Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Somalia Transitional Federal Government Called Weak, Bad Option Joe DeCapua 17 June 2010 In Washington, a congressional panel heard a pessimistic assessment of Somaliaâs Transitional Federal Government, or TFG. The House Subcommittee on Africa took testimony from several witnesses Thursday, including Ken Menkhaus, political science professor at Davidson College in North Carolina. âOur policy in Somalia has been framed for several years by support to the Transitional Federal Government,â he says. âThat has never been a policy that has been embraced, because it was seen as having high promise, but because it was always seen as the best of bad options. The bad newsâ¦is that the TFG is no longer the best of bad options. Itâs simply a bad option.â He describes the government as being in âdisarrayâ and âan enormous disappointment,â despite millions of dollars in support. âMost of its members have resigned or reside outside the country. It controls only a few districts of the capital that are in fact secured by African Union peacekeepers. It has been notorious for corruption. Its security forces have been a law unto themselves,â he says. Unwilling and unable Professor Menkhaus says, âThe fundamental problemâ¦is not that it is weak. If it were only weak, state capacity building assistance would be the cure. This is not a case of a government that is willing, but not able. This is a case of a government that is neither willing nor able.â He says Somaliaâs âtop political elitesâ are using the TFG to make money âwithout taking the risks or the hard work of actually reviving the failed state.â Al-Shabaab The poor state of the TFG, he says, has allowed the al-Shabaab militia to expand its control over much of the country, despite its own weaknesses. âShabaab is not strong. It has numerous internal divisions. But itâs the only player on the playing field. And so itâs strong mainly as a function of the TFGâs weakness. Many observers believe that â¦there can be defections [in Shabaab]. There are large groups within Shabaab that are not really committed to hard core Jihadism,â he says. However, unless thereâs a viable alternative to Shabaab, fighters are unlikely to defect. âSo the population is acting in a predictably risk adverse manner, supporting tacitly or acquiescing to Shabaab control,â he says. Policy shift âThe time is right for a policy shift. I would argue that for starters, we need to look at a diversification strategy, not to decertify the Transitional Federal Government, but to demote it to a transitional authority tasked strictly with implementing key transitional tasks in this government,â he says. Menkhaus recommends âengaging any legitimate, powerful and effective authorities that we find at the sub-national level.â He says they should be âeffective to create some competition for good governance in Somalia, to put pressure on the TFG, and to end its monopoly of access to external assistance.â The conflict in Somalia has created one of the worldâs worst humanitarian disasters with hundreds of thousands of displaced people needing emergency aid. .