Deputy Speaker, I am going to speak on one of the items for discussion at the 126th session of the Inter- Parliamentary Union, IPU, and that is a general debate on the political, economic and social situation in the world. At the last meeting, there was a request for a special item to be added and that was Somalia and the food crisis there - a famine, actually.
The crisis in Somalia is one with a long history and it's dominated by a number of complexities. Recently, the crisis was worsened by food security difficulties, which have impacted on the people of Somalia in a profound way. Thus the IPU chose this topic as a special issue to be debated.
In terms of the historical background, in January 1991, the downfall of President Siad Barre resulted in a power struggle and clan clashes in many parts of Somalia. In November, the most intense fighting broke out in the capital, Mogadishu, between two factions. One faction supported the interim president, Ali Mahdi Muhammad, and the other supported the chairman of the United Somali Congress, General Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Since that time, fighting persisted in Mogadishu and spread throughout Somalia, with heavily armed elements controlling various parts of the country. Some of these elements declared alliance with one or other of the two factions, while others did not. Numerous groups of bandits simply added to the problems experienced in the country.
The hostilities resulted in widespread death and destruction, forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee their homes and causing a dire need for emergency humanitarian assistance. Of almost 4,5 million people in Somalia, over half of the estimated population were threatened by severe malnutrition and malnutrition-related diseases, with the most affected living in the countryside. It was estimated that perhaps 300 000 people have died since November 1991 and at least 1,5 million lives were at immediate risk. Almost 1 million Somalis sought refuge in neighbouring countries and elsewhere.
In the year 2000, at a conference in Djibouti, clan elders and various other senior figures named Abdiqasim Salad Hassan as the president. A transitional government was established with the aim of reconciling the warring militias. As its mandate was drawing to a close, however, the administration had made little progress in uniting the country. In 2004, after talks held in Kenya, the main warlords and politicians signed a deal to set up a new parliament, which later appointed a president. This type of administration, however, is facing difficulties in bringing reconciliation to a country divided by fiefdoms.
In 2001, the plight of the Somali people was exacerbated by the worst drought in six decades, which left millions of people on the verge of starvation and caused tens of thousands to flee to Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food. The food security situation in Somalia, as classified during the post-eyr 2010-11 assessment, estimated that 2,4 million people were in crisis. However, the effects of the ongoing drought, deteriorating purchasing power, rampant conflict and the limited humanitarian space continue to aggravate the situation in most parts of the country. The dry season of 2011 was particularly harsh, considering the prevalence of dry conditions for almost nine months.
As I have limited time, I am going to tell you a little bit about our government's and civil society's contribution to the crisis. As of August 2011, South Africa's contribution to relief efforts in Somalia has exceeded R20 million. Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe noted that the government had responded to the humanitarian crisis confronting Somalia by raising R8 million towards the famine relief programme. Of this, R4 million was donated to the Gift of the Givers towards transportation and the logistical costs of delivering aid to Somalia. Additionally, the government, in partnership with Brand South Africa, had teamed up with the Gift of the Givers and launched the Somalia Relief Campaign to raise public awareness of the dire situation in Somalia.
The South African government also provided transport in the form of the SA National Defence Force C130 Hercules supply plane to the Gift of the Givers to deliver 18 tons of essential food and antimalaria medication to Mogadishu on 16 August. The government also collaborated with other organisations from South Africa contributing to relief work for Somalis in Somalia and refugee camps in neighbouring countries. A number of organisations contributed to this effort.
In conclusion, one has to say that ultimately, while assistance did come from a range of sources, there are many who see Somalia as a failure in dealing adequately with food production issues. These are areas that will have to be discussed appropriately in the future to ensure that a food crisis of this magnitude is prevented from emerging again. I think the role of the international community and the role of the African Union is very important in helping to build institutions of good governance in Somalia. We need a political situation of peace, of strengthening the institutions providing stability and justice and, of course, finally, an economic solution where economic growth and the employment of people is ensured.
Finally, I would like to add that because of the piracy issue on the Indian Ocean coastline, the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans has set aside one of our frigates to help patrol the Mozambican Channel because the piracy issue is not limited to the area around Somalia but is moving further south. So, South Africa is also playing an important role in trying to curb piracy and providing some kind of peace and stability. [Applause.]