Over 100 Somali lawmakers plan to block cabinet approval

More than 100 Somali lawmakers on Tuesday vowed to block the nomination of a new cabinet in Parliament.

The members of parliament said in Mogadishu they will not pass a motion to approve the newly unveiled council of ministers, noting that the prime minister included ministers in the former cabinet is against their will.

Abdi Ahmed Dhuhulow, one of the lawmakers, told Xinhua that his colleagues will reject any attempts to approve the new line-up of ministers and their assistants, terming the inclusion of the immediate former cabinet members a betrayal of the confidence and aspirations of the Somali people.

The lawmaker under the umbrella Somali Forum for Unity and Democracy said the ministers in the previous cabinet, who are key allies of the president, had failed the country, adding that it was not possible to achieve Vision 2016 with the proposed cabinet in charge of the country's affairs.

Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke on Monday announced a 60-member cabinet subject to parliamentary approval.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has welcomed the nomination of the new council of ministers and called on parliament to speed up the approval process so that the government can start functioning fully.

The president said the new government has a long list of priorities ahead of it, priorities that will require robust decision-making and a commitment to making things happen quickly. Endi