Cash crunch weighing down peace roadmap, says SomaliaBy ABDULKADIR KHALIF in Mogadishu | Wednesday, May 16   2012 at  12:01

Somalia has warned that the full implementation of its roadmap towards stabilisation could be hindered by a lack of international funding.

In a press release issued in Mogadishu Tuesday, the transitional government said that while key benchmarks such as a draft constitution and a general improvement in security and governance had been achieved, there were still considerable obstacles on the plan's course.

"After many hurdles, the government has shown its determination to keep improving the on-going processes," said the statement, adding that traditional clan elders were striving to ensure the Somali people met their goals.

But lack of support was lowering the impact of the achievements made so far, it added, but assured that progress on the roadmap was at an advanced stage.

The roadmap outlines the process of moving the country from a transitional government to a permanent one by August.

The statement was timed to coincide with President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's visit to New York to seek the support of the United Nations for the government's efforts.

He is reported to have addressed the Security Council on Tuesday.

The government said that the international community has not delivered on resources promised way back in September 2011.

"The [Transitional Federal Government] has not received the necessary funds to ensure smooth implementation of the roadmap’s benchmarks," read the statement.

These funds are necessary to fully manage the transitional period, it said.

"The international community is fully aware of the current stage of the roadmap, as well as the impossibility of managing the process through financial pledges that have not been conveyed," it concluded.

In New York, the UN secretary general’s Special Envoy to Somalia, Dr Augustine Phillip Mahiga, supported the TFG’s position according to reports reaching Mogadishu.