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PP RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #2652/01 3291456
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241456Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7701
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 3101
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 002652 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S FRAZER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - PM and President Disagree on Cabinet 
 
REF: A) Nairobi 2520  B) Nairobi 2643 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  In a November 16 press conference, Transitional 
Federal Government (TFG) Prime Minister Hassan Hussein "Nur Adde" 
announced the new cabinet members he submitted to President Yusuf 
(see paragraphs 6-8).  President Yusuf has rejected the Prime 
Minister's cabinet on legal grounds.  There are no members of the 
Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), as this interim 
cabinet would be in office only until a unity government is formed. 
At his announcement, the PM stated that President Yusuf rejected the 
list in a bid to "block the peace process."  While the parliament 
has not convened in weeks because many of its representatives remain 
in Nairobi, they are expected to return to Baidoa in the coming 
days.  Many expect that once the MPs arrive, they will convene a 
session to ratify the new cabinet, even without Yusuf's approval. 
Still others suggest that the parliament may move either to impeach 
President Yusuf, or end the tenure of the Prime Minister on the one 
year anniversary of his appointment.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
President Rejects the Cabinet Appointments 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) To implement Article 13 of the October 29 IGAD agreement 
calling for the appointment of a cabinet, the PM developed a slate 
along the 4.5 formula for clan representation, but only replaced the 
ministers who resigned in August over a political dispute between 
the PM and President Yusuf.  PM Nur Adde retained his eight key 
allies on the cabinet, three of whom are from the PM's own Hawiye 
clan, two who are Digil and Mirifle, and one from the Dir clan whose 
power-base is in Somaliland.  President Yusuf has unequivocally 
rejected this list and the PM's selection process as "illegal" (Ref 
B).  The Prime Minister, working with a block of parliamentarians, 
is said to be planning to use the 1960 constitution to ratify the 
new cabinet even without President Yusuf's approval. 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Despite meeting in London, being summoned by Ethiopia 
(though never meeting face-to-face in Addis), President Yusuf and PM 
Hussein have failed to reach an agreement on the new cabinet. 
Although President Yusuf still has not agreed to the new composition 
of the cabinet, on November 16, the Prime Minister called a press 
conference in Nairobi and named a new cabinet.  ith the media, the 
PM spoke brazenly against President Yusuf accusing him of personally 
blocking Somalia's peace process.  The PM's public statements 
directly antagonized President Yusuf who struck back with his own 
accusations in the press. 
 
------------------------------ 
Currying Parliamentary Support 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) At a meeting with 175 MPs loitering in Nairobi after the 
October IGAD summit, the Prime Minister may have jumpstarted a 
protracted campaign to impeach President Yusuf.  Some MPs have told 
us that the Speaker of Parliament, who is in Baidoa, has agreed to 
table the impeachment motion as soon as the MPs return.  President 
Yusuf is also wooing MPs, possibly with money he reportedly 
collected during meetings with the Libyan and Sudanese governments. 
We understand that President Yusuf's strategy is to press parliament 
to schedule a hearing in Baidoa marking PM Hussein's one year 
anniversary in office.  At this hearing, one of Yusuf's advisors 
told us, the PM will be forced to "answer for his failings and 
illegal use of power.  At that time, it will be clear that he will 
have to go." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) It is impossible to predict which way the parliament will 
move.  Indications are that even with cash in hand, President Yusuf 
may have lost most of his support.  If PM Hussein is successful at 
getting his cabinet through parliament, it will signal a significant 
coup for the embattled Prime Minister.  If ratified, the Prime 
Minister's new cabinet will replace the ten ministers and three 
deputy ministers who reportedly resigned and add fourteen new deputy 
ministers.  Thus the cabinet would increase from 23 (18 ministers 
and five deputy ministers) to 36 (18 ministers and 18 deputy 
ministers).  The composition of Nur Adde's proposed cabinet follows 
in paragraphs 6-8. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Some Ministers Retained Their Positions 
------------------------------------------ 
 
NAIROBI 00002652  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Minister who retain their positions include: 
-- National Security and Internal Affairs Minister Muse Nur Amin 
(Hawiye/Galje'el) 
-- Finance and Planning Minister Mohamed Ali Hamud (Digil 
Mirifle/Mirifle) 
-- Air and Land Transportation and Ports Minister Mohamed Ibrahim 
Habsade (Digil and Mirifle/Mirifle) 
-- Agriculture, Water and Rural Development Minister Mustafa Ali 
Duhulow (Hawiye/Murasade) 
-- Labor and Social Affairs Minister Abdiaziz Hassan Muhamad 
-- Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Hussein Muhammad Muse 
-- Minister of Health Abdalla Haji Ali (Dir/Isaq) 
 
Also remaining is Ahmed Abdisalan Adan, Deputy Prime Minister and 
Minister of Information, Youth Affairs and Sports (Hawiye/Habar 
Gedir/Ayr).  Adan is a key embassy contact, a Djibouti Process 
leader, and staunch ally of PM Hussein.  Adan will likely continue 
his important work on the reconciliation process he began in 
Mogadishu that culminated in the November 23 establishment of a 
Banadir Region administration (septel). 
 
----------------------------- 
PM Proposes Ten New Ministers 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Prime Minister Hussein has posed several allies, but also 
many who made the list are staunch Yusuf supporters who have been 
closely allied to the TFG President for years.  The PM's proposed 
new (and not-so-new) faces include: 
-- Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation: Ahmed Mohamud 
Goonle (Darod/Dulbahante) - A former banker, Goonle maintains a low 
profile in parliament.   Formerly a Yusuf ally, he now backs the 
Prime Minister. 
-- Defense: Abdalla Boos Ahmed (Dir/Isaq).  Ahmed served as state 
minister and deputy minister in Gedi's cabinet.  He is a High Level 
Committee leader and a well-regarded political strategist with a 
background in marine studies.  He opposes Somaliland independence, 
despite his being from the region. 
-- Reconciliation, Regional Development and Federal Affairs: 
Abdiwahid Elmi Omar (Darod/Marehan).  A former MP who was expelled 
from parliament by Yusuf in 2006, Elmi did not accompany the "free 
parliament" to Asmara.  He is closely allied with former speaker 
Sharif Hassan Adan. 
-- Trade, Industry and Tourism: Abdirahman Osman Dirir 
(Dir/Gadubirsi).  Dirir served as state minister and deputy minister 
under Gedi and is a close Yusuf ally.  He has finance experience and 
was a senior banker during the Siad Barre regime. 
-- Justice and Religious Affairs: Ismail Abdi Mohamed (Digil and 
Mirifle/Garre) - A diplomat in the Siad Barre regime, he last served 
in Baghdad as deputy consul.  This would be his first ministerial 
appointment.  Mohamed opposed Yusuf over Gedi's forced resignation. 
 
-- Education and Culture: Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail (Dir/Biyamal) 
-Ismail was the first TFG Foreign Affairs Minister.  He is a 
parliamentary rules expert (serving as translator/rapporteur under 
Siad Barre), is respected and popular among MPs, and is regarded by 
most as a "liberal." 
-- Mineral and Natural Resources: Abdirahman Jama Abdalla 
(Darod/Warsangeli).  Abdalla was among first ministers to rebel 
against Gedi and resigned as minister in protest of the former PM. 
He worked closely with President Yusuf during his tenure as Puntland 
President. 
-- Public Works, Housing and Reconstruction: Ibrahim Habeb Nur 
(Hawiye/Hawadle).  Nur was one of the founders of United Somali 
Congress (USC), a Hawiye-based political organization largely 
responsible for dislodging Siad Barre from Mogadishu.  Known for his 
pro-Hawiye activism, Nur was a military intelligence officer under 
Siad Barre and is a stanch critic of President Yusuf. 
-- Gender Development and Family Affairs: Fahma Ahmed Nur (minority 
clan - Banadiri).  The only woman to be named in this cabinet, Nur 
served as Deputy Minister of National Security and Internal Affairs 
since the inception of the TFG.  A pragmatic lawyer, her loyalties 
lie with the regime in power. 
--- Post and Communications: Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed "Lahos" 
(Darod/Ogaden).  Lahos was military colonel in the Siad Barre 
regime. 
 
--------------------------- 
For Each Minister, a Deputy 
--------------------------- 
 
NAIROBI 00002652  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In this new cabinet, the propose number of deputy 
ministers swells the cabinet from 23 to 36, with one deputy for each 
ministry.  Only one deputy minister retained his position -- Deputy 
Minister Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdikarim 
Ahmed Ali (Hawiye/Gugundabe).  The other proposed deputy ministers 
are: 
-- Mohamud Mohamed "Vekiyo" (Darod/Lelkase) - Finance and Planning; 
-- Ismail Hassan Mohamud "Timir" - Constitution and Federal Affairs; 
 
-- Hassan Maalim Hussein - Public Works, Housing and Reconstruction; 
 
-- Mohamed Sheikh Yusuf - Justice and Religious Affairs; 
-- Bashir Mohamed Adan - Education and Heritage; 
-- Ibrahim Isaq Yarow - Information, Youth Affairs and Sports; 
-- Abdirashid Mohamed Hiddig - Trade, Industries and Tourism; 
-- Mahamud Barre Hassan - National Security and Internal Affairs; 
-- Salad Ali Jelle - Defense; 
-- Yusuf Gelle Ugas - Transport, Air and Ports; 
-- Husein Osman Husein - Mineral and Natural Resources; 
-- Ali Hasan Bullow - Agriculture, Water and Land Development; 
-- Hasan Ibrahim Mohamed "Japan" - Posts and Communications; 
-- Ibrahim Ali Salah - Health; 
-- Abdi Omar Ahmed "Ana-nug" - Livestock, Fisheries and Marine; 
-- Mohamed Mahamud Adan "Indha-gelle" - Labor and Social Services; 
and 
-- Jamilo Said Muse - Gender Development and Family Affairs. 
 
RANNEBERGER