|
|
Somalia: 26 MPs Demand Oil Law Returned to Puntland Parliament
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Garowe Online (Garowe)
25 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
Puntland
Dissident lawmakers within the parliament of Somalia's self-governing State of Puntland have demanded that a controversial oil law voted on last week be returned to Parliament.
In a brief letter signed by 26 MPs, legislators requested parliament Speaker Ahmed Ali Hashi to return back to parliament the Minerals and Oil Resources Development Act.
On Mar. 19, with a total of 48 MPs present, Puntland lawmakers in the regional capital Garowe voted on the controversial oil law submitted by the administration of President Adde Muse.
A 21-21 tie on the oil law, with 6 MPs abstaining, caused Speaker Hashi to weigh in his "casting vote" authority earlier than legally permitted by law to break the even vote, a move MPs described as being "illegal" under Puntland constitutional clauses 46.8 and 46.10. [ Full story]
The letter also called for a formal apology from Speaker Hashi for "announcing a decision that has not been ratified."
|
Resistance to Muse's oil law has caused friction both inside the government of Puntland, and has endangered Puntland's relationship with the Transitional Federal Government based in the national capital Mogadishu.
TFG Energy Minister Mohamud Ali Salah has publicy denounced the Puntland oil law as "unacceptable," since the federal government is the only authority with the constitutional mandate of managing Somalia's natural resources.
But Puntland Oil Minister Hassan "Allore" Osman has defended the oil law and accused his TFG counterpart of "harassing" Puntland's foreign partners, namely Australia-based Range Resources, Ltd., and Canadian company Africa Oil.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Garowe Online. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
