Renowned Economist seeks Somalia Presidency

AfricaNews, June, 2012 - The latest entrant to the Somalia Presidential elections Hussein Khalif Jama has promised to effectively deal with the numerous challenges facing the Horn of Africa if elected to the office later this year.

The affectionate and charming banker has promised to deal with security, piracy and other challenges facing Somalia. “I believe that with cooperation from everyone, I can put the country to its rightful place in the world. We must all move forward to ensure that Somalia is stable,” he said during the official launch of his presidential bid at Laico Regency Hotel, Nairobi on Sunday.

Mr. Jama has worked for international banks, some multilateral, for the past 20 years and he holds a senior position at the Jeddah based Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The Canadian trained economist has recently launched his candidacy for the presidency of the Somali Republic where he is born and bred.

He believes that the biggest problem for Somalia chronic lack of functioning government is poor leadership. The candidate is of the view that the current team failed to meet the expectation of the people. In addition to strong leadership that gets acceptance for the Somali men and women, there is a dire need for maintaining law and order - security.

There is a also a marked failure to put together the national army of Somalia. With his military background, Mr. Jama argues that he has a clear picture of the way ahead in terms of rebuilding the Somali armed forces - which is where the rubber hits the road - in terms of restoring peace and stability in the country.

The key election issue for the candidate is fighting against the widespread corruption in the Somali administration. If he comes to the helm, business will not bet be as usual in terms of accountability. He will take to task on government bureaucracy in that regard.

He retorted, "Somalia is not for sale", while addressing the issue that money is the key issue in the coming presidential election. Also, he promised to put justice and respect for the law high in his agenda. He will respect the constitution, and expects that every Somali does the same and abides by the national laws of the country. Without enforcing law and order judicially, Somali can not get out of the deep hole.

The last but not the least issue he high-lighted that he is fighting against the scourge of tribalism that has held the country for hostage in the past two decades or so. He believes that without putting to stop this bad practice, Somalia will continue to go in circles.There are other key issues that the candidate sees them as a medium term, but he believes that these five key goals are for his immediate task to deliver.

Source:AfricaNews.com