Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 5th, 2018

[Gamal Hassan]

That is true.

I think it was a week ago that our Minister of Petroleum and Minerals went to South Africa and attended an oil conference. He announced that Somalia is ready to award over 200 oil wells offshore, not onshore, and that is different. When you look at the offshore, there is huge potential for Somalia in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

We are going to do that in a way that is more environmentally friendly and sustainable, so that it doesn't become a curse but instead becomes a source of stability.

We have a bill in Parliament now—it's almost in the final reading—which is a petroleum law that will allow the establishment of a petroleum agency that is independent, which will run these contracts. Hopefully very soon, if we are able to pass the bill and go through the remaining steps, I think we'll be able to have a system in place that will protect all those areas. It will protect the environment and the rights of the workers, and ensure that there is fair competition and that we extract these resources in a very sustainable manner. We don't want things that will negatively impact us.

That's in the works, and the minister is really pushing to finalize all the key legislation and policies.

[The Chair]

Thank you.

We will now move to MP Saini.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Good afternoon to both of you, and a warm welcome.

I want to ask you two questions and get commentary on both questions.

I think right now the single greatest threat to Somalia is the internal security situation you have right now. That includes parts of the autonomous regions that are being controlled by al Shabaab. You also have a Gulf Cooperation Council crisis that seems to have spilled into Somalia from Qatar and the UAE and Turkey.

It seems that your opposition leader has returned after a one-year absence. I think his name is Abdishakur Warsame.

That is just for your commentary. I think that before Somalia can really start to progress, the internal security and the internal governance situations have to be solved first.

Could I have your commentary on what you may be doing and on what approach you may be taking?

[Gamal Hassan]

Thank you.

In terms of the internal security situation, if you looked at Somalia two years ago or three years ago and then today, you would see a huge difference. We are making significant progress on the security situation.

For example, two years ago I moved back to Mogadishu, and when I look at it today, it is a completely different city.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Does the government control all of Mogadishu?

[Gamal Hassan]

Yes, it definitely does, and beyond that, in the regions surrounding Mogadishu.

Most of the country is free of al Shabaab. There are pockets outside in the rural areas where they do hit and run and pockets where they are in control. Compared to a few years ago, you see, by and large, that Somalia is now almost out of the hands of al Shabaab. They don't control any significant city or port, or any major infrastructure. Security is improving with the support of AMISOM and through contributing countries.

Our friends and international partners will also help us in other areas. We're doing a lot in the security sector. Let me give you a few examples.

As soon as this government came into power, we did something called ORA, operational readiness assessment. We make sure every soldier is counted with biometrics. We make sure every soldier on the government payroll is on active duty. We have a bill in Parliament that's going to help put all those soldiers who have reached the age of retirement into a pension system for the first time. We have a transition plan, which we negotiated and agreed upon with international partners, that will allow the transfer of security from AMISOM to Somalia security forces in a gradual manner. That has already started. They handed over the first base to the Somalia police force. We have a security architecture, which was agreed to in London with our international partners, that is covering all sectors of security—police, military, intelligence, you name it. We have a system called the comprehensive approach to security, the CAS system, in which we have partners.

Somalia is co-chairing meetings on the security sector. For example, you have Somali National Army issues, co-chaired by a donor and the Somalia government. You have the police. You also have countering violent extremism; there is an entire strand, or pillar, dedicated to that, co-chaired by a Somalia minister and the partner country.

We have all those systems in place and things are improving on a daily basis, but we're not 100% out of the woods yet. That's why we will appreciate having support from Canada in the security sector.

For instance, we adopted a federal structure in Somalia, with three layers of government, as in Canada. Sometimes it's difficult to know exactly where one's power ends and where the other one's starts. You have the RCMP, for example; in Ontario, you have the OPP; and you have city police. We have similar things, but we will need your expertise in helping us identify the relationship between these forces in terms of resources, structure, power sharing and all that stuff.

It's still in the early stages, but we're making huge progress.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

I'm really glad to hear that, because if the internal security situation has improved, then there can be an attempt to really strengthen the economy. When you look at the economy right now, you see that you have almost 2.5 or 2.6 million people who are internally displaced, as well as 800,000 refugees who are living outside the country.

The biggest question right now for Somalia, if you look at the GDP and the economy, is that you see that almost 65% is in an agriculture-based economy, and the rest is supported either by telecommunications or by foreign remittances.

My question is, if Somalia is going to really advance itself.... One of the good things or one of the really confidence-building measures is that the U.S. has decided to reopen some diplomatic presence in Mogadishu, which I think is a very positive step.

Sticking to the economy for a second, right now the biggest issue that I think Somalia is facing is the inability to mobilize tax revenue at the local, state or national level. If Somalia is going to progress, if the internal security situation is improving, then the economy has to be the next step, because if they don't go hand in hand, the security situation will not be good and nobody will invest. If the economy is not improving, then people will be unable to meet their daily needs, which will lead to other situations.

What is happening in terms of the economy right now? What kinds of improvements are you making? I know the Chinese have done a lot of infrastructure, but what is Somalia doing to take control of its own economic destiny going forward?

[Gamal Hassan]

I think that's a really good question. Security and economic growth are interlinked. You cannot have one without the other.

What we have done so far.... When we came into office we had over $5 billion in debt from many years ago, and we still have. What we initiated is we put together an economic growth committee. The cabinet has four subcommittees, and one of them is dedicated to economic issues. We have decided to go through the difficult but very much needed reform process to achieve debt relief from the IMF and the World Bank, and from the IMF in particular. We are going through that.

In that process we have reviewed all the contracts. We have increased the tax base for the first time. Government revenue went up. We have met all the IMF benchmarks when it comes to the benchmarks they put forward. We have, for the first time since the civil war started, people who work for the government getting paid on a monthly basis. Since January 2017 up to now, everybody who works for the government has been paid on time.

We pay taxes—

[Leona Alleslev, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, CPC]

That's better than here.

[Some hon members]

Oh, oh!

[Gamal Hassan]

We all pay taxes from these payments. We have instituted value-added taxes for the first time. The tax brackets went up in some other areas that had never been taxed before. You can see that the economy really went up, if you look at the government's revenue. The GDP has increased. We have over 3,000 businesses registered since last year, an 80% increase in terms of businesses.

In terms of investment, which is under my ministry, we are getting inquiries and communication from different parts of the world. People are coming in and asking questions about investment. They're actually looking at both onshore and offshore. They're looking at agriculture. They're looking at livestock. We are the largest livestock exporter to the Middle East. We're seeing a huge interest in Somalia.

There are two things. Because of the stability and because of the economic activities and the focus from this government on the economy, hopefully by next year we are going to meet all the IMF benchmarks and we will be able to access concessional loans from the IMF and the World Bank and other creditors. Hopefully, by then we'll be able to undertake massive infrastructure projects.

[The Chair]

Thank you.

MP Vandenbeld is next, please.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Minister Hassan and Mr. Jama, I'm very happy to have you here. As an MP from the Ottawa area, I'm very happy to see Carleton graduates who are succeeding so well and contributing so much. Thank you very much for that. I think that underlies the fact that we have so many Somali Canadians—talented, educated and passionate Somali Canadians—who are not just contributing here but also contributing in Somalia. I'm very pleased to see that.

My question is actually a combination of what you said about the importance of inclusive politics, good governance and institution building and what Mr. Wrzesnewskyj was asking with regard to women. We know that institutions need to have representation from all people in society. Could you comment a little bit about the role of women, both in political participation, in the constitutional process, and in institutional capacity-building?

[Gamal Hassan]

Thank you very much. I know that in Ottawa Centre, you have a large Somali constituency. I have family members who live in that riding.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Good. Wonderful.

[Gamal Hassan]

Yes. In fact, my mother lives in that area also, so thank you.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

I'm very pleased about that. Thank you.

[Gamal Hassan]

You are right about inclusive politics. We actually have several subunits under that, and around 10 ministers are dedicated to those issues—the constitutional review process, elections, and also federalism as a whole, through reconciliation and other areas. These are all active projects within inclusive politics.

For the elections in 2016 and 2017, we basically allocated a 30% quota for women. Although we fell short by 5%, that was the first time we allocated a quota for women. The plan was to at least introduce some measures to ensure that they were politically represented and had full representation in Parliament and in the cabinet as well. Going forward, we will not go back from 30%. We are trying to increase the number to 40% or 50%, if possible. That is the bare minimum, 30%.

It has taken place. We have a lady in charge of the independent election committee, and others are in charge at the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development and others. We have key women leaders in the government who are pushing for institutional reform at the Parliament level, in cabinet, and also in government departments, to ensure that gender mainstreaming is taking place, women's rights are protected, and political representation is well adopted and accepted across the board.

We have champions. All of us, not only Somali Canadians but others, are 100% working hand in hand with them to ensure that at the next election we increase this number and we also empower those already in the system to ensure that their rights are protected and their voices are heard.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you. That is very good to hear. As you know, Canada is at only 27% in our House of Commons. I think we have a lot of work to do on this around the world. If there is anything Canada can do to facilitate that, I think that's something this committee would be very interested in.

I also note that you said half of your population is under the age of 15, and I think you said that 75% are under the age of 30. This is a very, very young population. There are organizations like UN-Habitat. In fact, one of my constituents, Sharmaarke Hassan, is working with UN-Habitat on youth in the region.

[Gamal Hassan]

Yes.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

A number of others are working on this. How do you turn the potential of so many young people into something that is positive and thriving? What are some of the things we can do through our development policy that would ensure that young people are able to get the opportunities to be able to contribute fully to Somali society?

[Gamal Hassan]

I know Sharmaarke very well. I used to be his mentor at school, at Carleton.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

I notice you are also with UN-Habitat.

[Gamal Hassan]

Yes. I serve as Somali's permanent representative to UN-Habitat.

I think what we can do, and what you can do to help achieve this, is to designate Somalia as one of the priority countries for development. I think Canada can do that. By any measure, I think we qualify to be treated specially when you look at development assistance. Canada is doing a lot, and we are grateful, but if we focus on development, that will help us foster long-term stability and long-term sustainability.

About the statistics I mentioned, we are a very young nation: 91% of the people are under the age of 40. I mean, when you look at it, it's just unbelievable. We would like your support. If we could get your support when it comes to development, I think that would go a long way—really.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you.