An Eye On Workforce Bureaucracy

As years progress, the nature of bureaucracy and the workforce that surround them either undergo transformation or may remain stagnated depending on the effectiveness of the leadership empowered to implement strategic planning initiatives. Popular leaders of the past viewed American government bureaucracy from a different perspective.

In the era of Wilson, there was constant competition among groups competing for scarce resources. On the other hand, there were the political spoilers who took advantage of the patronage politics that was rampant in the infant American democracy. Wilson complained bitterly about the massive influx of European immigrants flooding the country.

Currently, according to Governing (2018), when postal services workers are excluded, approximately 2 million serve as full-time federal government employees. This is a large force that needs to be handled with prudence. To overcome tensions in the nation’s superfluous bureaucracy and keep a lid over future racial altercations, the best method would be to create a harmonious balanced bureaucracy drawn from people of walks of life. To be surrounded by ‘gentlemen’ as was during the reign of Washington can be a recipe for disaster in modern American politics. Washington believed in the use politics to select the best candidates to run the affairs of his government.

To ensure citizen safety and protection, agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) among others, should be run by the best of the best. Selecting personnel should be based on merit and not on political inclination and favoritism. One factor that seems to be the cause of the problems associated with public personnel administration is related to shifting policies and alliances. Diminishing political participation result from the lack of national political coherence and meddling by greedy bureaucrats, lobbyists, and industrial magnates driven by the urge to either climb the ladder of success or cause political disunity and entanglement.

Rosenbloom (2009) feels the term “merit” to be a misnomer. The examination factor used to generate the best public service personnel demonstrated that it was a means to marginalizing select communities like Latinos and African-Americans whose representation in the workforce was limited. In essence, the merit factor was a handicap to equal employment. To ensure American public service personnel stay up to the task, the laws and regulations that call for equal pay for all citizens regardless of age, creed, color, national origin, political and religious affiliation, sex and gender should be enforced.

References

Governing: the State and Localities (2018). Federal Employees By State. http://www.governing.com/…/federal-employees-workforce-numb…

Rosenbloom, D.R., Kravchuk, R.S., & Clerkin, R, M. (2008). Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector. New York: McGraw-Hill

At the invitation of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi between May and June of 1990, Sultan Deghow Sambulmet with several African opposition figures. Among them was Charles Taylor of Liberia. The Sultan lived in the same residence with Charles Taylor in Tripoli. According to the Sultan, Nelson Mandela had earlier departed Libya after being hosted by Qaddafi. Also, the Sultan met a delegation from Gibraltar known to the Arabs as Jabal Tariq before jetting off for London to met with a world renown African literary doyen who is a novelist, and as well a professor. Authoritarian Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, the man who wanted to crown himself the Shahanshah of the African Continent, had African opposition guests from almost every African nation engulfed in political upheavals. The amalgamation of opposition warlords hosted by Qaddafi–a man who wielded tremendous power over the Black Race in the African Continent, was at peace with himself and his oil-rich nation. Qaddafi had monetary clout, black gold, and material and moral support for any African struggling to overcome oppression by dictators back home. Qaddafi embraced the ancient political ideas and military tactics of Hannibal–the ancient Carthaginian General who waged war against the Roman Republic in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC) using a strong dedicated army and a herd or parade of domesticated elephants. However, after fifteen years of dominating the Roman territories excepting Rome, Qaddafi's Mentor and General Hannibal was decisively defeated by the Romans through the application of the Fabian Strategy–a psychological military strategy and warfare where forces avoid frontal assaults (direct or face-to-face contact) and pitched battles (disengagement over fighting location and time). Hannibal has been quoted to have said regarding his scuffles with the Romans: “I am not carrying on a war of extermination against the Romans. I am contending for honor and empire. My Ancestors yielded to Roman valour. I am endeavouring that others, in their turn, will be obliged to yield to my good fortune, and my valour.” Hannibal is historically regarded to have been in par with Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, and Alexander the Great and his father Philip of Macedon in terms of military prowess, even though Hannibal and Scipio shared virtus–a composition of courage, manliness, and excellence of character and courage. As if following the footsteps of his much-adored Ancient Carthaginian Hannibal, Qaddafi named his fifth son Hannibal Muammar Qaddafi. Young Hannibal Qaddafi joined the Libyan Navy, majored in Marine Navigation in his baccalaureate degree and eventually rose to the rank of Chief Officer and Master Mariner. A child of Hannibal Qaddafi whose name was Carthage (b. 2 August 2008) died 30 April 2013 after a raid on their family-owned compound. NB: This is an excerpt from my upcoming book.

Hello Brothers and Sisters and Friends,

When any of my Facebook contacts is affected by a problem, I do get sad and turn to my Lord to ease that problem. Your ideology, religion, philosophy, color, race, creed, gender and sex, national origin, and religious and political affiliation does not matter to me. When you make progress of any kind, it places a smile on my face.

When Faisal Roble was awarded a Medal of Honor by the City of Los Angeles, I was ecstatically happy. When Stig Jarle Hansen reported that he was now a full Professor, I got thrilled
though I felt grief-stricken when his dad passed on. The professor har kjærlighet til somalier and that's why I admire his research papers. When Hassan Abukar, Hamse Warfa, Mohamoud Gaildon, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf, and others authored books, I was overjoyed. The latest injection was Mohamed Gaas publication of his new book that rocketed me to cloud nine. I learned Professor Stig Jarle Hansen through Mohamed Gaas, PhD.

When Ali Sheikh, though younger than me in age but according to cultural norms is my grandfather, reverberates in international radios analyzing Horn Africa politics, I'm taken aback to the days of Herodotus and Thucydides, two Greco-Romans who set the stage for the oral history we cherish to this day. Another down-to-earth moderno fashionista and broadcaster is Jamal Ahmed Osman of the Voice of America - VOA Somali Service whose voice appeals to millions of audiences around the world. Hopefully, I'll approach him one day for a few "who died", 'Huudheey' or simply 'used clothes' to get rid of my tatterdemalion regalia.

I like Abddelkarim Hassan when he releases unexpected up to date news and analysis and how Minister Ahmed Hassan continuously shares with us poetic selections by tough and eloquent Somalis of the past and present. Diamond Bande is a great writer and a crowd puller whose writings are devoured by hundreds.

I hate to read or see my Facebook friends hurl expletives at each other because such exchanges hurt my inner soul.

Anyway, let me end up angry since half of what I was writing disappeared into thin air after I forgot to save it. Facebook must introduce automatic saving to help contributors to social media stay on course.

Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry

Sometimes called Emojis or Emoticons, the characters above are all electronic facial expressions and at times are referred to as Smileys. While 'Like' towers above the rest, followed by 'Love', 'Angry' remains at the lowest ebb because it is an act of foaming at the mouth, being pissed off, on the warpath or exasperated, antagonistic, and aggravated.

Since Love is an affair related to the heart, many friends avoid clicking it since it is a show of intimacy, passion, and amour. Though rarely used, the study of Love is called erotology. Since friendship between two contacts could grow into a love affair, only those with confidence have the tendency to give it a click.

Haha is simply laughter or jubilation ,or exclamation of a statement. Wow could mean astonishment or consternation while being Sad implies being sorrowful and disconsolate. You would feel sad at the death of a friend or relative, poor academic performance, or anything below your expectations.

Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry

Sometimes called Emojis or Emoticons, the characters above are all electronic facial expressions and at times are referred to as Smileys. While 'Like' towers above the rest, followed by 'Love', 'Angry' remains at the lowest ebb because it is an act of foaming at the mouth, being pissed off, on the warpath or exasperated, antagonistic, and aggravated.

Since Love is an affair related to the heart, many friends avoid clicking it since it is a show of intimacy, passion, and amour. Though rarely used, the study of Love is called erotology. Since friendship between two contacts could grow into a love affair, only those with confidence have the tendency to give it a click.

Haha is simply laughter or jubilation ,or exclamation of a statement. Wow could mean astonishment or consternation while being Sad implies being sorrowful and disconsolate. You would feel sad at the death of a friend or relative, poor academic performance, or anything below your expectations.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the current ruling Emir of Qatar who took over after the abdication of his father Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in 2013 and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920–75) who was the founder and President of Bangladesh and later Prime Minister until his assassination in 1975, are the only two male Muslim leaders to hold the religious title of Sheikh.

However, the current 71-year-old leader of Bangladesh whose name is Sheikh Hasina is a female. Daughter of the late President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a look at her family tree chart reveals the title Sheikh is common among females in her family.

In Arabic, the term Sheikh or Shaikh means elder, chief, or old man as in Sural Al-Qasas (28:23):
وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَاءَ مَدْيَنَ وَجَدَ عَلَيْهِ أُمَّةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ يَسْقُونَ وَوَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمُ امْرَأَتَيْنِ تَذُودَانِ ۖ قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُمَا ۖ قَالَتَا لَا نَسْقِي حَتَّىٰ يُصْدِرَ الرِّعَاءُ ۖ وَأَبُونَا شَيْخٌ كَبِيرٌ - 28:23
SAHIH INTERNATIONAL
And when he came to the well of Madyan, he found there a crowd of people watering [their flocks], and he found aside from them two women driving back [their flocks]. He said, "What is your circumstance?" They said, "We do not water until the shepherds dispatch [their flocks]; and our father is an old man."

Kiswahili
23. Alipo yafikia maji ya Madyana wanapo nyweshea maji alikuta karibu na kisima kundi la watu wengi mbali mbali wanawanywesha wanyama wao wa mifugo. Na pahali pa chini kuliko hapo pao akawakuta wanawake wawili wanawazuia kunywa maji kondoo na mbuzi wao. Musa akawaambia: Mbona mko mbali na maji? Wakajibu: Hatuwezi kusukumana, na wala hatunyweshi sisi mpaka hawa wachunga wamalize wao kunywesha. Na baba yetu ni mkongwe, hawezi kuchunga wala kunywesha wanyama.

Af-Soomaali
Markuu Gaadhay Biyaha Madyanna wuxuu ku Helay Ummad Dad ahoo Waraabinaysa wuxuuna ka helay Sokodooda Labo Haweena oo Reebi (Adhigooda) wuxuuna yidhi muxuu Xaalkiinu yahay, waxayna Dheheen Ma Waraabinno intay ka Fulaan Xoola jirku, Aabbahanana waa Oday Wayn.

Malfado: renowned afaan Boran Musicologist

The best entertainer of the Borana and Oromo ethnic groups in the olden days was the famous dramaturgist, vocalist, and guitarist Malfado who spoke both Borana and Somali tongues.

Malfado was a social man who made many friends regardless of his comrades' ethnicity. With his slim features, smart character, and refined behavioral mannerisms, Malfado was the only recognizable musician among Somalis and Boranas in Kenya in his heydays.

In 1983 in Maqdi Shah, Malfado and his wife were our honorable guests at our residence in the famous Hawlwadaag Suburb.

May Allaah admit him to Jannatul Firdows. He passed away after retiring from music and other entertainments altogether.

Was Malfado a Borana or Ajuran? Yes, he was Ajuran.

MY AMHARIC AND ERITREAN FRIENDS

I had two friends. One was Amhara whose name was Jonathan and the other an Eritrean, and his name was Girma. They spoke the same language, had identical features, and shared the same cultural traits. Girma, the Eritrean, hated Jonathan so much that given the chance, he would have killed him. But I was always there between them as a peacemaker, a trusted friend, and practicing Muslim who stood by the Islamic values of peace and submission to Allaah, The Only Creator.

By then, I was young man with a Herculean-built body physique, energetic and consistently on guard in case the antagonists broke into fist fights. I treated them as equals. Besides the two, was a Nigerian friend. His name was Harvey. He was enrolled in university majoring in computer sciences. While Girma and Harvey shared a room, Jonathan and I lived with Amharic friends. Since most Ethiopians were Orthodox Christians, Sunday was a day of rejoicing and feasting, with Ethiopian Injera served to the fullest. They would later on listen to sermons by their Oromo priest.

The thirty years of brutal war between Ethiopia and the Eritreans was the cause of the enmity and hate between my two Christian friends. The animosity between my friends demands historical reflection. It started with the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935-1936 that prepared the way for World War II and the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations to intervene. A border dispute between Ethiopia and Italian-Somaliland was the precursor for this altercation. Under the command of Generals Pietro Badoglio and Radolfo Graziani, the poorly-equipped Ethiopians were pushed without resistance from the heavily-armed forces of Fascist Benito Mussolini.

While my friends harbored internal grudges of the past, there was one thing they did not know: Past and present Ethiopian kingdoms and regimes brutally mistreated fellow Somalis in Ethiopia. The succession of kingdoms and dictatorial regimes that held sway over the Horn of Africa in the Medieval Ages to the present day, inflicted harm of the greatest magnitude to Somalis beyond human comprehension.

Going by the old adage, "never argue with a fool, people may not notice the difference", I kept aloof from raising issues that could enrage them and instead turn on me. Had that happened, I would have gone ballistic and pulverized their limbs and without an iota of doubt reducing them to diga iyo dambas. In the end, I would have frogmarched them to the nearest police station so they could be arraigned in court, convicted and sent to the Alembeka of the host nation.

Eritrea, though claiming independence from Ethiopia in 1991, viewed Ethiopia with much suspicion. As a keen follower of global events, the skirmishes at Badme and Zalambessa and the concerted aerial bombing by the mighty Ethiopian jet fighters rung in my ears years later. By the time my friends were squabbling, Somalia was a bleeding mess resulting from a scandalous, well-orchestrated scheme engineered by the two cousins that headed their nations: Deceased Meles Zenawi and Issaias Afewerki-two dreaded criminals who were hosts of Somalia's fallen government for many years before taking the helm.

I had learned a lot about the history of Ethiopia before meeting these two friends. Formerly Abyssinia, or the 'Land of the Habasha', Ethiopia meant a lot to me because I'm not the kind that hate people because of their race, religion, creed, color, sex, gender, national origin or political affiliation. Under the command of the Najashi or Negus, Muslims fleeing persecution from the Meccan idol worshiping Qureishites at the time of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and the Blessings of Allaah Be Upon Him) were given protection.

Neither Girma nor Jonathan were representative of Meles Zenawi and Issaias Afewerki. They were simply men with differing ideological foundations. Perhaps, my absence would have yielded a calamity. I believe my presence was necessary.

In 1983, I was an employee of the Jalalaqsi Reforestation Project (JRP) as a Social Science Field Assistant working under an American Social Scientist, Ralph Ted Field, who is now an accomplished scholar in a highly regarded university. It was at that time, that I made a list of the trees that grew along the banks of the Shebelli River and the plant species we planted to overcome deforestation.

Before the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Somali region of Ethiopia, after the Ogaden War of 1977/78, Jalalaqsi and its surroundings enjoyed lush green vegetation and various fauna and flora that created a beautiful scenery.The newly-arrived refugees denuded the soil of its vital nutrients by cutting down trees for construction, for fodder, and for firewood.

Around Jalalaqsi, a creeping sand dune was wrecking havoc and causing blinding sandstorms especially during the windy seasons. The organization that was contracted to do the work was Africare Incorporated. Its headquarter is Washington, D.C. It was a contract agreement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Wasaaradda Dhirta iyo Daaqa (Somali Ministry of Forestry and Rangelands).