The Voice Of Somaliland: PRINCILPES OF PUBLIC LIFE OF SOMALILAND MEMBERS OF THE PARLIAMENT

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

PRINCILPES OF PUBLIC LIFE OF SOMALILAND MEMBERS OF THE PARLIAMENT

TO:
All Members of the Republic of Somaliland

The leaders of all Somaliland Political Parties

The government of Somaliland

All Somaliland Media (press, radios and the cyberspace

the people of Somaliland

FROM:
Mohamed Dahir Khaire, London, United Kingdom29 November 2005

Dear all

Members of parliament are elected to hold the public office and have the duty to serve the public interest and the citizens who elected them are entitled to feel confident that their power of sovereignty is being exercised for their benefit. Holding a public office is a public trust and signifies that the officer has been entrusted with public power by the people; that the officer holds this power in trust to be used only for their benefit and never for his/her benefit. Newly elected members of Somaliland parliament shall be governed and guided by the following principles in their public life. These principles should apply to all holders of public offices in the Republic of Somaliland such as Ministers and civil servants.

PRINCILPES OF PUBLIC LIFE OF SOMALILAND MEMBERS OF THE PARLIAMENT

1: Selflessness

Member are elected or appointed solely to serve the public interest. They should never use their position to gain for themselves, their family or friends any financial benefits, preferential treatment or other advantage, or to confer such benefits, treatment or advantage improperly on others.

2: Honesty and Integrity

Members should not place themselves in situations where their honesty and integrity may be questioned; they should not behave improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour.

3: Duty to uphold the law

Members should uphold the law, and on all occasions, act in accordance with the trust that the public entrusted in them.

4: Objectivity

Members should make decisions on merit, including when making appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards or benefits.Members should make decisions on merit, including when making appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards or benefits.

5: Accountability

Members should be accountable to the public for their actions and the manner in which they carry out their responsibilities, and should co-operate fully and honestly with any scrutiny appropriate to their particular office.Members should be accountable to the public for their actions and the manner in which they carry out their responsibilities, and should co-operate fully and honestly with any scrutiny appropriate to their particular office.

6: Openness

Members should be as open as possible about their actions and those of their authority; they should be prepared to give reasons for those actions.

7: Honesty and Integrity

Member should have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest.

8: Personal Judgement

Members may take account of the views of others, including their political groups, but should reach their own conclusions on the issues before them and act in accordance with those conclusions.Members may take account of the views of others, including their political groups, but should reach their own conclusions on the issues before them and act in accordance with those conclusions.

9: Respect for Others

Members should promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their race, age, gender, or disability. They should respect the impartiality and integrity of the authority's statutory officers, and its other employees.Members should promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their race, age, gender, or disability. They should respect the impartiality and integrity of the authority's statutory officers, and its other employees.

10: Leadership

Members should promote and support these principles by leadership and example, and should always act in a way that preserves public confidence.

Thank you,

Mohamed D Khaire

London, United Kingdom

No comments:

Post a Comment

The New Somaliland Press & Publications Bill 2007

The Somaliland Government has recently sent to the House of Representatives a new Bill on press and publications. The provisions of this bill (based almost entirely on the Yemen Law No: 25 of 1990 on the Press & Publications) run contrary to international norms relating to freedom of expression and the independence of the press and are not in line with the Somaliland constitution.
The considerable powers given to the Minister of Information (and other ministers) include even deciding on appeals from anyone whose writings have been turned down for publication by a newspaper’s editor (Article 46). These ministerial powers over the press and publishers/printers/distributors etc, the compulsory registration of all press and publication activities, including the practice of the profession of journalism, and the extensive criminal sanctions which add to the existing array of criminal offences in the 1962 Somali Penal Code contrast sharply with the current Somaliland Press Law (2004), which contains no criminal sanctions and is based on codes of conduct. Unfortunately the Somaliland Government has repeatedly made clear its dissatisfaction with the current press Law and has used the Penal Code and extra-judicial powers to detain and imprison journalists. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Somaliland Government is not putting forward amendments of the current Press Law, but is now proposing its wholesale replacement by this new Bill which introduces considerable criminal sanctions, such as fines and imprisonment (Article 99) for the infringement of its numerous provisions, as well as prohibition of continued practice of journalism or publication or even circulation of printed materials; confiscation of property, including printing presses (Article 101) and seizure of printed materials (Article 102)..........Full Text

The Isaq Somali Diaspora And‎ Poll-Tax Agitation In Kenya, 1936-41‎

Poll-tax agitation has been a fairly common phenomenon in Africa. On most occasions it has involved little ‎more than vocalized protest. In a few instances, however, it has led to resistance that has been both serious ‎and violent; the earliest example of the latter is probably to be found in the widespread Fante uprisings that ‎occurred immediately after the introduction of the Gold Coast Poll Tax Ordinance of 1852; a later example is ‎the Natal uprising of 1906 which has been attributed in large measure to the introduction of poll tax at the ‎end of the previous year. Yet the agitation by the Isaq Somali in Kenya did not follow either of these two ‎patterns. In several respects it was a highly unusual movement: first, the Isaq were campaigning to pay higher ‎taxation; secondly, in order to secure their aims they attempted to mobilize the whole Isaq diaspora, so that ‎Somali in Uganda, Tanganyika, British Somaliland and Britain were all involved in this agitation, (see map )‎.....Read the rest

The "Letter-of-Death" by General "Morgan" January 23, 1987

(Waridaad) - Following is the famous "Letter-of-Death" as translated into English by Mohamoud Sheikh Ahmed Musa, former President of the Supreme Court, including his explanatory notes as footnotes:1
The report is addressed to the President of the SDR, the Minister of Defence, and the Minister of Interior. The latter, Major-General Ahmed Suleiman Abdalla, is also a son-in-law of the President, and Third Deputy Prime Minister. Since President Barre is also the Minister of Defence -- the previous holder of that portfolio, General Mohamed Ali Samatar, having been promoted Prime Minister on January 30, 1987 -- the report is seemingly confined to family members. This would explain its extreme frankness in specifying certain clans as targets for implemented and recommended punitive action.
The target is the Isaaq Clan Family. The term "clan family" was first coined by Professor I.M. Lewis, Professor Social Anthropology at the London School Economics, to describe the collective name for each of the several major divisions to which Somali clans traditionally divide themselves. The Isaaq clan family sub-divides into four main clans.
Top Secret.......Read the rest