Mogadishu (PP News Desk) — A week after the bicameral legislature chaotically endorsed guidelines for debating amendments to the draft federal constitution, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, a federal MP, took issue with the practice through which the Federal Government influences the bicameral legislature to have bilateral and regional agreements ratified without discussion.
“I am not sure if the parliamentarians have discussed the bill on Somalia joining the East African Community. Article 110 of the draft federal constitution stipulates that parliamentary discussions precede any agreement the Federal Government of Somalia signs and any treaty should be translated into Somali so the MPs and the Foreign Affairs Select Committee can discuss it. I urge the Minister to give MPs copies of treaties to ensure that agreements do not run counter to the national interest“ said Warsame.
Two other bilateral agreements — intelligence sharing and renewed defence pact— signed in Addis Ababa in 2022 and 2023 respectively have not been submitted to the bicameral legislature for discussion. The renewed defence pact contains a clause on “maritime security cooperation” now being used by the Ethiopian government to defend the illegal Memorandum of Understanding signed with Somaliland, a secessionist administration.
© Puntland Post, 2024
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