I have in my earlier comment looked at the nation’s infrastructure plan. I am following it with the government essential services which are somehow related to infrastructure. I am not an expert in any of these areas however I have a pretty good idea how things are done in the province and city I live in. The areas I will be touching on are as follows, Education, Health, Agriculture and rural development Municipal affairs
Education
Education is the jurisdiction of Minister of Education and higher learning. The minister ensures that inclusive learning opportunities enable students to achieve success as engaged thinkers and ethical citizens with entrepreneurial spirits. Key outcome is focused on providing policy direction, funding and assurance from grade one to grade twelve education systems so that all students are successful at learning. The minister should ensure in investing in families and communities and with working with health and human services to achieve a measurable outcome. The minster should keep in mind by the above things so he or she is securing Somaliland’s economic future. The minister’s fundamental purpose should be to enable children and youth to develop into responsible, caring, creative, self- reliant and contributing members of the society.
As the global society takes on increasing complexities and a pace of change like never before, it is not enough to maintain status quo. Students today should be made to understand that knowledge is the key resource of the world economy. Strong economies are becoming progressively more knowledge based.
In order to operate productively Somali lander’s will need to be innovative, creative and skilled in leveraging knowledge as a resource.
The minister must maintain alignment between high school education system and post- secondary institutions(Universities), the apprenticeship and vocational traing system, as well as business and industry, to ensure that students graduating from secondary schools have the knowledge and skills they to thrive in the economy of today and tomorrow.
Education is more than preparing students for work if one is available. It is formation of the individual person, family, community and society.
Health
Health and wellbeing of the population in Somaliland is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of health. Programs and services delivered by the minister should be reviewed for relevance, effectiveness and accountable. He should look into investing in families and communities he should have a vision of healthy Somali landers and through targeted efforts towards targeted primary health care and early childhood development.
Good health is one of the things everybody values the most. Somali landers expect a health care system that supports them in leading healthy lives and offers them health care services when and where they need them. Health has taken strides the minister should put in place the building blocks of high quality, patient centered health care system. For example, access to primary health care through existing primary health care networks and family care clinics.
Somaliland’s demographics make up is changing, the population has grown and the average age has most probably increased. The other health service providers should be focusing and ensuring better health for Somali landers, by working with partners to create social and economic conditions for good health and devising interventions to prevent people getting ill and help them become and stay as healthy as they possibly can. The minister makes sure better value for the investment, so health care has the resources needed to meet Somali lander’s present and the future health needs.
The minister should work with health professional and colleges. He should improve the efficiency and responsiveness of ground and air ambulance in light of the the many tragic and deadly high way accidents and rural roads. He should also develop a strategy for maternal, child and infant health, enhance support for parents and promote safe supportive communities.. He should facilitate supportive environment for seniors and aging population. He should try banning smoking in public areas and discourage tobacco usage.He should look into personal health record functionality and implement health information systems which can be expanded to rural areas as well.
He should also improve infection prevention and control and improve and protect Somali lander by increasing immunization, vaccinations rates and decreasing the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases.
Agriculture and Rural Development
The minister of agriculture and animal husbandry is the one who is responsible for the areas I will be touching on. The minister should provide a framework and services necessary for Somaliland agriculture and food sector to excel, inspire public confidence in the quality and safety of food and should lead the collaboration that enables resilient rural communities. He should focus on market driven, environmentally responsible industry, food safety, plant health, and animal health and welfare, and rural development. The minister should develop innovative policies and business models that will facilitate the adoption of integrated environmental management practices.
The minister should be aware that consumers in growing number of markets domestically and globally, are not only concerned about where their food comes from, but how it is produced, including the environmental footprint, the welfare and treatment of animals, and the impact of production practices on human health. Addressing these concerns is becoming increasingly important to sustain public confidence in the sectors’ operation. It is important to focus on engaging a new generation of entrepreneurs to ensure continuity and sustainability of the industry. By increasing human and business capacity, building networks, addressing challenges, and taking advantage of opportunities, rural Somaliland can realize increased economic diversification, self-reliance and improved quality of life. We should develop and implement market access plan for Somaliland’s animal life or processed markets, and build key relationships with the key stakeholders. He should also look into developing hides, skins and leather industry.
To maintain the confidence of Somali landers, and international consumers, the minister needs to continue to enhance and promote best practices in disease and pest control, animal welfare, traceability systems, environmental sustainability and food safety. The minister should enable producers agri-business to be profitable , diversify their crops and focus on value-added processing and manufacturing.
Municipal Affairs
I do not know whether there is a municipal act which was passed by the parliament and how the relationship between the central government and the municipalities and how they share the tax revenues.
The minister of municipal affairs should support the municipalities and communities by coordinating fire services and safety codes, and emergency management.
More and more rural population is drifting to urban areas and they put pressure on municipalities, the minister should ensure that the municipalities have the necessary tools to respond to these needs.
The municipalities will always have challenges to repair aging infrastructure including roads, bridges and recreational and cultural facilities. The demand for housing is increasing. The minister must provide with municipalities sustainable funding and long term real estate strategy.
The minister should promote an assessment and property tax system that is accurate and predictable.
I hope covered all the areas and I welcome any ideas or suggestion and if the current political parties governing or opposition want to put some of the ideas in their upcoming election party platforms, I have no objection to that.
Mohamoud.I.Jama
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
E-mail: mohamoud.h.jama@gmail.com
