operations Mahad Karate and head of external operations Bashir Qorgab as the three fight over control of resources.

Intelligence reports show that Karate’s and Qorgab’s clans resisted the expulsion.

Two weeks later, Qorgab, who the United States said was the mastermind of the Manda Bay base attack, was killed in a US drone attack alongside his wife.

After his death, Gen Stephen Townsend, the head of Africom, in a statement, confirmed that the two were killed in Saakow, about 150 kilometres north of Jilib, the headquarters of the militant group.
“Since January 5, the US Africa Command and our partners have pursued those responsible for the attack on US and Kenyan forces at Manda Bay,” Gen Townsend said.

Now, the intelligence report seen by the Nation shows that Qorgab’s death has exacerbated wrangles and suspicions within Shabaab ranks.

CREDIBILITY LOST

In early March, the intelligence report said Diriye ordered the assassination of another key Karate crony, Muse Maalim Muawiye, the head of intelligence in Banadir, who was lured to Buale and executed in early March.

“Ubeyda is accusing Karate of hoarding all the money collected from forced taxation on farmers, herders and businessmen in Mogadishu and other Shabaab-controlled areas. On the other hand, Karate argues that his clan, the Hawiye, are the majority in Somalia and the ones who contribute much to the coffers and, therefore, the money belongs first to the Hawiye and then to other clans,” the report reads.
Sources say that Karate has also been citing an incident in October 2017 when Al-Shabaab detonated a bomb and killed over 1,000 civilians at KM4 junction in Mogadishu.

Most of the dead were members of Karate’s clan, the report said.

Diriye, it is understood, has been trying to wrestle control from Karate, something he finds hard due to deeply embedded clan allegiances within the group.

TRADERS LOSE

He is reaching out to smaller clans hoping to form a conglomeration of clans against the Hawiyes.

“The situation has been aggravated by the constant precise drone strikes which are taking out key leaders, thus causing allegations and counter-allegations of espionage,” the report said, adding that this, coupled with Amisom’s plan to flush Al-Shabaab out of its strongholds of Buale and Jilib, has put the group on the edge.

To deflect attention, Al-Shabaab has deployed fighters along the Kenyan border, albeit without food, due to the financial wrangles.

As a result, militants deployed along the border have been looting shops. On March 14, on the border of Somalia and Garissa County, Al-Shabaab militants vandalised two shops, stealing food.

A fortnight ago security forces intercepted and killed six militants in Korisa, Garissa County, and captured one.

Last week soldiers raided an Al-Shabaab hideout in Holawajir, on the border with Lamu County, and shot dead 12 militants, among them a local commander who had been providing intelligence and logistical support to terrorists hiding in the forest.

Source: Hiiraan Online, Monday March 30, 2020

MOGADISHU (HOL) – The African Union Mission in Somalia has announced a 30 days lockdown of its base camp in Mogadishu and suspended all construction works within the facility in response to the fight against the COVID-19 disease.

The Mission said in a statement Saturday there will be ‘enhanced restricted into the Base Camp in Mogadishu and movement into and within the Base camp for a period of 30-days’ effective today midnight.“The implementation of these instructions will entail suspension of all construction work, movement of resupply vehicles and business activities within the Base Camp, such as shops at Marine, Movcon, Sector 1 main kitchen and car wash area,” the statement read in part.

The announcement comes two days after the UN in Somalia announced one of its contractors who was under quarantine had tested positive for COVID-19 adding to three the number of recorded cases in Somalia.

The AMISOM Base Camp houses the headquarters of the AU force in Somalia and other shared facilities with the UN.

Source: Maritime Logistics Professional
Thursday March 26, 2020

Photo: Liebherr Container Cranes

Liebherr Container Cranes and DP World Berbera have signed a contract for the supply of eight RTGs for DP World’s terminal in Berbera, Somaliland. The cranes are due to be ready for operation before the end of 2020.

The high performance, variable speed diesel RTGs are six containers plus a truck lane wide and will stack one over five containers high. The machines are supplied with DGPS autosteering and stack profiling. Like all Liebherr RTGs, the machines incorporate Liebherr’s eight rope reeving no-sway-system. Gantry cameras as well as a laser anti-collision system bring safety enhancements to operations.The Liebherr machines have been designed using high quality European components, specified for maximum loading conditions, significantly enhancing component life. Remote maintenance and Liebherr’s diagnostics and maintenance software, DiaMon3D aims to further enhance the RTGs appeal and help deliver exceptionally low maintenance costs. The variable speed diesel engine, helps reduce running costs and will significantly reduce emissions.

The port already operates three Liebherr LHM 420 mobile harbor cranes, which went into service in early 2019. The new cranes are part of a phased expansion of the port, with phase one including a new 400 m quay and a 250,000 m² yard extension.

Source: UN, Thursday March 26, 2020

James Swan, Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Somalia (UNSOM), said that by reaching the so-called “decision point” for debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries’ Initiative (HIPC), Somalia has passed an historic milestone on its path to peace and prosperity.

“Achievement of the HIPC decision point is a major step forward for Somalia’s economic progress, allowing the country to advance towards its long-term objective of inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction,” he said in a statement.

“All Somalis can be proud of this achievement,” he added.

The development is welcome news for Somalia – which is carrying $5.2 billion of debt – as it prepares for one-person, one-vote elections later this year against the backdrop of extreme humanitarian challenges.Some 5.2 million are in need of assistance, alongside ongoing attacks by the Al-Shabaab terrorist group and the worst locust outbreak in 25 years.

Global debt relief call: World Bank, IMF 

It also coincided with a call by the World Bank Group (WBG) and the IMF for all official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments from the world’s 76 poorest countries and enable them to redirect funds towards confronting the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a joint statement, the two Washington-based institutions also asked leaders of the G-20 leading economies to task them at their spring meetings on 16 to 17 April with assessing the impact and financing needs of each of the countries, which are part of the International Development Association (IDA).

Mr. Swan, who is also the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, said that the country’s debt breakthrough was testament to the federal authorities’ ability to manage public finances.  “It also reflects strong collaboration between the Federal Government and the federal member states,” he added. “The World Bank Group and the IMF believe it is imperative at this moment to provide a global sense of relief for developing countries as well as a strong signal to financial markets,” it said.

The World Bank and the IMF established the HIPC Initiative in 1996, to ensure that no poor country finds itself in a situation in which it cannot service and manage its debt burden.

Reaching “decision point” not only confirms Somalia’s eligibility for debt relief, but also fully normalizes its relations with international financial institutions.  It will also now qualify for certain types of grant financing to meet its public finance and development needs and to access private-sector financing instruments.

The second and final step after decision point, known as the completion point, would open the way for full and irrevocable reduction in debt under the HIPC Initiative.

In a press release, the IMF said debt relief for Somalia – the 37th country to reach decision point – would help it make last change for its 15 million people by allowing its debt to be irrevocably reduced from $5.2 billion at the end of 2018 to $557 million once it reaches completion point in about three years’ time.

Hiiraan Online, Thursday March 26, 2020

MOGADISHU (HOL) –  President Mohamed Farmaajo and Prime Minister Hassan Khaire have lauded their country’s achievement of a major milestone in the debt relief process following the announcement Wednesday the country had qualified for interim debt relief.

A statement from Villa Somalia noted the President’s appreciation adding the decision by the World Bank and IMF was critical for reforms in Somalia.

“This debt relief decision by IMF, WB, IDA and the support from friends of Somalia, is a timely boost for our longstanding transformation and sectoral reforms in Somalia,” the statement read in part.

The president added his administration ‘will maintain our sustained efforts and institutional strengthening for the completion of this journey.’

The PM said reaching the Decision Point was crucial for the country to enhance its reform and recovery process.

“The Government and People of Somalia are very pleased by the IMF’s and World Bank Group’s decision which allows Somalia to fully re-engage with International Financial Institutions,” the PM said. “This decision is an important milestone which presents ample opportunities for Somalia as it relentlessly pursues its ongoing reform processes as well as its recovery and development agenda.”

BRIDGING LOANS

The IMF and World announced Wednesday Somalia had now qualified for debt relief after meeting reform benchmarks and clearing debts owed to its multilateral creditors.According to the Fund, Somalia has cleared all arrears due to the World Bank, IMF and International Development Fund through bridging loans.

Italy advanced a bridging loan which cleared Somalia’s arrears to the IMF while the UK and EU cleared the Africa Development Bank debt as Norway offset the World Bank debt. All the bridging loans have since been reimbursed, a statement from the Fund said.

The IMF said Somalia’s debt will ease off in three years’ time when the country is expected to reach the Completion Point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.

“Debt relief will help Somalia make lasting change for its people by allowing its debt to be irrevocably reduced from US$5.2 billion at end-2018 to US$557 million in net present value terms (NPV) once it reaches the HIPC Completion Point in about three years’ time,” the IMF said.

Once the country reaches the Completion Point, the remaining debt will be cleared by the World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank through the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) process.

Source: Hiiraan Online, Thursday March 26, 2020

MOGADISHU (HOL) – Somalia has confirmed the second case of COVID-19 after one of the persons who was on quarantine tested positive.

Health Minister Fawziya Abikar said Thursday the second case was established Wednesday night adding the patient did not exhibit any symptoms of coronavirus such as fever, difficulty in breathing or cough.

Somalia registered the first case mid this month and instituted a raft of measures including banning all international flights and closing learning institutions.
However, there are no stringent measures on public gatherings as is the case in other COVID-19 affected countries.

It was not clear from the Minister’s statement if the patient was among those who arrived in the country this week following a two days flights easing to allow Somalis stranded travel into the country.

The Minister however indicated the affected person came from outside the country.

Somalia remains among countries with few cases of the disease as most African countries record double digit figures.

In neighbouring Kenya, the number has risen to 28 while in Ethiopia 12 cases have since been recorded.

Source: AFP, Tuesday March 24, 2020

A “physical” session would force around 50 people to come to the UN AFP/File

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council, which has not met for 12 days due to the coronavirus outbreak, is deeply divided over a proposed declaration on the crisis and holding “virtual” meetings to vote on resolutions, diplomatic sources said Monday (Mar 23).

The impasse comes as world leaders struggle to respond to the pandemic, with rivals US and China engaged in a war of words as medical experts plead for unified action.

“South Africa (a non-permanent council member) rejected (the proposed declaration) first. Russia and China engaged earlier, but later on also blocked it,” a source told AFP.

The draft proposal, drawn up late last week by Estonia, highlights “growing concern about the unprecedented extent of the COVID-19 outbreak in the world, which may constitute a threat to international peace and security.”It also calls for “full transparency” over the outbreak — wording seen by some to allude to US criticism of government secrecy in China, where the virus first emerged.

“The members of the Security Council urge the member states to put more emphasis on helping the ones most exposed and vulnerable to the virus and the populations in dire humanitarian situations,” the draft, seen by AFP, says.

It adds that “no country can succeed alone.”

A UN Security Council declaration requires the support of all 15 members to be adopted and published.

UNCERTAIN SCHEDULE 

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Monday that the pandemic was clearly “accelerating” as the number of deaths surged close to 16,000, with over 350,000 declared infections.

The Security Council, chaired in March by China, has not met since March 12, with most UN staff and diplomats from the national missions working from home to avoid infection, though the New York headquarters remains open.

On Thursday it must renew the mandate of UN experts responsible for sanctions imposed on North Korea for one year and extend the peace mission in Somalia for one year.

According to diplomats, the council must also extend the peacekeepers’ mission in Darfur by two months, without modifying the numbers of troops.

Originally, the Security Council was supposed to decide on a gradual withdrawal to create at the end of October a political mission in Sudan and close its peacekeeping operation in Darfur.

Council meetings on Syria and Libya this week have been canceled, but it remains unclear whether the council will meet as scheduled on Thursday.

For 10 days, Russia has repeatedly opposed “virtual” meetings by video to allow voting sessions.

Critics point out that a “physical” session would force around 50 people to come to the UN, with one diplomat describing the Russian stance as “idiotic.”

“We are for a physical presence (and) doubt that (voting) could be achieved otherwise,” Russian deputy ambassador to the UN Dmitri Polyanskiy told AFP.

Source: Egypt Independent, Monday March 23, 2020

Ethiopia has formed a solution to its dispute with Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and will submit it to Egypt and Sudan at the earliest time, the Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gedu Andargachew announced.

In interviews with China Global Television Network and the Associated Press Andargachew denied that Ethiopia intends to use Nile water on its own, but stresses it does have the right to use it responsibly.

A “political commitment” to the “principle of fair use of the GERD” is needed from Egypt, he said.

Ethiopia is committed to resolving the GERD dispute, demanding fair and serious talks to take place for Ethiopia to return to negotiations under the US’s auspices, the minister added.Andargachew criticized an agreement reached during the latest negotiations as “rash” and not benefiting any party.

He justified Ethiopia’s withdrawal as due to being pressured “to sign the agreement without addressing the main issues of the tripartite dialogue in the United States.”

Andargachew also called on the Arab League to maintain good relations between the Horn of Africa and Middle East.

The Ethiopian Parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee also postponed a session including Andargachew and the participant team of negotiations for the GERD owing to concerns of the coronavirus, according to The Reporter website.

“The meeting was intended to hear the current affairs and outstanding issues from ministers and negotiator’s regarding the US government’s recent statements as well as the ongoing diplomatic pressure mounted against Ethiopia,” Chairman of Foreign Relation and Peace Affairs Standing Committee Tesfaye Daba said.

The US announced that Egypt had solely initialed the drafted GERD agreement, as Ethiopia was absent from the last round of negotiations on February 27-28 in Washington.

“Consistent with the principles set out in the declaration of principles, in particular the principles of not causing significant harm to downstream countries, final testing and filling should not take place without an agreement,” the US Treasury Department’s statement reads.

Ethiopia expressed disappointment towards the statement. In a joint statement issued Saturday, Ethiopia’s water and foreign ministers said that the GERD’s constructions will continue as planned alongside filling the dam’s reservoir.

Egypt has repeatedly blamed the Ethiopian side for the failure to achieve progress in the negotiations.

Ethiopia began constructing the GERD in 2011, costing US$4.7 billion in total to build. Ethiopia plans to fill the reservoir with water to power what is expected to become the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa.

Source: The Gardian, Saturday March 21, 2020
Kaamil Ahmed

A man tries to catch locusts as they swarm over Sana’a in July 2019. The insects have since reached east Africa, threatening the food security of 25 million people. Photograph: Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images

The locust crisis that has now reached 10 countries could carry on to endanger millions more people, forecasters have said.

Climate change created unprecedented conditions for the locusts to breed in the usually barren desert of the Arabian gulf, according to experts, and the insects were then able to spread through Yemen, where civil war has devastated the ability to control locust populations.

It was Cyclone Mekunu, which struck in 2018, that allowed several generations of desert locusts the moist sand and vegetation to thrive in the desert between Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman known as the Empty Quarter, breeding and forming into crop-devouring swarms, said Keith Cressman, locust forecasting expert for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“That’s fine, that’s quite good in itself, but just about when those conditions are drying out and the breeding is coming to an end, a second cyclone came to the area,” he said.“That allowed the conditions to continue to be favourable and another generation of breeding, so instead of increasing 400-fold, they increased 8,000-fold.

“Usually a cyclone brings favourable conditions for about six months and then the habitat dries out, and so it’s not favourable for reproduction and they die and migrate.”

The amount of cyclones in the area seem to be increasing, said Cressman, making it likely that locust swarms will also become more common.

The FAO has warned that the food security of 25 million people could be endangered by the locusts, which according to the agency’s locust monitoring service have been spotted in at least 10 countries over recent months. One swarm recently reported in Kenya covered an area the size of Luxembourg.

The organisation has requested $140m (£120m) to help fight the ongoing breeding of the insects, predicting that a continuation through late March and April could see the existing number of locusts grow by 400 times by June.

The current crisis is considered the worst in decades, and there are fears it could last longer than previous locust outbreaks.

Alongside the climate emergency impact, the war in Yemen is a key factor.

Cressman said Yemen is a “frontline” country for locusts, with the insects typically present throughout the year. But its once effective locust programme no longer has the same impact in cities where control is now divided between the government and Houthi rebels.

The head of the locust programme, Adel al-Shaibani, is based in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sana’a.

“Before the war we had a good ability to reach anywhere in Yemen,” he said. “In current times we’re just able to cover the Red Sea coastal areas – but not all – and some areas in the interior.”

He explained that there were two separate locust control centres in Yemen but neither was able to combat the outbreak effectively alone.

The Sana’a-based centre carried out control operations wherever they could in 2018, but they have been underfunded and have lost some of their vehicles.

“In spite of all our hard efforts, some areas remained out of control due to security reasons near the border with Saudi Arabia. The desert locust outbreak occurred and some swarms formed and moved to other areas,” said Shaibani.

A young desert locust without wings is seen on a stalk near Geerisa town, in Somaliland’s Lughaya district. Photograph: Daniel Irungu/EPA

“This crisis could be quite long because of the Yemeni and Somali areas that cannot control the populations,” said Cyril Piou, an expert with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development.

He said that in previous decades locust outbreaks had only lasted roughly two years but, without preventive systems, they will last longer, happen more frequently and spread further.

“We are all linked in some way, what is happening somewhere else affects us all,” he said.

The last comparable locust outbreak was in the late 1940s and 50s, but Cressman said that was in a time when monitoring and reporting was a slow, cumbersome process and chemical pesticides were readily available for control operations.

Historically, the Arabian Gulf has very few cyclones. But the past decade has brought a significant increase thanks to the Indian Ocean dipole, a phenomenon linked to flooding in the western Indian Ocean, dry weather in the east and wildfires in Australia.

Cressman, part of whose job involves looking at historical conditions to understand current developments, said the climate’s behavioural changes made that difficult.

“This analogous forecasting methodology used to work pretty good up until five years ago, and it’s just not working very well any more at all because of the rainfall, the timing, the distribution. It’s very different,” he said.

Source: Daily Nation, Sunday March 22, 2020

Kenya has been thrust into the competing interests of Ethiopia and Egypt, who are jostling for regional support for a decisive agreement on a dam being built on the Nile.

The tussle, which kicked off two weeks ago, represents the latest haggling over the use of the Nile waters, a perennial discussion that has lasted 60 years.

At the centre of the debate is the Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Ethiopia, which Egypt sees as a threat to its water source. But it has roped in riparian countries like Kenya, who form a group aggrieved by a colonial-era treaty that gave Egypt massive rights and control over the waters of the Nile.

NILE BASIN

Sources said Ethiopia was tapping this grievance to seek support from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and other countries in the Nile basin affected by the old treaty. The Basin includes 11 countries. Egypt, in turn, is seeking to divide countries in the eastern Africa region and roil any joint statements.

That fight manifested this week when President Uhuru Kenyatta reportedly promised his Egyptian counterpart Abdelfattah al-Sisi Nairobi’s support.
Bassam Rady, al-Sisi’s spokesman, told Egyptian media that President Kenyatta had told his counterpart the Egyptian stand on the GERD was a result of “sincere political will”.

The revelations by Egypt were, however, clarified by Nairobi a day later, with officials insisting Kenya supports an appropriate agreement reached by negotiations between African countries themselves.

Officials who spoke to the Sunday Nation said Kenya sees sharing of water volumes of the Nile as one aspect that must be addressed through the African Union and not external bodies as the GERD issue has been negotiated, in order to benefit all riparian states.

The GERD, a $4.5 billion (Sh450 billion) project on the Nile’s main tributary in Ethiopia (the Blue Nile), was supposed to boost electricity generation once full, producing up to 6.5GW of power. But the project, largely funded by Ethiopians themselves, has seen opposition from Egypt, which argues that the programme to fill it might deny Cairo its “historical and rightful share” of the water.

NEGOTIATIONS

President Kenyatta’s call with the Egyptian leader had followed a cancellation of a trip by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry due to the Covid-19 outbreak. But the Ethiopians had sent President Sahle-Work Zewde to Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda to “brief” the leaders on the negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt on GERD, which Addis Ababa says “collapsed”.

On March 12, the Ethiopian leader warned there could be problems if any contentious agreement on the Nile was implemented.

“The President also underscored Ethiopia’s commitment to continue working with all Nile Basin countries, and to ensure that only treaties that are properly entered into by the countries will apply to the basin,” a dispatch from Addis Ababa said of Mrs Sahle-Work’s visit in Nairobi.

In turn, President Kenyatta called for a review of agreements on the Nile to take into consideration the “needs of its increasing populations”.

“The President (Kenyatta) also emphasised the importance of ensuring equitable and reasonable utilisation of natural resources. The two leaders agreed on the importance of reaching a resolution in the spirit of African Solutions to African Problems and concurred on the need for the African Union to support the countries reach a win-win outcome.”

At a meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on March 13, the Ethiopian leader was told Uganda supports equitable distribution of the Nile waters.

“The two leaders recognised the strategic importance of the Nile for all the riparian countries, the livelihood of their peoples and the need to solve any issues among the countries.”
President Museveni even called for “frank” discussions on the Nile, possibly through a summit by riparian countries, according to a statement from their meeting. In Rwanda, President Paul Kagame also supported renegotiations to allow riparian countries more rights and control on their natural resources.

HISTORICAL RIGHTS

Egypt’s strategy on the Nile has been to seek support of blocs. A fortnight ago, Cairo tabled a motion to the Arab League which endorsed a communique supporting Egypt’s historical rights and urged for a rejection of any decisions that could alter or threaten the Egyptian share of the Nile.

Sudan, a member of the League, refused to endorse the declaration, warning such a move could risk cooperation between the League and Ethiopia, and did not serve its national interests. Somalia, though, endorsed the declaration. Last week Somali Prime Minister Hassan Khaire rushed to Addis Ababa to clarify Mogadishu’s stance on “horn of Africa integration”, interpreted to mean a change of mind from what a “junior officer” had voted.

Later, a statement from Addis Ababa said Somalia and Djibouti respectively called for bilateral and win-win solutions.

The dam itself became the central point of contention after negotiations facilitated by the US Treasury collapsed two weeks ago. Ethiopia had skipped the final negotiations, saying it wanted more time.

Washington had tabled a draft agreement and asked the three countries to sign. Cairo initialled on it, which in diplomatic parlance signals an end to negotiations. Addis Ababa was furious.

Ethiopian Ambassador to Kenya Meles Alem Tekea told the Sunday Nation the issue on GERD should be seen as a beneficial project for all the three countries, and that Egypt should not force through its stances.

“If there was justice in the world, then Sudan and Egypt should have contributed for the completion of the dam as they also benefit,” he said on Friday. “The dam will boost the flow of water by reducing annual flooding and siltation, which affects Sudan most. Besides, all the three countries stand a chance to utilise the electricity produced at a reasonable price.”

Some observers, though, think the Nile debate could be a chance for riparian countries to settle scores among themselves by supporting Egypt, especially if they disagree on other matters.

An assessment by the International Crisis Group this week said the three countries could reach an amicable deal if they appointed a joint arbiter.

Source: VOA, Sunday March 22, 2020

The new coronavirus has woven itself into the daily lives of Somalis’ pocketbooks, hitting small businesses, including sellers of the herbal stimulant khat.

Khat, the red-stemmed, green-leafed plant that is chewed for its amphetamine-like properties, is grown in Kenya and Ethiopia but is very popular in Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen.

On Thursday, Somalia banned all international flights, including those carrying khat, for 15 days, as a part of measures the country has taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The normally bustling market in Mogadishu known as Beertakhat, which translates into khat farm, has been practically deserted because of the suspended flights.Hundreds if not thousands of Somalis who directly or indirectly depended on the khat business could be affected by the decision.

Despite its popularity, khat markets have always been fragile because there are no stockpiles available. Traditionally, it has to be sold fresh.

A mother’s income

One khat seller in Mogadishu, Faadumo Abdurahman, told VOA Somali that her family’s livelihood had been jeopardized because of the flight stoppage, which she said had come without warning.

“Vending khat was the only way I managed to feed my children. Therefore, this decision came at a time I was not prepared for,” she said.

“One side, the suspension of khat flights would hit us hard economically. On the other hand, I see the decision as temporary and lifesaving,” said liban Mohamed Isse, a spokesman for khat traders.

Not only Somali traders and consumers but also growers of khat in Kenya, where it is called “miraa” and nicknamed “green gold,” are feeling the economic effects of the coronavirus.

Normally, more than 15 cargo flights of khat arrive in Mogadishu and other major cities in the country every day from Kenya. Somali anti-khat activist Abukar Awale said the crop is worth $840 million a year.

“In research we have done only on the khat that is air transported into Somalia, at its peak, we have recorded 35 cargo flights, carrying about 95,000 bags of khat a day, which have a total retail value of $400,000,” Awale said.