Journal of Somali studies (JoSS) Volume 9, Number 1, April 2022
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The April 2022 edition of the Journal of Somali Studies (JoSS) presents a number of interesting articles on the Horn and East African region, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan. For example, the article “Public Private Partnership Projects and Regional Cooperation in Horn of Africa and East African Region in the era of COVID 19 pandemic” by Nuwagaba and colleagues analyses Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects and regional cooperation during COVID 19. Due to the limited information on the role of PPPs in promoting regional cooperation, the study embarked on examining the link between PPP and regional cooperation for the Horn of Africa and east Africa region. Th article argues that the use of PPPs provides a basis for the promotion of regional cooperation among member states in this region and that these projects provide a basis for fostering regional cooperation.
On the Somalia front, Jama, Ariffin and Yusof’s article “The Economic Impact of Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing Activities on Artisanal Fishing in Somalia” examines the economic impact of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing on Somali artisanal fishermen. This study, which employs the systematic random sampling, using quantitative research method, argues that, on average, each fisherman was attacked four times over a five-year period (2015–2019), thus negatively affecting the local fishermen’s sources of livelihood. In addition to the loss and damage of the fishing equipment, the authors also argue that IUU fishing reduced the fish catch, the number of fishing crew, as well as investment in fishing.
An equally interesting article on Somalia by Isak on “Increasing the Revenue Potential for Somalia through Enhancing Tax Compliance” introduces an interesting topic to the Somali agenda—taxation in a slowly re-emerging post-conflict Somalia. The author argues hat Somalia has been experiencing weak tax administration, which gave birth to noncompliance and lowered the fiscal resources available to the state. The article focuses on the contribution of building compliance culture to increasing state potential revenues and as such it reviews the experiences of Malawi, Nepal and Rwanda. These countries experienced lower tax revenue due to tax noncompliance, but upon advanced tax administration reforms their revenue has increased, particularly income and consumption taxes, taxes that demand more compliance and state administrative capacity. The article recommends that Somali authorities strengthen the tax administration capacity and build quasi-voluntary tax compliance so that the issues of taxpayer compliance and sustainable revenue base can be addressed and the existing tax gap lowered.
On Kenya, Syallow examines the scope of journalists and intelligence agents’ operations by trying to answer the questions: How do intelligence agents and journalists operate in Kenya? And, what motivates journalists to disclose intelligence information in Kenya? The article titled “Examining the Scope of Journalists and Intelligence Agents’ Operations in Kenya” uses rational choice theory as a framework for analysis since this theory assumes that individuals choose a course of action that is most in line with their personal preferences. The article argues that the work of journalists and intelligence officers exist openly in Kenya and that their objectives are totally different. Similarly, the article finds out that journalists’ sources of information in Kenya are numerous and the motive behind their disclosure of information whether sensitive or not is all determined by their own purpose, whether altruistic or non-altruistic. Syallow concluded that, journalists and intelligence agents in Kenya constantly cross paths as competitors, the major difference being that the intelligence community is in the business of total secrecy as opposed to the journalists whose business is one of exposure. Interestingly enough, however, the article recommends that striking an ideal balance between press freedom and secrecy should be a continuous discussion in Kenya.
On Ethiopia, we have two interesting articles: one on ethnic federalism and the other on economic integration. Admasu, for example, assesses how ethnic federalism ensures the right to the freedom of movement and residence for ethnic minorities in Ethiopia. In this article “Ethnic Federalism: Freedom of Movement and Residence in Ethiopia,” the author argues that the ethnic federal set up of Ethiopia has negatively affected the right to freedom of movement and residence, as the dominant Tigrean Peoples Liberation front (TPLF) used its divide and rule system in the name of ethnic federalism followed by the failure of the Federal government to guarantee constitutionally listed rights. The author further argues that the establishments of regional special security forces called ‘Liyu Hail’ organized in the name of each region contribute to the failure of the federal government to protect the rights of citizen. The article concludes that the legacies of the past and perpetuations of destructive discourses have affected the harmonious relations among different peoples; hence the need to revise the federal constitution in particular and regional constitutions in general and through a participatory constitutional-making process.
Gelaw and Kassahun’s attempt to unravel economic integration of refugees and conflict takes us to another interesting area, both for academic and policy engagement. In their article “Unraveling Economic Integration of Refugees and Conflict in Gambella Region, West Ethiopia,” the authors argue that refugee integration is being theorized and prompted divergently in the refugee regime. For example, although states of the global north such as Canada, UK, and US have employed the term widely, then authors stress that, ironically, refugee integration in the global south (developing world) is said to be obscured. However, following the 2016 New York Declaration, refugee integration with the host community has gained momentum in different developing countries including Ethiopia. The article argues that South Sudanese refugees in the Gambella region (Ethiopia) are practically integrated with the host communities with some of them practicing informal economies that sometimes cause conflict with the host community. The authors recommend that informal economic interactions between refugees and the host communities in Gambella needs to be formalized so that conflict can be prevented.
It will be interesting to note that, in this edition, we also have an article on South Sudan and on “Interrogating Identity and Nationality in Post-Independent South Sudan” where Ugbudian examines the question of identity and nationality following the independence of South Sudan in 2011. The fallout was, the article argues, the stripping of five hundred thousand South Sudanese resident in Khartoum of their Sudanese citizenship after a nine-month grace and over eight million residents in communities in South Sudan remaining in legal limbo before the issuance of citizenship slips. In addition to constitutional paralysis in both Khartoum and Juba, the article argues that the logistical and manpower needed to carry out the processing of the citizenship documentation were slow and in short supply and complicated by discriminatory acts against some ethnic groups making most of the people to adopt measures in avoiding statelessness. The article emphasizes the importance of freedom of residence, economic activity, property rights and movements for citizens and the need to have a platform for addressing the gaps in the nationality and identity question of the people of South Sudan.