The government of Somaliland and the Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to Somalia Mr. James Swan have not reached an agreement on the cooperation framework between Somaliland and the United Nations.
This is according to a brief statement released by the Somaliland Presidency following a meeting between the President of the Republic of Somaliland H.E. Muse Bihi Abdi and the delegation led by Mr. James Swan, the two sides have agreed to continue the discussions on Somaliland and the UN cooperation framework.
Somaliland government have set forth stringent conditions on cooperation between the United Nations and international organizations that essentially demanded that Somaliland be treated as a separate entity from Somalia and as a result has halted all preparatory work related to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNCF) agreement signed by the United Nations and the Federal Government of Somalia.
“The Republic of Somaliland has never been part of the federal system and has not had formal communications for three decades with Somalia. The UN is expected to engage with the Government of Somaliland as a separate entity while respecting its territorial integrity and right for self-determination.” said the 7-page document sent to the United Nations.
In remarks after meeting with #Somaliland’s President @musebiihi in #Hargeisa today, @UN envoy James Swan highlighted the world body’s support for the people of Somaliland, and welcomed the upcoming parliamentary and local council #elections: all partners “look forward to these.” pic.twitter.com/yfIZRqIJnT
Prior to his visit to Somaliland, Mr. Swan has been to Somalia’s regional capitals of Kismayo, Jawhar, and Garowe where he met Somali Federal Member State presidents regarding the disputed elections in Somalia.
The statement from the Somaliland Presidency also stated that Mr. Swan has congratulated the government of Somaliland, the political parties, and the public on their concerted effort to hold parliamentary and local elections. Mr. Swan has in the past discussed Somaliland’s elections in the context of Somalia, an action that the Somaliland government has strongly condemned.
SRSG Swan’s glowing commendation of Somaliland’s election effort is a rigid dichotomy to his support of Villa Somalia and few Somaliland natives to hold a selection in Mogadishu and claim to represent the entire population of Somaliland. It is unclear if any of these points were raised with Mr. Swan by President Bihi during their meeting.
In a letter to its customers, Hargeisa Water Agency informed its customers that it has acquired new meters with new features that will benefit its customers. The letter informs customers that the new meters cost 50 US dollars and will be charged to the customers.
The letter states that the new meters will remove the guessing out of meter reading and that it will eliminates Water Agency staff’s need to access customer homes because the new meters can be read remotely and the new meter will provide accurate reading under any condition.
It is unclear what the Water Agency meant by guessed or estimated meter reading and if the customers have been overcharged in the past for water usage as a result of the inaccuracy of the meter reading by its staff and if customers will be reimbursed overcharges.
Although the letter is short on specifics regarding the new water meter and why the Water Agency is supplying it, the remote meter reading implies a smart meter possibly an Internet of Things, a technical capability Hargeisa Water Agency currently lacks. In the past, many government functions have been outsourced to third parties with ties to government officials. This includes land records management of Hargeisa Municipality to GEOSOL.
Mr. Hamse Khaire an opposition political activist who fiercely opposed an effort by the Ministry of Agricultural Development and a Chinese company to plant Castor plant in Tog Wajale and a candidate running for Parliament wrote “The job of the Water Agency is not to sell water meters instead; it should bring water to Hargeisa. After decades of water expansion projects, Hargeisa is still without water”.
Water availability has been sparse for Hargeisa residents for decades and the few that have access to the Water Agency’s services already own meters they have already purchased. Tens of millions have been spent on water expansion projects by donors for Hargeisa for the past decades. The current expansion project is funded by the German bank KfW.
Hargeisa Water Agency and the Ministry of Water Development have declined to comment on the new meter.
The Minister of Education and Science Hon. Ahmed Mohamed Diriye Egeh announced the construction of 31 new schools in rural areas of Somaliland. The new schools which will consist of 2 to 4 classrooms are expected to host 7500 students for two shifts.
According to Minister Egeh the cost of the construction of the 31 schools will cost 1.1 million US dollars and is entirely funded by the government of Somaliland. The 1.1 million US dollar price tag of the project represents roughly 5% of the Ministry of Education and Science’s 22 million US dollar budget for 2021.
Budget line for the Ministry of Education and Science in 2021 budget.
In addition to the 31 new schools that will house an expected 7500 students, an additional 100 schools were constructed in Somaliland in 2020 by the Somaliland government and international donors.
Asked if the Ministry of Education and Science will undertake other activities to renovate expand or upgrade existing public schools Minister Egeh stated that a lot more schools will undergo extensive renovation, upgrade, and re-equipment. In addition, Minister Egeh stated that 300 new teachers were hired where additional 2000 were trained and licensed by the Ministry.
According to Minister Egeh “the Ministry purchased 4,000 solar-powered tablets in which pre-recorded lessons of grade 1 to grade with sign language will be uploaded as a mobile school for the children of the transient pastoralist households”.
In July 2020, Minister Egeh stated that 40% of Somaliland school-age children lack access to basic education. following an extensive tour of the country.
On January 21, 2020, the Minister of Telecommunication and Technology, Dr. Abdiweli Soufi Jibril sent a Letter of Intent to the Sierra Leone Minister of Information and Communication Mr. Mohamed Rahman Swaray asking for help and collaboration as well as the use of the top-level domain .sl which is registered for the government of Sierra Leone.
“We, the Ministry of information and Communication Technologies of Somaliland, would like to submit this Letter of Intent (Lol) to acquire your support and collaboration in the ICT industry, including having a commercial partnership with your esteemed office regarding the internet Top Level Domain.” Dr. Abdiweli wrote.
Dr. Abdiweli, the Minister of Technology and Telecommunication of Somaliland has promised during his confirmation hearing at the Parliament to move Somaliland to its own domain and issued a directive prohibiting the use of the .so TLD that belongs to neighboring Somalia.
In addition, the Minister promised to get Somaliland its own telephone country code, making Somaliland a technological hub among other lofty goals if confirmed by parliament.
It is unclear if Dr. Abdiweli was familiar with the concepts governing ccTLD and aware that the .sl is in fact Sierra Leone’s country code top-level domain before committing before Parliament and that sharing a country code top-level domain with another country is an unorthodox way of solving the problem.
Although Dr. Abdiweli declined to comment on whether Sierra Leone has given him a response to his request for collaboration and use of its ccTLD, the Ministry of Telecommunication and Technology has settled on the generic govsomaliland.org for Somaliland’s government portal.
According to sources present at the latest ICT Conference held by the Ministry of Information and Technology where the Somaliland Government Portal was unveiled described the new portal as “a disappointment and nothing more than Word Press site with many links that lead to nowhere”.
Sources at the Ministry of Communication and Technology who spoke to Somaliland Chronicle on condition of anonymity state that the new government portal cost more than 120,000 US dollars and includes the purchase of 15,000 US dollars worth of Internet Protocol addresses.
Despite the hefty price tag of more than 120,000 US dollars to develop the website and purchasing of more than half a million dollars worth of hardware by the ministry last year, the website is hosted on the budget Bluehost service provider.
In September 2019, following an extra-ordinary session of President Bihi’s cabinet, the government of Somaliland announced the implementation of e-government as well as the inclusion of information technology in the national curriculum, neither has materialized.
Director General of the Ministry of Telecommunication and Technology Mr. Ali Abdillahi Dahir
On January 20th, President Bihi has sacked the Director-General of the Ministry of Telecommunication and Technology Mr. Ali Abdillahi Dahir among many officials. No reason was given on why Mr. Dahir was relieved of his duties.
The West African nation of Sierra Leone does not stand out as a technological heavyweight, and besides the fact that it owns the .sl country code top-level domain, it is unclear what other areas Sierra Leone can assist Somaliland in developing its information technology sector.
FOXCONN is Taiwan’s largest manufacturer of semiconductor and supplies Apple and other global companies.
In contrast, Taiwan, Somaliland’s new ally is considered a global powerhouse in information technology and although it has not been announced yet, information technology is one of the areas that Taiwan is expected assist Somaliland as part of the agreement signed last year by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan and Somaliland as part of the bilateral ties between the two countries.
To combat COVID-19 and highlight the importance of testing in the fight against the virus. TaiDoc Technology Corporation and ForaCare Foundation have donated jointly COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test for our allies. The Rapid Tests, certified by Taiwan and the EU, can produce results in just 15 minutes.
Taiwan Representative Office, on behalf of the Taiwan Government and private enterprises, donated 6,000 COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test to the Ministry of Health Development to support Somaliland proactively to combat the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. It shows the efforts to integrate the strategic medical resources provided by the Taiwan Government and private sectors to channel to Somaliland.
Taiwan has been side by side with and supported Somaliland to combat Covid-19 by donation of the medical equipment including high-quality masks, protective clothes, PPE, infrared forehead thermometers, infrared thermal imagers which can detect multi-body temperatures, high-quality PCRs and reagents, as well as quality rice to relieve the food shortage caused by Covid-19 and fund for disaster relief.
Taiwan can help. Taiwan is helping. Taiwan can contribute and has long been contributing on many fronts. Our effort is proudly described as the Taiwan Model. The spirit of the Taiwan Model is: Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime. We are ready to share with Somaliland and other allied nations.
Although the Mayor of Hargeisa Mr. Abdirahman Mohamoud Aideed SOLTELCO has not officially declared his candidacy for a second term, he has been on overdrive behind the scenes working the elders and manufacturing an aura of having the blessing of the President of the Republic HE Muse Bihi Abdi, which he has been known to tell associates that the President is indebted to him for his outsized role in the 2017 presidential elections.
Mr. SOLTELCO is determined to become a mayor for a second term and has been desperately seizing every PR opportunity whether it’s at the inauguration of a sewage treatment plant being bankrolled by the German KFW Bank, or standing aimlessly at 1:00 AM next to another road that will soon be washed by soapy water. We are not making this up, the Mayor theorized that people are destroying the roads he has built with their dirty dishwater.
Strangely, the Mayor has upped his environmental vandalism by burning much more expired products than the municipality has done in the past, perhaps as a way to remind Hargeisa residents that he cares about their health and wellbeing.
It is an open secret that Hargeisa Mayor Mr. SOLTELCO who has been a terrible mayor to say the least wants a second term but what is rarely discussed is why he wants a job he has miserably failed or the fact that the odds are not in his favor to win the mayor seat itself which is not directly elected by the public.
SOLTELCO is braving a gauntlet by facing long-disenchanted electorate at the ballot box and hoping that he will be elected a mayor by the incoming local council who are mostly jostling for the position themselves and may contain guys that promised to not take a salary without ever facing the risk of being asked how they will pay for their living expenses and are more focused on their skincare regiment than serving their future constituents.
This is a costly campaign, and especially for SOLTELCO and the return on investment seems to be not there unless you look at what he may or may not have stashed away and wants to protect.
1
Valuable Land Plots
Local governments in Somaliland have had unfettered access to valuable plots of land carved from new traditional farmlands being converted to residential plots. These plots are intended for what is known as “Public Interest” and are earmarked for hospitals, schools, police stations, places of worship – generally publicly owned properties, but instead, local councils and especially the Mayors deal with these valuable properties as their own and may sell them or “gift” them to their allies. In this tenure as a mayor, Mayor SOLTELCO may have sold, gifted, or quite possibly stashed away many of these public interest plots of land.
Mr. Hassan Shahar a former butcher and a sitting local council member of Hargeisa had recently admitted on tape to have sorted out a local mufti’s medical expenses by quickly liquidating two blocks of land.
2
GEOSOL Ownership Stake
Mayor SOLTELCO who has enlisted the help of GEOSOL, a private company that he holds a stake in, to run the most important aspect of the local government’s function – land and property records management may at some point get a second look by an incoming mayor, possibly because the entire enterprise is illegal and the fact that the local government itself needs the revenue that GEOSOL is currently collecting from Hargeisa residents.
3
Garbage Business Ownership Stake
Another fundamental function of a municipality is garbage collection and although in some part of the world this is outsourced under strict circumstances, in the case of Somaliland and particularly Hargeisa, this is outsourced to private companies that charge $5 to every household, some of these companies once again have direct links to the mayor and his close friends who are also part of the GEOSOL gang.
Complicity
Mayor SOLTELCO is not alone; instead, there is a system that protects people like him. Remember when Hargeisa Local Government was investigated by the Auditor General’s Office and miraculously found no wrongdoing? The Auditor-General’s report was never made public and the executive, the legislative neither cared enough to order an investigation because corruption is as rampant everywhere in Somaliland as it is in SOLTELCO’s local government.
Regardless of the President’s support for Mayor SOLTELCO, his inaction speaks volumes and if he really cared about what goes on in Hargeisa and outside of the walls of the Presidency, his Auditor General would not have had the nerve to give SOLTELCO’s local government a clean bill of health.
If you think Mayor SOLTELCO’s chance of reelection is slim, think again and remember people will vote along tribal fault lines, and perhaps seeing SOLTELCO – the apotheosis of greed and corruption – as the person closes to them tribally will be motivation enough to vote for him again.
As a resident of Hargeisa, this is the chance you have been waiting for you seven years, what you do in the next election determines if you will live in the squalid city whose most basic services are outsourced to private companies who charge for their services despite the fact that you have paid your taxes. Seize this opportunity and make sure you do not regret your vote, or as President Bihi eloquently put it “fartaada ha eedin“.
Somaliland Chronicle is responsible for the content of this editorial.
The Vice President of the Republic of Somaliland H.E. Abdirahman Abdilahi Ismail Saylici inaugurated development projects funded by Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and The Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation in Somaliland. The projects include an 8 million US dollar solar power plant in Berbera, state of the art dialysis unit in Hargeisa Group Hospital, and two new healthcare facilities in Berbera and Burao.
The solar 7-megawatt solar power plant in Berbera is expected to reduce high electricity costs and cut emissions from diesel generators currently in operation. The Vice President stated that electricity cost has not been finalized yet but he expects it to be much lower than current prices.
According to a statement released by the Abu Dhabi Fund For Development, the project cost is 29.3 million dirhams or 8 million US dollars. Abu Dhabi Fund for Development is also financing the construction of the Berbera Corridor project linking Berbera to Ethiopia.
Emirati News Agency reported that the solar power plant is a public-private-partnership and that Somaliland government will be supported by a consulting company named Coretec.
The Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation has handed three state-of-the-art medical facilities including a dialysis unit to the Ministry of Healthcare Development of Somaliland. The facilities are in Hargeisa, Berbera, and Burao. Details about the medical facilities including cost, capacity, and if the foundation will provide future support to these facilities were shared.
The Somaliland Civil Service and the World Bank have quietly restructured Civil Strengthening Project into a second phase for what the World Bank described as “closing the financing gap resulted from the CSSP design stage underestimated the cost of doing business in Somaliland”. To date, 5.63 million of the project’s 10 million US dollars has been spent.
The new Project Information Document published by the World Bank on December 14th describes major shortcomings in the previous phase of the project including the fact that the Civil Service Commission has not included more than 8,500 employees in the HR Audit it has completed in July 2018. The Civil Service Commission has launched the headcount in January 2018 in a glitzy event attended by President Muse Bihi Abdi, one of the first events he attended as he took office.
The Civil Service Commission has paid $566,700.00 to a company called Extra Insight for the headcount activity. No official explanation can be gleaned from the World Bank’s restructuring documents for how more than 60% of the government employees could be missed by the headcount activity that the Civil Service Commission has touted as a major accomplishment [link to previous press releases].
Contractor Name
Description
Amount (US$)
Extra Insight
Hr-auditing Firm For Head Counting Activity
$566,700.00
The restructuring of the project comes at a time when the Civil Service Commission is in the middle of recruiting subject matter experts for specific government ministries and agencies in a program known as Talen Management Program or TMP. In the restructuring, the number of recruits is reduced from 80 to 57 with a projected cost saving of 600,000 US dollars to be reallocated to other areas of the project.
The main purpose of the Talent Management Program is to give Somaliland government the ability to compete for critical talent with other employers in Somaliland especially the UN, aid agencies, and large private companies such as Telesom and Somtel.
The World Bank restructuring document also peels the curtain on an embarrassing episode where the Civil Service Commission and the Somaliland government has not adequately budgeted for TMP staff salaries.
“The GoSL did not include in their CY2020 budget sufficient amount to pay all CY2020 salaries and allowances for TMP staff. In its letter to the Bank dated September 19, 2020 (attached), the Government has requested the Bank to advance US$108,786 to cover salaries and allowances of existing TMP staff for the rest of CY2020, i.e. for September to December 2020; and salaries and allowances of new TMP staff to be recruited in December 2020.” is how the restructuring document described the current challenges in with the Civil Service Strengthening Project.
The impact of the Civil Service Strengthening project in raising the bar on civil service in Somaliland is negligible at best despite the 10 million dollar price tag. So far the Civil Service Commission has not implemented the most basic mechanism of managing employees’ records.
High-ranking government officials who spoke to Somaliland Chronicle on condition of anonymity, describe the CSC leadership as wasteful and being too focused on PR stunts that include piloting a headcount project in local governments despite missing more than 60% of government employees in headcount that has cost $566,700.00. In addition, the Civil Service Commission has concluded a year-long study looking into what it will take to create a healthcare program for government workers.
Although the Civil Service Institute has been in operation for a long time and has trained thousands throughout the years, Chairman Farhan has recently unveiled a program with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) that would identify the areas where government employees need training. The program comes at a whopping cost of 670,000.
Part of the contract with GIMPA is an English language training for civil servants conducted by ACH a British firm subcontracted by GIMPA that according to the inception report trains 3000 refugees a year in basic English literacy and coaches new employees for Starbucks and other unskilled laborers.
The sweeping changes to many government agencies including the Civil Service Commission announced yesterday, President Bihi has sacked the Deputy Chairman and the Executive Director of the Civil Service Institute. It is unclear if the changes at the Civil Service Commission are related to the World Bank’s restructuring of the flagship project due to financial and other structural challenges.
When asked about the reason for the restructuring and the new agreement that it will entail, Chairman of the Civil Service Commissioner Mr. Farhan Adan Haybe stated that there is no restructuring and that this is simply an extension of the project term due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The President of the Republic of Somaliland H.E. President Muse Bihi Abdi has reshuffled his cabinet for the 7th time since taking office in 2017 and has sacked the Ministers of Employment, Social Affairs, and Family and Justice and numerous Director Generals. In addition, President Bihi has issued a number of directives that include the nomination of the National Insurance Commissioners.
The Minister of Justice Hon. Mustafe Mohamoud Ali was reassigned to replace Hon. Hinda Jama Gani and President Bihi has appointed a new minister to head the Justice portfolio. This would be the third time President Bihi has changed the Minister of Justice.
The sacked minister of Employment, Social Issues, and Family Hon. Hinda Jama Gani, was nominated by President Bihi upon taking office and has been a member of a number of important committees including the Public Sector Reform Steering Committee. She did not have prior public service experience and had a limited formal education according to people who have worked with her as a minister.
In addition to the two ministers, President Bihi has fired five Director Generals, the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Higher Education Commission, the Deputy Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, and has reassigned a number of other Director Generals.
Somaliland Higher Education Commission, an independent commission with seemingly no discernable function has been around for years and is considered a dumping ground for sacked government officials.
As part of this wide-ranging directive, President Bihi has also nominated the National Insurance Commissioners, the Institute of Agricultural Research, and the Office of Endowments Registry. The latter which has been around for years is considered to be a redundant function that is already part of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments.
According to a directive issued by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, the cost of registering a business in Somaliland by both citizens and foreign nations will be cut by 50%. The directive adds that the discounting of registering businesses in Somaliland is due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the discounting of registering a business in Somaliland would be a welcome relief for a new business venture, the process itself is arcane and may require dealing with multiple government agencies such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Attorney General’s Office, Ministry of Finance and possibly others.
The directive from Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Hon. Mohamoud Hassan Saad (Saajin) hints at a one-stop-shop business registration and licensing process but does not offer details on when and how it will streamline the process of registering a new business in Somaliland.
On multiple occasions, the Somaliland government, with the help of the International Finance Cooperation (IFC) of the World Bank Group – One Stop Shop (OSS) Project which was supposed to support Somaliland government service delivery and centralization of business registration processes to avoid dealing with multiple disjointed bureaucracies.
In February 2018, IFC has contracted WYG a consultancy firm to develop an online business registration and licensing system for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism. However, the project was not successful and IFC has reportedly terminated WYG consulting service for delivery and implementation purposes.
According to sources, previous attempts were completely botched due to differences in the implementation of the One-Stop-Shop project between the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism and the International Finance Cooperation.
Sources added that the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Hon. Saajin has lost patience with International Finance Cooperation for the development of the One-Stop-Shop platform and digitalization of business registration services thus hampering and IFC and MoCIT relations.
It is worth mentioning that IFC has advertised a request for expression of interest for the implementation of online business registration and licensing system in June 2020.
Removing unnecessary hurdles from establishing a new business in Somaliland is a critical step in creating a climate conducive to business in Somaliland that may help attract direct foreign investment from small to medium foreign companies.
Despite repeated promises by the Ministry of Telecommunication and Technology to implement an e-government service, so far Somaliland government does not offer any online services including registering a business.
Efforts to reach the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Hon. Mohamoud Hassan Saad (Saajin), IFC, and other officials for comments were unsuccessful.
