Message to my fellow Kenyans!

Our condolences to the people of Kenya for a tragic terrorist shooting spree at Westgate Mall 21th September 2013, We (Somali) people as a whole strongly condemn in the strongest terms acts of cold blooded murder committed by people claiming to do so in the name of Allah, we are not only condemning as Somalis, Muslim, or Africans but as a human beings. Terrorism has no religion/color or race and to let you know this is not Islam. Islam is not responsible for this violence.
Don't call them Islamist terrorists & don't try to stereotype Muslims.
Allah's mercy be on all those who suffered.
Islam is for peace, equality, brotherhood, respect and tolerance.

Let me give a good example a funeral of a Jew passed before Prophet Muhammad [peace and blessings be upon him], as a sign of respect he stood up. In doing this, he showed respect and shared in the feeling of sorrow with Jewish family and community. "Why did you stand up for a Jewish funeral?" he was asked. The Prophet replied: "Is it not a human soul?".

The Prophet was the best of all the people in character

The Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) taught love, kindness and compassion to his people, and was seen to be the most loving, kind, and compassionate of all of them.

Whoever said Al-Shabaab will only kill non-Muslims is a racist.
Because Turkey is trying to help Somalia, Al-Shabaab is trying to kill Turks. Aren't Turks Muslims as well? 

If you hate someone because they are different to you by race/religion, then your life will end like these racists (Hitler, Milosevic).

AlShabab don't represent 1 billion Muslims. They don't even represent Somalis. For assuming they do, you represent ignorance.

Quran taught us the Value of Human life " Killing one human is equal to killing the entire human race: EVERY human, whatever its age, gender, nationality, race, social status, history, worldview or religion, isn't just equal to mankind (al-Nāss), but is equal to the ENTIRE human race together (al-Nāss jamiy'ān), from the first human that has lived untill the last'. 

I wish AlShabab/Al-Qaeda had read the Quran! 

All Somalia people are not Alshabab.
Alshabab are not Muslims neither Somalis, neither have Somali Culture, they don't know anything about Islam. Somalia terrorists have no religion, no country either. 

Alshabab is global terror organization, not merely Somalis. Their ranks and file include all east African region and beyond. 
Generalising/blaming an entire community is not progress. Alshaabab doesn't represent us (Somalia) nor even our views. 

Somali people have already been through tough times I hope this doesnt effect the Somalis in Kenya

My message to Kenyans Alshabab showed you how much they hate Kenyans but we Somalis love each and everyone of you and always will.

Al-Shabaab losing territory and revenue in Somalia: a headline-grabbing foreign attack perhaps a sign of weakness rather than strength.

As we all know the largest number of people that have been affected in terms of Alshabab's violent attacks are Somalis. 

I personally believe that the main reason#Alshabab was stablished is to eliminate the name, dignity and existence of Somali the face of the earth.

People who use religion or previous grievances justify a twisted and self-serving ideology do so of their own choosing.

Our hearts are with the victims and their loved ones. We stand with the people of Kenya. We call on all of the world to put Kenya in their prayers. We (Somali People) stand with you firm and bravely against terrorism.

Mansa Musa I of Mali: The Wealthiest Man In History

Mansa Musa I of Mali: The Wealthiest Man In History

Musa was a devout Muslim and his pilgrimage to Mecca, a command ordained by Allah according to core teachings of Islam, made him well-known across northern Africa and the Middle East. To Musa, Islam was the foundation of the “cultured world of the Eastern Mediterranean”.^[7] He would spend much time fostering the growth of Islam in his empire.

Musa made his pilgrimage in 1324, his procession reported to include 60,000 men, 12,000 slaves who each carried 4-lb. gold bars, heralds dressed in silks who bore gold staffs, organized horses and handled bags. Musa provided all necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and animals.^[8] Also in the train were 80 camels, which varying reports claim carried between 50 and 300 pounds of gold dust each. He gave away the gold to the poor he met along his route. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs. Furthermore, it has been recorded that he built a mosque each and every Friday.

Musa’s journey was documented by several eyewitnesses along his route, who were in awe of his wealth and extensive procession, and records exist in a variety of sources, including journals, oral accounts and histories. Musa is known to have visited with the Mamluk sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad of Egypt in July 1324.^[9]

Musa’s generous actions, however, inadvertently devastated the economy of the region. In the cities of Cairo, Medina and Mecca, the sudden influx of gold devalued the metal for the next decade. Prices on goods and wares super inflated in an attempt to adjust to the newfound wealth that was spreading throughout local populations. To rectify the gold market, Musa borrowed all the gold he could carry from money-lenders in Cairo, at high interest. This is the only time recorded in history that one man directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean.

Hypocrisy clouded debate on withdrawal from International Criminal Court

Kenya’s biggest hurdles to cohesion and development are negative ethnicity and corruption.

No amount of laws and courts will solve our problems because this is not a legal problem but a moral one. Morality is about attitude, which can only be changed through education and not enactment or execution of laws.

Laws can deter actions but they cannot change the mind. And since the mind hasn’t changed, it will always figure out how to beat the law.

Last week’s debate on Kenya’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute revealed how divided Kenya is. Each side accused the other of hypocrisy. And they were right because in a sense each side was hypocritical. CORD knew that justice for victims would not necessarily be served by having three people prosecuted, out of the thousands who were involved. The real justice that the victims need is to have their lives put on course and shielded from violence in the future.

Even if we assume that President Uhuru and his deputy bear the greatest responsibility, their prosecution is likely to escalate animosity rather than mitigate it because their cases are not just about law. Their cases also have a political dimension, which can only be addressed politically.

Jubilee is pretending that their support for the ICC a couple of years ago was well-intentioned. On the contrary, they were hell-bent on shielding the alleged perpetrators of violence from possible punishment, with little concern for the victims. Jubilee should not act as if this is an emergency. I am not a friend of ICC because I know it’s a political court in the hands of global powers. I would support withdrawal from ICC, but not before the cases of Kenyans in ICC are heard and determined.

In my view, with or without ICC our problems remain. Africa must source homegrown solutions. Any illusions that our political and economic salvation comes from the West is ill-informed and naïve.

       {LSI Mwenda, Nairobi} 

The passing of a motion by Jubilee MPs to withdraw Kenya from the ICC is an indication that they want to restore impunity in this country. Ever since the three Kenyans were indicted by the ICC, Kenya has enjoyed peace and tranquility that have never been seen before. This peace is because of the fear of ICC by the lords of impunity in the country. Again, were it not for the fear of ICC, the last General Election could have been chaotic. I  would like to call upon Kenyans to reject and condemn efforts by Jubilee MPs to withdraw Kenya from ICC as this is going to bring back dictatorship and impunity.

       {JM, Nairobi}

 

Tribal clashes in Kenya happen all the time yet the Judiciary is unable to act. When the worst kind of this violence happened in 2007/8, everybody was convinced that only the ICC could mete out justice for the majority poor and voiceless. The need for this justice has not gone away merely because Uhuru and Ruto came together and won the elections. The political scene in 2017 might be so different, you would be shocked were you to watch the ‘fast-forward’ clip. We still need the ICC!

       {Kariuki Muiri, Karatina}

If being born in Africa is unlucky, how about being born in the DRC?

By PETER WANYOYI

Where one is born is a bit of a lottery, an accident of genetics, time and place. But it is generally true that to be born in Africa is, on average, to draw a very bad hand. Africa has the shortest life expectancy in the world, the highest number of running conflicts of any continent, the most backward social systems, the worst infrastructure and the most chaotic administrations anywhere on earth.

But if being born in Africa is to be unlucky, then being born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is to be cursed by the gods themselves.

Genocide

The vast country has never quite known peace. Even before the Belgians annexed it and made it playground for their King — Leopold II, Arab and European slave master used Congo as a source of most of their slaves. They raided the territory with impunity, and many of the peoples of African descent — now in South America — can trace their roots to what is now DRC and Angola.

But that was nothing compared to what then befell the country; Leopold II tricked his way into making Congo his personal property. What followed was genocide and, effectively, a concentration camp covering the whole country. Leopold enslaved the population and extorted free labour from them, on pain of amputation. Anyone who refused to slave in Leopold’s rubber plantations — at no pay — had their hands amputated, and if they had already been amputated, they were summarily executed. Beatings by colonial administrators were so severe and common that they became a common cause of death for locals. By the time the madness stopped when Leopold died in 1909, more than ten million Congolese had died under Leopold’s administration.

Chaotic

Congo emerged from the trauma of its Belgian misrule, only to rush headlong into independence and more chaos. America’s CIA, unwilling to see the Congo’s vast resources benefit the country, set about assassinating any progressive leaders like Patrice Lumumba. CIA agents shot Lumumba, Congo’s progressive prime minister, — who later on admitted — and his body cut up and dissolved in vats of acid. Mobutu Sese Seko was then imposed on the Congolese people, and was propped up by successive American and other Western regimes until he was toppled by the Rwandese in 1997.

The DRC has muddled on after Mobutu, whose 32 years leadership saw the country get poorer and more chaotic than ever before. There are virtually no roads in the country, which is a bit of a challenge for a country bigger than all of Western Europe put together. Now, though, the war drums in the DRC are beating again. The UN, Tanzania, Rwanda, a rebel outfit called M23 and various other actors are all gathering for an almighty battle in the Eastern DRC.

Meanwhile, refugees — kicked off their land — continue to gather in squalid camps close to the Uganda and Rwanda borders. They must wonder, these unlucky souls, what they ever did to deserve to be born in as hopeless a place as the DRC.

Meet Mansa Musa I of Mali – the richest human being in all history

A new study has produced an inflation-adjusted list of the richest people of all time

Mansa Musa I of Mali

By JOHN HALL

Tuesday 16 October 2012

When we think of the world’s all-time richest people, names like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and John D Rockefeller immediately come to mind.

But few would have thought, or even heard of, Mansa Musa I of Mali – the obscure 14th century African king who was today named the richest person in all history.

With an inflation adjusted fortune of $400 billion, Mansa Musa I would have been considerably richer than the world’s current richest man, Carlos Slim, who ranks in 22nd place with a relatively paltry $68 billion.

The list, compiled by the Celebrity Net Worth website, ranks the world’s 24 richest people of all time. The list advertises itself as the top 25, but 26 names appear in the list.

Although the list spans 1000 years, some aspects of wealth appear consistent throughout history; there are no women on the list, only three members are alive today, and 14 of the top 25 are American.

The list uses the annual 2199.6 per cent rate of inflation to adjust historic fortunes – a formula that means $100 million in 1913 would be equal to £2.299.63 billion today.

Mansa Musa I ruled West Africa’s Malian Empire in the early 1300s, making his fortune by exploiting his country’s salt and gold production. Many mosques he built as a young man still stand today.

After Mansa Musa I death in 1331, however, his heirs were unable to hang on to the fortune, and it was substantially depleted by civil wars and invading armies.

Second on the list are the Rothschild family, whose descendants are still among the richest people on the planet. Starting out in banking in the late 18th Century, Mayer Amschel Rothschild’s finance house accumulated a total wealth of $350 billion. The money has since been divided between hundreds of descendants, many of whom are business leaders today.

Meanwhile John D. Rockefeller, third on the list, is the richest American to have ever lived, worth $340billion in today's USD at the time of his death in 1937.

In comparison, the poorest man on the list is 82-year-old Warren Buffett, who at his peak net worth, before he started giving his fortune to charity, was $64billion.

Here’s the full list of the ‘26 richest people of all time’:

1. Mansa Musa I, (Ruler of Malian Empire, 1280-1331) $400 billion

2. Rothschild Family (banking dynasty, 1740- ) $350 billion

3. John D Rockefeller (industrialist, 1839-1937) $340 billion

4. Andrew Carnegie (industrialist, 1835-1919) $310 billion

5. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (last Emperor of Russia, 1868-1918) $300 billion

6. Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (last ruler of Hyderabad, 1886-1967) $236 billion

7. William the Conqueror (King of England, 1028-1087) $229.5 billion

8. Muammar Gaddafi (former Libyan leader, 1942-2011) $200 billion

9. Henry Ford (Ford Motor Company founder, 1863-1947) $199 billion

10. Cornelius Vanderbilt (industrialist, 1794-1877) $185 billion

11. Alan Rufus (Fighting companion of William the Conqueror, 1040-1093) $178.65 billion

12. Bill Gates (Founder of Microsoft, 1955- ) $136 billion

13. William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey (Norman nobleman, ??-1088) $146.13 billion

14. John Jacob Astor (businessman, 1864-1912) $121 billion

15. Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel (English nobleman, 1306-1376) £118.6 billion

16. John of Gaunt (son of Edward III, 1330-1399) £110 billion

17. Stephen Girard (shipping and banking mogul, 1750-1831) $105 billion

18. Alexander Turney Stewart (entrepreneur, 1803-1876) $90 billion

19. Henry, 1st Duke of Lancaster (English noble, 1310-1361) $85.1 billion

20. Friedrich Weyerhaeuser (timber mogul, 1834-1914) $80 billion

21. Jay Gould (railroad tycoon, 1836-1892) $71 billion

22. Carlos Slim (business magnate, 1940- ) $68 billion

23. Stephen Van Rensselaer (land owner, 1764- 1839) $68 billion.

24. Marshall Field (Marshall Field & Company founder, 1834-1906) $66 billion

25. Sam Walton (Walmart founder, 1918-1992) $65billion

26. Warren Buffett (investor, 1930- ) $64billion.

Kenyan MPs have approved a motion to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC)

Kenyan MPs have approved a motion to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) 

MPs have every right to demonstrate their political support, but they should be cautious about actions that may boomerang on the intended beneficiaries. 

Kenyatta and Ruto have insisted on their respect for the ICC and have made it clear they will continue to co-operate with it despite having risen to the highest offices in the land. The ICC, in turn, has given the accused certain latitudes, including allowing them to defend themselves while not in custody.

I ask myself sometimes that does the I.C.C founded to deal with war criminals from third world countries? American, French, England etc. All west criminals are decorated usually with Nobel prize. Is that fair?

the ICC is toothless as far as prosecuting the real criminals are concerned-  how come George Bush and Tony Blair are still walking free despite illegally invading a nation state and killing thousands of innocent people, Bush,Cheney, Blair, Straw etc were not even questioned about their War crimes while Saif al Islam Gaddafi and Uhuru Kenyatta only committed so-called crimes against humanity in their own country have been indicted before the ICC? As far as I can see, Sudan has refused to send Albashir to the Hague while Uhuru Kenyatta has visited several member countries of the ICC

So, it tends to be a hammer to beat-up weaker nations - mainly in Africa. Disgraceful.

The I.C.C will have a job with credibility as long as Bush, Blair, Rumsfeld, Rice, Cheney, Rove, Feith, Libby and the other War Criminals do not face the International Criminal Court for their mass killings of civilians who had done nothing. 

I applaud the Kenyan Parliament's decision.

BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE

Remove the chains that hold you down....It's only a thought in your mind ....That has you bound......Take off that blind fold and you will see ...What you imagine can be achieved....I can only show you how to perceive.... It's up to you to believe......Have the courage to walk through the door....And you'll fined this world offers unlimited wonders ......For you to explore...Just spread your wings and learn to fly.....You can only fail if you never try.....Join the dance learn to love and care.. ....For all you have is worth nothing ....If there's no one there to share...Live like this and I swear my friend.....You'll enjoy this ride until the end....

WHERE I CAME FROM

I come from a country full of brave people who strive for a better life. Who no matter what, keep moving forward full of hope.
I come from a place where children suffer everyday because of malnutrition.
A place where all these children know is DEATH.
Where they die everyday and not even a bit of hope is left.
But even though these kids go through loosing families, people dying around them, and have trouble finding food that would last them at least a day, they smile because they want to make something of that day.
I come from a country full of people ho are lost and confused.
Where parents try to make a better life for their kids. And children just watch their parents struggle and feels sorry because they can't do anything.
I come from a country where... Children are the ones who should be building the future but are stopped by war and famine.
I come from a place where one day, it's people will rise up and unite as ONE.
I come from Somalia...

WHAT IS AFRICA TO ME?

To you

Africa may have been

Just a gold mine

For your greedy hearts

 

Those diamonds and rubies

Shining in your eyes

Must have blinded you

From the Other wealth of

Africa

 

To me

Africa is more

Than a mere place

But a mother

To the human race

Africa

 

To me

Is more than the hungry and starved

Or the rich culture of the sphinx and pyramids

In which Egypt carved

Africa

 

To me

Is more than the aftermath

Of the robbery

Of my people

More than the

Diseases

More than the war, genocide...the death the plaugues it

Africa

 

To me

Is home

From the Sahara to the Cape

Is home

From the Atlantic to the Indian

Is home

From the Nile to the Niger to the Kalahari

Africa to me

Is home

BELIEVE TO ACHIEVE

Remove the chains that hold you down....It's only a thought in your mind ....That has you bound......Take off that blind fold and you will see ...What you imagine can be achieved....I can only show you how to perceive.... It's up to you to believe......Have the courage to walk through the door....And you'll fined this world offers unlimited wonders ......For you to explore...Just spread your wings and learn to fly.....You can only fail if you never try.....Join the dance learn to love and care.. ....For all you have is worth nothing ....If there's no one there to share...Live like this and I swear my friend.....You'll enjoy this ride until the end....

ME AND MY MIND

Hi! My name is Abdirachid and you will find that I'm one of a kind.I know that I'm imperfect and that God is divine.Me and my mind.

Ever since I was a little boy,a pencil has

become my favorite toy.

And reading and writing is my pride and joy.             

                                                                                   

Me and my mind.

I admit I am austictic

And have moments I go ballistic.

Yet I remain optimistic.

Me and my mind.

Some people think I'm mad as a hatter

Every time I hate what I hear And they say "What 's the matter?"

I tell them"I don't like your chatter!"

Me and my mind.

God,you know I hate profanity

I drives me to insanity.

Oh,for the love of humanity!

Me and my mind.

Some people tease me and life get tough.

I,myself,am a diamond in the rough.

I deserve a chance to strut my stuff.

Me and my mind.

My memory is strong and well rehearsed

To know any subject and any verse.

It's a blessing and a curse.

Me and my mind.

There are moments in my life to love or to fight.

I'm smart,sensitive,creative,and polite.

And have the ability to know what is wrong and what is right.

Me and my mind.

No matter what's in my mind or DNA,

Here are the words I'll begin to pray:

"ALLAH made me special in every way."

Me and my mind.

British Banks’ Comedy of Terrors

The devil is always in the details. And the greatest devils of our economic age lurk in the details of how officials regard the capital – the equity funding – of our largest banks. Government officials have identified far too closely with the distorted, self-interested worldview of global banking executives. The result is great peril for the rest of us.

In this surreal world, the United Kingdom takes on disproportionate influence, because London is still a top financial center – and because the biggest banks in the United States and Europe have proved very effective at playing off American and British regulators against one another. Opinion leaders around the world look to the British for a clever and nuanced approach to financial-sector policy. Unfortunately, they currently look in vain.

To understand the precise problem, you must dip into the latest details of the Prudential Regulatory Authority’s “capital shortfall exercise” with eight major UK banks. I won’t pretend that the PRA’s work is easy reading for a layperson; but anyone who spends a little time with the documents will first laugh and then cry.

With great fanfare (and generally favorable press coverage), the PRA announced that some banks do not have enough loss-absorbing capital – relative to target levels of equity that are ludicrously low. The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) said that the target should be 7% of risk-weighted assets under Basel III definitions. And, in the PRA’s presentation, this amounts to a leverage ratio of around 3% for most of these banks (again using Basel III definitions), though a couple of banks will need an additional adjustment to reach that level.

In plain English, a supposedly well-capitalized bank in the UK can have 97 cents of debt per one dollar of assets (and just three cents of equity). Such a low loss-absorption capacity would get you run out of town in the US, where regulators are weighing a 5-6% leverage ratio (twice as much equity on a non-risk-weighted basis), and some responsible officials are still pushing for 10% or higher.

So much for the laughs. The tragedy in the PRA’s exercise is British officials’ apparent belief that they are carrying out real reform, rather than setting the stage for serious trouble. To be fair, some of what the PRA did makes sense – including adjusting risk weights and taking into consideration losses from “future conduct costs” (translation: penalties for breaking the law will be substantial). And the treatment of investments by banks in insurance companies is sensible relative to the alternatives.

But the potential for more tears for taxpayers – still reeling from the cost of rescuing the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – looms large. The invitation to banks to game the risk-weighting system further is stated plainly: “In line with the FPC recommendation, the PRA has accepted restructuring actions which, by reducing risk-weighted assets, will credibly deliver improvements in capital adequacy.” In other words, the banks can change how they calculate risk – for example, by tweaking their own models – in ways that will make them look better as far as regulators are concerned.

The British authorities believe that they are building a resilient global financial center that is capable of assuming big risks and withstanding large shocks – either home-grown or transmitted from abroad (that is, from the eurozone). But even HSBC, the best capitalized of the lot, has a leverage ratio of only 4.6%, while Barclays’ ratio is under 3%. In a deeply unstable world, these are paper-thin cushions against losses.

The margin for macroeconomic, prudential, and operating error is similarly small. The British – and the rest of us – have made many such errors in the last decade. At risk is everyone who has a job in the UK, as well as all financial institutions that have significant operations there – including a huge proportion of all global banks.

The idea that the British set any kind of standard for bank conduct was exploded by last year’s Libor scandal, while the fiasco at RBS destroyed the notion that UK officials know how to handle a failing bank. And now the PRA has confirmed that the British authorities do not even have a firm grip on the basics of regulating capital – that is, determining how much equity is safe for large complex global financial institutions.

British officials – and those elsewhere – should take a day off and read Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig’s book, The Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do About It, an inspired “how to” guide for thinking about why we need more equity in our financial system. Then they should come back to work and do their job properly, by phasing in much higher capital requirements in a responsible manner.

Simon Johnson is a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and the co-author of White House Burning: The Founding Fathers, Our National Debt, And Why It Matters To You.

WAITING...

Every minute, every hour, every day..I will stay...  Right here patiently waiting.. keeping my mind busy, as to not always think of you... with this love so beautiful; so true...optimistically waiting...staying steady, trying to be strong--with a love so deep; never should be wrong...strongly and boldly waiting...smiling during the day, but crying alone..never straying but a few feet from the phone...wishing, wanting, hoping, waiting..for you..to just..simply..come..home.

I am from.

I am from Mogadishu, known locally as Xamar, the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. 

I am from my dad and granddad because my dad has anger management

And because my grandparents didn't want children,

And when I was born I was real sensitive on the inside

My granddad is successful with a sense of humor

And so does my Dad at certain times.

I am from lions because I am mostly serious.

I am from part fire and part sun because I get very angry

And I feel like I want to fight someone (but I won't)

And I get very happy when I feel good about something. 

British Banks’ Comedy of Terrors

The devil is always in the details. And the greatest devils of our economic age lurk in the details of how officials regard the capital – the equity funding – of our largest banks. Government officials have identified far too closely with the distorted, self-interested worldview of global banking executives. The result is great peril for the rest of us.

In this surreal world, the United Kingdom takes on disproportionate influence, because London is still a top financial center – and because the biggest banks in the United States and Europe have proved very effective at playing off American and British regulators against one another. Opinion leaders around the world look to the British for a clever and nuanced approach to financial-sector policy. Unfortunately, they currently look in vain.

To understand the precise problem, you must dip into the latest details of the Prudential Regulatory Authority’s “capital shortfall exercise” with eight major UK banks. I won’t pretend that the PRA’s work is easy reading for a layperson; but anyone who spends a little time with the documents will first laugh and then cry.

With great fanfare (and generally favorable press coverage), the PRA announced that some banks do not have enough loss-absorbing capital – relative to target levels of equity that are ludicrously low. The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) said that the target should be 7% of risk-weighted assets under Basel III definitions. And, in the PRA’s presentation, this amounts to a leverage ratio of around 3% for most of these banks (again using Basel III definitions), though a couple of banks will need an additional adjustment to reach that level.

In plain English, a supposedly well-capitalized bank in the UK can have 97 cents of debt per one dollar of assets (and just three cents of equity). Such a low loss-absorption capacity would get you run out of town in the US, where regulators are weighing a 5-6% leverage ratio (twice as much equity on a non-risk-weighted basis), and some responsible officials are still pushing for 10% or higher.

So much for the laughs. The tragedy in the PRA’s exercise is British officials’ apparent belief that they are carrying out real reform, rather than setting the stage for serious trouble. To be fair, some of what the PRA did makes sense – including adjusting risk weights and taking into consideration losses from “future conduct costs” (translation: penalties for breaking the law will be substantial). And the treatment of investments by banks in insurance companies is sensible relative to the alternatives.

But the potential for more tears for taxpayers – still reeling from the cost of rescuing the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – looms large. The invitation to banks to game the risk-weighting system further is stated plainly: “In line with the FPC recommendation, the PRA has accepted restructuring actions which, by reducing risk-weighted assets, will credibly deliver improvements in capital adequacy.” In other words, the banks can change how they calculate risk – for example, by tweaking their own models – in ways that will make them look better as far as regulators are concerned.

The British authorities believe that they are building a resilient global financial center that is capable of assuming big risks and withstanding large shocks – either home-grown or transmitted from abroad (that is, from the eurozone). But even HSBC, the best capitalized of the lot, has a leverage ratio of only 4.6%, while Barclays’ ratio is under 3%. In a deeply unstable world, these are paper-thin cushions against losses.

The margin for macroeconomic, prudential, and operating error is similarly small. The British – and the rest of us – have made many such errors in the last decade. At risk is everyone who has a job in the UK, as well as all financial institutions that have significant operations there – including a huge proportion of all global banks.

The idea that the British set any kind of standard for bank conduct was exploded by last year’s Libor scandal, while the fiasco at RBS destroyed the notion that UK officials know how to handle a failing bank. And now the PRA has confirmed that the British authorities do not even have a firm grip on the basics of regulating capital – that is, determining how much equity is safe for large complex global financial institutions.

British officials – and those elsewhere – should take a day off and read Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig’s book, The Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do About It, an inspired “how to” guide for thinking about why we need more equity in our financial system. Then they should come back to work and do their job properly, by phasing in much higher capital requirements in a responsible manner.

Simon Johnson is a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and the co-author of White House Burning: The Founding Fathers, Our National Debt, And Why It Matters To You.

Nicholas Kay speech at the Vision 2016 National Conference

03/09/2013  Your Excellency, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud,

Your Excellency, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister

Honorable members of Parliament

Excellencies, diplomatic corps 

Ministers, Ministers of State and former Ministers

Mayor of Mogadishu

Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen

Mareeg.com-I am delighted to be invited to speak at the opening of this very important conference. As a recently arrived guest in your country, this is an opportunity to thank you for the hospitality you have extended to me and to the whole United Nations. I believe one of the duties of a good guest is to listen and learn. I have tried to do that in my first three months and look forward to doing that today as well. The entire international community has given the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) a very clear and strong mandate, which is particularly relevant to today’s conference. Two tasks in particular in UNSCR 2102 are:

First to use the UN’s “good offices” functions to support the Federal Government’s peace and reconciliation process;

Second is to support the Federal Government by providing strategic policy advice including on the development of a federal system, the constitutional review process, and subsequent referendum on the constitution, and preparations for elections in 2016.

I very much appreciate the initiative of the Federal Government of Somalia in organizing this impressive gathering, and also at very short notice.

A political process in Somalia that is broad and inclusive, that aims to review and complete the constitutional process, and prepare for credible, free and fair elections in 2016 has the full support of the United Nations. I see this Conference as an important initiative to take us down a critical but essential path. A path towards genuine democracy.

The United Nations supports the objectives of this conference, including developing a vision, and hopefully concrete ideas, to move Somalia towards that democratic objective by 2016.

As I am still in the very early days of my mission, I would like to share with you three principles that are guiding my work:

First and foremost is the principle of Somali ownership and leadership. One year ago the country reached a turning point with the election of a representative and fully legitimate federal Parliament, Speaker and President. This time last year the paradigm shifted. One year later the shift is being given concrete form in the New Deal compact shortly to be presented to a conference in Brussels: containing Somali owned; Somali led peace and state building objectives.

My second principle is that you are not and should not be alone. The international community has had a mixed history in Somalia since your country fell apart in 1991. We have tried hard but with mixed results. Sometimes we have seemed to walk away. But for the last two years that has not been the case. Conferences in London, Istanbul, New York, Rome and Japan have demonstrated strong and united international commitment to Somalia. The presence and sacrifices of AMISOM show this commitment – at great cost in lives and money. Together we have tackled piracy and alleviated famine. The UN has helped politically - and I pay tribute to the great role played by my predecessor Ambassador Mahiga. The UN has also persevered with humanitarian and development work. Today 760,000 Somali children attend UNICEF sponsored schools (half of them girls). 1.4 million have been asisited ibn the first half of 2013 by WFP. 4 million have been vaccinated against polio – although possibly 600,000 children remain unvaccinated, many in Al Shabaab controlled areas. So my message to you is that UNSOM is with you and present in a way that it has not been before: in Mogadishu, Garowe, Hargeisa and shortly in Baidoa, Kismayo and Beledtweyne. UNSOM is based in Somalia. I have no house in Nairobi. You are not alone. We are here to help and we are here to stay as long as we’re needed.

My third guiding principle is that we face essentially a political problem that needs a political solution. Yes, you face many challenges in the development, economic, security, governance and human rights sectors but the over-riding challenge is political. The heart of the political challenge appears to me to be quite simple to describe, even if rather difficult to solve. After 22 years of conflict, power and control of resources and revenue have fragmented. The strong centralist state has ceased to exist. Different regions and different people now hold different bits of power. That’s why you have decided a federal model is the only system that will work in this new reality. The task now is to agree among yourselves exactly how Federalism will work in practice. How will you share power, revenue, resources and responsibilities in a way that benefits all Somalia. These are difficult issues. But ones which need political solutions.

Finally, this is also why I am optimistic. In my brief acquaintance with Somalia I am struck by how Somalis have all the skills to solve complex political problems:

-        a love of talking and debate; a love of words shown in poetry and politics;

-        a strong sense of justice and fairness that puts emphasis on reconciliation and mutual respect;

-        Great abilities and dedication with hugely inspiring examples in government and civil society of bravery and commitment, including from many young diaspora and especially women returning to “do their bit”.

-        And last but not least, I am encouraged by the growing sense of urgency. To review the constitution, hold a referendum and then elections by 2016 is a mighty hill to climb. A year of quite slow progress has passed, but now I detect a real increase in the pace – Parliament worked unselfishly throughout Ramadan. Some of the key laws are drafted and commissions established, but more need to be. The Juba issue has at last been addressed. I congratulate warmly the parties on the political agreement reached in Addis last week. The New deal compact is nearly ready and consultations have happened in Baidoa, Garowe, and here. But more need to happen.

And now today, this conference has started. I hope it will be the first of many. You have a huge agenda to cover. After several days you may decide that each of the five themes requires itself a separate conference. If so, the UN will be happy to support you and perhaps you will choose to hold follow up thematic conferences in each of the major cities of Somalia. The discussions must not end here. Women’s voices must especially be heard.

Today is a landmark in the political process, but just one milestone in the long road to 2016. I look forward to being your travelling companion.

As the Federal Government, through this process, moves Somalia towards a genuine transition to democracy, the United Nations stands ready to support it in all aspects. In particular we will see how we can support the priority areas as the discussions broadens and national consensus is built around them. We will in any case, spare no effort in supporting the Government and the Federal Institutions in realizing the broad objectives of this conference.

I thank you for your kind attention. I would like to congratulate the President for organizing this conference. I wish you all the best for this important event and know you will engage in a spirit of compromise, mutual respect and inclusivity.

I thank you

 

President Hassan: the IC has not yet fulfilled what they promised us

Mogadishu (Mareeg.com)- speaking at yesterdays grand national conference held in Mogadishu, the president of the federal republic of Somalia Mr. Hassan Sheikh said that the international community did not fulfill promises they pledged to support his government.

Mr. Mohamud added that lack of funds catalyzed the government outreach to various parts of the country.

“The government cannot perform key responsibilities to its citizens because the international community has not fulfilled promises they made except Turkey” said Hassan who read a long lecture in front of attendants.

The president also added that it was a hard task to hold a democratic general election by the end of his term which will end in 2016.

A five day national meeting kick started in Mogadishu yesterday which was attended by politicians, intellectuals and traditional elders from various parts of the country.