The Somali
People from various walks of life including the intellectuals
who fought the late regime are now trying to pave the way
for the forthcoming government to be established in Djibouti
by preparing the grounds, data and all other necessary means
to support it.
Among
the more practical groups working hard towards that end is
the newly founded Mogadishu Associates for Research and Statistics
(MARS). This group consisting of senior economists from the
former finance and planning ministries has conducted a thorough
research on how the Somalis had survived during the 10-year
long civil strive.
In one
of its reports, MARS has concentrated on how the economy had
survived, the flow and revaluation or devaluation of the Somali
shillings against the hard currencies in and out of Mogadishu
despite the absence of a government and all of the public
financial institutions.
Mogadishu,
the capital of Somalia, which is where the heaviest armed
confrontations took place with over 1.5 million inhabitants,
had remained the heart of economy of Somalia.
Mohamed
Hirabeh, one of the leading figures of the project, told Xinhua
that they have been motivated by the fact that things on the
economical point of view seemed to have been going on smoothly
with the trading, imports and exports continuing and the small
business activities flourishing amid absence of a governing
body for 10 years.
Hirabeh
said the small industries such as the weaving of clothes,
handcrafts, grain and oil milling and others are mushrooming,
encouraging the market-oriented economy needed by the upcoming
government to adopt.
It is
designing the economical data base line for the government
and other interested agencies for their addressing of the
most critical up-to-date socio-economic problems, Hirabeh
said.
The MARS
researchers who have been at home during the entire years
of the civil war are suggesting in the end of their report
that the forthcoming government should be aware of the pace
the decentralized and market-oriented economy had been pushing
up at the absence of a government and therefore nobody should
try to stand in their way for the interest of the development
of the country.
It is
not only this group of intellectuals who are undergoing positive
and tangible efforts, but other social groups such as the
women, youth, artists and business groups are showing their
preparedness to welcome the envisaged government to come from
Djibouti in couple of weeks time.
The artists
have composed songs, poems and plays all encouraging the Djibouti
conference, while the business community keep establishing
factories and increasing their activities from where the forthcoming
government can get large taxes, but the women and youth groups
continue holding demonstrations in raising the public awareness
in Mogadishu.
It is
another popular uprising now struggling for the restoration
of the law and order, said Ruqia Abdullahi, a business lady
in Bakara market.
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