IN 1991, after the overthrow of Somalia’s military leader Siad Barre, the northern territory of Somaliland declared independence. While its mother nation has been in meltdown, Somalilanders in Hargeisa established a currency, set up a working government, held a series of free elections and saw through a peaceful transfer of power. But after two decades, they still haven’t won recognition as a country from international partners.

Mohamed Bihi Yonis, the foreign minister, claims that is about to change, saying that “it will happen soon”. His optimism is overblown, but not entirely without foundation. A number of factors have converged to buoy the independence bid.

Last year Somalia elected its first permanent government since the fall of the military regime, giving Somaliland a credible partner for negotiations. Ministers have been trying to win Somali leaders over in talks brokered by Turkey.

Mr Yonis says the negotiations have stretched as far as “how best to disengage from each other”. He claims that Somalia’s government, which formally recognises its breakaway neighbour as an autonomous region, is willing to make concessions. “They have accepted the understanding that… it is in the best interests of everybody to move things forward,” he says.

Somaliland has a strong legal case for recognition because it sticks to old colonial borders favoured by the international community. Increased financial security may also support its bid.

The Somaliland government has handed out a number of oil licences to exploration groups like Genel Energy, an Anglo-Turkish firm, in recent years, and is about to sign the biggest business deal in its 22-year history. An offer worth “hundreds of millions [of dollars]” has been tabled by “one of the world’s best port operators” to develop the harbour at Berbera, according to Jason McCue, a human rights lawyer who works as an envoy on the independence bid.

Serving as a trade route for landlocked Ethiopia, which has annual exports of about $1bn, could strengthen Somaliland’s bid for recognition amongst its neighbours. Big international investors could also influence their home governments to acknowledge Somaliland as a country.

But there are limits. Sources close to Somalia’s government say that it is committed to maintaining a unified nation. All public signals from Mogadishu point in the same direction. Somalia wants Somaliland to adopt its planned replacement currency, and is attempting to exercise control over the territory’s airspace. It has also contested the legality of Somaliland handing out oil licenses, saying that right lies with the federal government. A new draft constitution openly lays claim to Somaliland.

Somaliland doesn’t necessarily need its parent nation’s permission to get legal recognition. But unfortunately for it, Western governments, which are mostly impressed with its efforts, say that the first move should come out of Africa. The chances of that happening look slim. The African Union is scared that acknowledging Somaliland could create momentum for other separatist bids, and none of its member states have shown any indication that they will recognise the territory. The current crisis in newly independent South Sudan makes this even more unlikely.

Somaliland’s problem furthermore is that its case is dwarfed by other concerns in the Horn of Africa. While the northern territory chugs along in relative peace and stability, both rump-Somalia and its international partners are face pressing security problems. Hargeisa will have to wait.

Source: Economist

Somaliland Foreign Minister during a Press Briefing moments before the SL delegation flew out the country

By Mustafa Abdi Ibrahim

A high level Somaliland delegation which is expected to  represent the nation at the upcoming talks left the country today headed for neighbouring Addis Abba, Ethiopia where there are expected to stay until the 15/1/2014 before for departing for Ankara, Turkey.

The delegation itself comprises of several cabinet ministers and MP’s but without the representatives of the two official opposition parties hence the absence of an inclusive and broad-based national committee and also which shows the lack of national consensus on the upcoming talks with the current government going its own way and the opposition parties accusing the government of lacking a clear agenda on the talks.

The FM also went on to say, “The government is the solely responsible for the talks and that it has the blessing of both the house of parliament and the house of elders and whatever emerges from the talks will be presented before the Somaliland public and that what we aim to achieve from this talks is a two state solution which will finally result to the full independence of Somaliland.

“The road ahead of us is not an easy one and might even take some time, as we all know it has been more than 24 years now since we broke away from the failed union with Somalia and since that time many things have changed so we have to sit down with them (Somalia) in order to listen to their demands and for us(Somaliland)to present ours which will lead both parties to finding solutions which will finally determine the future status as two states”, Hon Bihi stated.

Somaliland had a long tradition of popular public participation, negotiations and consensus building in all important national issues. In line with this tradition, the Somaliland government has failed to establish a mechanism for popular national consultations that would allow the participation of all sectors of the Somaliland society, particularly, the Non State Actors that include Civil Society Organizations, historians, lawyers, traditional, media and religious leaders, intellectuals with relevant expertise and other sections of the society.

Hon Mohamed Bih Yunis before departing said, “The delegation will spend their time in Addis Abba preparing team for the task ahead; to prepare the important points which Somaliland negotiator team will need in the upcoming negotiation meetings between Somaliland and Somalia.

The current delegation as it stands clearly shows that it consists of small fraction of Somaliland politicians, who may have self-serving political agenda and interests and whose legitimacy as leaders and representation is questionable such as the KULMIYE MP Mr.  Ahmed Abdi Kijandhe.

The lack of close consultation with the official opposition parties and the Non state Actors, who are one of the main pillars of the Somaliland society in order to seek guidance and advice on these sensitive negotiations with Somalia calls into question the legitimacy of the decision by the current government.

A wide section also raised concern about the legitimacy, representation and objectives of the potential negotiating partners in federal government of Somalia who are yet to be named due to the delay in formation of a  new government by the newly appointed PM Abdi Weli of Somalia.

Leaders of the two official opposition parties have termed the talks as sham and are doomed to fail.

SomalilandPress.com

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By Goth Mohamed Goth

The Head of Somaliland Custodial Corps Brigadier General Mohamed Hussein Farah(Hiraane)has embarked on a fact-finding mission on the conditions of correctional facilities in Sool, region and to meet the various heads of the armed services based in the region..

Immediately after arriving in Las Anod the head of the custodial corps embarked on an assessment tour of the Las Anod central prison which is the main correctional facility in Sool region which was followed by a visit of the main hospital and other governmental facilities in the region

The current government aims to introduce measures which will help in reducing conflict and producing a safer and more stable environment for both staff and offenders and which include providing of adequate provision of accommodation, hygienic conditions, clothing and bedding, food and exercise.

Just  last week the commanding officer in charge of Las Anod main Prison abandoned his post as the head of the facility which prompted the arrest and detention of the second in command due to unclear circumstances this reiterates the need for the government to introduce proper management of prisons i as a matter of priority through the provision of material and equipment, training and mentoring programmes etc.  

SomalilandPress.com

By Julian Macqueen

8th January 2014

Somaliland, a breakaway state to the north of Somalia proper, wants to develop Berberainto an export facility for land-locked Ethiopia.

Investors are being assembled to back the $2.5 billion project.

Lawyer and Somaliland envoy Jason McCue is quoted by news provider AllAfrica as saying that an agreement is there which involves “one of the world’s best port operators”.

Authorities in the state are trying to overhaul crumbling infrastructure as they seek to capitalise on their position as a bridge between Africa and the Middle East.

Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous nation, with 91 million inhabitants, and has annual exports worth almost $1 billion, led by coffee and gold.

Source: Portworld

Tribalism is the cornerstone of politics in Somaliland since independence. Although tribalism has paralysed Somaliland its role in politics has been overestimated if not concocted in the pursuit of power and wealth. The cause of the civil war in Somalia is a great example of how the politicians in Somaliland use tribalism to deceive the public and eliminate any discourse on accountability. According to all credible historians the civil war in Somalia that overthrew the Siad Barre government in 1991 was not a tribal war. The Barre administration simply used tribalism as tool to stay in power but their overall ideology was not based on tribalism. The People of Somaliland did not oppose the Siad Barre government simply because he was from the Marehan tribe but they rebelled against the corrupt policies of his administration.

To blame an inherent tribal society for the atrocities committed by corrupt power hungry politicians would be a great insult to the people that died in the civil war. Tribalism did not kill thousands of Somalilanders but it was power hungry individuals that committed these atrocities and they should be held accountable no matter where they are in the world. Organisations such as the Anti-Tribalism Movement and the Somali federal government should stop blaming tribalism and in essence the Somali people for the destruction of Somalia and talk about the real issues that have lead to the death of thousands of Somali’s.  They should talk about the policies of the Siad Barre government and the crimes it has committed.

Somaliland should now learn from the mistakes of the past and its people must hold their politicians accountable. They must not allow politicians to use tribalism to mask their corruption and to stop all discussions on transparency by using slogans such as ‘they hate our tribe ’. For example the needs of the people of Burao the capital city of the state of Togdheer are the same but the city is in a stalemate which is in the interest of the politician’s to create havoc to hide the lack of developments in city. Every building in the main hospital of Burao has been built by the British (how embarrassing is that) before independence as well as all the main roads in the city. The Port of Berbera generates almost 90 percent of the annual central budget in Somaliland but their healthcare facilities and their schools are in dire needs. The lack of fair trading has also destroyed small businesses as big companies operate without any regulations.  How embarrassing is it when we hear that young people from different schools or football clubs within the country are fighting each other along tribal lines. Schools should be places where our future is developed not a place where local politicians insight hatred to garner support for their political parties. The biggest tool for our politicians is offcourse the never ending supply of Khat that has basically desensitized the whole society to any logical reasoning.

The opposition parties only highlight the frustrations of the people but they never state any ideas for the country. They only promise change as the Kulmyie party did when they were in opposition. The people of Somaliland deserve a healthy discourse on the policies set by any political party without the use of the tribal card to threaten their peaceful coexistence. In fact the people of Somaliland just want the chance to discuss the lack of policies and vision in our political arena. The citizens of Somaliland should demand accountability and transparency from their politicians rather than demanding the success of a politician that hails from their tribe.

We need leaders that are more than just accountants for the meagre taxes collected from the hardworking Somalilanders.  Almost seventy percent of our politicians in the lower house chamber are from our Diaspora community and we wonder why they lack understanding to our needs. Our politicians always remind us about their contribution to the Somali National Movement (SNM) while thousands of our veterans and their families across the country live a life of poverty as they guard the diminishing light of hope and justice within their hearts. Freedom is without a doubt a certainty in Somaliland and for the sake of the thousands of Somalilanders that died we should patiently endeavour to a prosperous and dignified life.

Saeed Hasan Mohamed

Education is a fundamental human right and a major driver of human and economic development. It strengthens personal integrity and shapes the societies in which we live. Since education typically comprises 30-40 per cent of a country’s budget, it is critically prone to corruption, from national education ministries to local schools and universities.

The cost of corruption is high. Stolen resources from education budgets mean overcrowded classrooms and crumbling schools, or no schools at all. Books and supplies are sometimes sold instead of being given out freely. Schools and universities charge unauthorized fees, forcing students usually to drop out. Teachers and lecturers are appointed through family connections, without qualifications. Grades can be bought. In higher education, government should put on eye education system corruption and financial corruption that is likely to happen.

It is difficult to measure the financial losses entailed by corruption in the education sector. Equally, it is hard to gauge which corrupt practices have the greatest impact – grand corruption say within the scope of infrastructure measures (construction of new school buildings) or petty corruption, where the sums involved in each individual instance are small. Petty corruption is extremely widespread, e.g. illegal fees charged for admission to a school, and those worst affected are the poor, selling supplies, hiring unprofessional teachers, academic fraud etc .

In terms of personnel (especially teaching staff) and in terms of the numbers served, the education sector is in our country is the second largest, or even largest, sector within the public service. As a result, the education budget is often the second-largest or largest budget item. Up to 90 % of the running costs within the education budget are accounted for by staff costs.

 As a result of population growth in our country where 7o% of the population are under 25 years old, it will be essential to further expand primary and secondary education, and to find ways of financing this. Education services address with school-age children and all those with children studying. Since this means that a very large percentage of the population is affected by corruption in the education sector, making corruption in the education sector a politically sensitive issue in a poor country like Somaliland which its budget is only $120-$150 million.

In higher education, new technologies and increased competition between secondary schools may lead to new opportunities to corrupt practices. Academic fraud occurs when exam papers are sold or someone else sits for a test this can happen in our education systems. The privatization  of academic institutions have spurred to increase the corruption since many times they fall outside national regulatory frame-works through these channels, unqualified individuals may find it easy to obtain credential and academic degree.

Corruption in the education system will shake the confidence of citizens in regional level and at national level, and reduces the ability and willingness of wide parts of society to become involved in systematic processes and one of the worst corruption system is growing private universities being set up in a haphazard fashion by money oriented people, whose sole purpose is nothing but to commercialise the higher education of the country by capitalising on the desperate need for universities by the public.

Corruption plays a crucial role for ethical damage because the ethical fall-out caused by corruption is particularly obvious in our education system. The imparting of ethical values and behavior is considered to be a central task of education. Corrupt practices, particularly in the education system itself, undermine an education geared to ethical values, and shatter confidence in the quality of the education system. When adolescents become familiar with corrupt practices and see that personal success depends not on performance but on fraud, unethical patterns of behavior are passed on to new generations and become more widespread. Thus, corruption in schools and universities does much to establish corruption as a normal, accepted practice within society.

For my recommendation clear, objectives criteria and regulations are needed in education finance and management. These should help to guide decisions on where schools are built, which teachers are appointed and demoted and what examinations are used. Criteria must be transparent and must be accessible to the public.

Adequate control mechanisms such as regular audits and inspections must be applies to detect corruption, fraud and action must be taken against those who confirmed perpetrators of corruption. Capacity must be built within education institutions to ensure officials and educators can apply and enforce existing regulations. The media both public and private should have an access to participate anti-corruption against education sector because access to information is out come for social control and perhaps most important means to prevent corruption. An examination assessment criteria and regulations are needed and appropriate measures to detect and address problems also must be applied. These must include the physical verification of a candidate’s identity, safe storage of exam papers and centralizing grading and computerizing testing.

Mohamoud Dahir Omar

Education Analyst

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