Somalia has refused to sign Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD’s) protocol on transhumance, citing the protocol having some articles which needed to be addressed.
The federal government of Somalia said it needs to be given time to make sure the protocol is discussed with its member states.
The protocol was also opposed by Ethiopia due to some articles which they say don’t favour them.
Said Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Republic of Djibouti Abdulaziz Mohammed who spoke at a one-day IGAD committee of ambassador’s meeting to endorse the IGAD Protocol on Transhumance stated his government like Somalia need time to mull the protocol.
“For the case of Ethiopia and Somalia, we needed to first consult with our regional government because our system is a federal system,” he said. “Consultation has been done on the grassroots level but we want to move it up to the regional governance so that the implementation of the protocol after the endorsement will be smooth and that’s why we didn’t sign the protocol because we didn’t agree on some articles which were in the protocol.”
Dr Solomon J.Muchina Munyua, the director of the IGAD center of Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) said the aim of this protocol was to promote a free movement regime for transhumance to exploit the full social and economic potential of the pastoral system.
” We came up with 32 articles in this protocol which member states agreed, however, Ethiopia and Somalia didn’t agree with some of these articles and therefore we gave them two months to sort out themselves and come up with final conclusion, therefore, we expect to get the answer in December,” he said.
Among the agreed articles include safe cross border transhumance whereby member states shall recognize and allow free and safe seasonal cross-border mobility of livestock and herders in search of pasture and water.
It will also allow the designated transhumance corridors in accordance with the itinerary indicated on the IGAD transhumance certificates, guarding transhumant livestock, protection of herders among others
