President Yoweri Museveni has called for the adoption of a number of measures to realize a complete healing of Somalia so that the Horn of Africa country is able to stand on its own feet.
The President was delivering his statement during the opening of the conference on Somalia that is currently underway at Lancaster House in the British capital of London.
Museveni who observed that it is not enough to check AlShabaab, enumerated a number of achievements that have been realized since the sending of regional troops to Somalia under the aegis of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISSOM).
He told the conference that apart from dealing a blow to Al-Shabaab, a number of bottlenecks that prevent the complete realization of the healing of Somalia must also be addressed so that Somalia is enabled to stand on its own.
He enumerated the bottlenecks as the absence of patriotic, pan-Somali Political Parties would have a patriotic national outlook away from the bankrupt ideology of clanism being pushed by opportunists.
The President added that there is need to infuse patriotic ideas into the Somali National Army that is recruited on a quota basis from all parts of the country and that the Somali Army needs Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers in addition to ordinary soldiers.
Mr. Museveni also said that the multiplicity of trainers of the Somali Army calls for the coordination by the Somali Command around a Somali forces military doctrine so that it becomes a cohesive force with a clear historical mission.
The President said that the Somalis need to resolve the issue of whether they will re-build the Somali Army by pay of Patriotism. He also called for the equipping of the Transitional Somali Army to do more road projects to open up the country.
He called for sufficient support to the Somali Government with force multipliers namely gunships and attack planes, among others, to further Al-Shabaab, in their remote hideouts.
Regarding the short-term issue of drought in Somalia, President Museveni stressed the need to provide relief so that the long-suffering people of Somalia do not die from that additional problem.
He at this juncture called for the harnessing of the power of the Somali business class to confront the effects of the drought situation. He added this strategy would not only be good for the economy of Somalia but would also be good for the politics of the country.