In a raucous session, the Somaliland Parliament has passed the much-anticipated election law without the critical components that were intended to give women and minorities a fair representation in the legislator.
A vote on the election bill was scheduled for a vote in the Parliament on September 12th but was delayed for other debates on bills submitted to Parliament by President Muse Bihi Abdi concerning free trade zone and foreign investment.
The exclusion of parliamentary seat quota in the election is major setback for Somaliland’s women and minority groups who have lobbied the government and political parties extensively.
Although some members of the Parliament have objected to the quota on grounds of unconstitutionality, there is nothing in Somaliland’s constitution that prohibits a mechanism that guarantees fair representation for women and minority groups in the country’s parliament.
Setting up a quota for women and minority groups have been in the works for a while and President Bihi and his cabinet have approved a quota allocating 21 seats for women and minority clans in June 2018. Similarly, all three political parties have expressed support for the quota.
Civil society and community activists have expressed their disappointment in the parliament’s vote against the quota for women and minority groups
Women and minority groups have been particularly disadvantaged in Somaliland politics where tribal dynamics and numbers play a major role in elections. The failure of this important feature in Somaliland’s democracy was widely criticized by Somaliland civil society groups and activists.
It is a very disappointing that the House members rejected to approve the Quota for Women and Minority. Already the Somaliland governance, including the Parliament, are a male dominated system. the Quota system is supporting both Women & Minority Participation in decision-making https://t.co/5xdjX55Fqn
— Center for Policy Analysis in Horn of Africa (@CPA_Horn) September 27, 2020
On September 1st, the Minister of Agricultural Development Mr. Ahmed Mumin Seed announced that his ministry has reached an agreement with a Chinese company to farm castor plant on Wajale plains.
Minister Moumin, accompanied by Chinese company representatives and Mr. Abdullahi Abdi Moussa who announced that the company, known as Africa Agriculture Development will create employment opportunities for the youth and food security of the nation.
According to Mr. Abdullahi Abdi Moussa, the company has been working on its investment in Wajale Plains with the Ministry for a period of time and will start to plant the castor plant in 2000 hectors. He added the most immediate benefit of the project to the nation is the employment of 200 people and that the first year’s production will be distributed as a seed to farmers in the area so they can also farm castor plants.
“This is the first investment of agriculture or food production that has arrived in Somaliland,” Mr. Abdullahi said.
Minister Ahmed Moumin Seed who spoke briefly, stated that this is in line with President Moussa Bihi Abdi’s leadership policies to bring more investment to Somaliland. He did not provide any details on what the project entails and especially who and why the castor plant was selected for this project.
Efforts to locate any details about the company known as Africa Agriculture Development were unsuccessful.
Singapore New Silk Somaliland Energy Company has entered into an agreement with Somaliland Government to build an oil refinery and employ 400 National Service Graduates. None of it has so far materialized.
Mr. Ahmed Arwo, Director-General of Somaliland Central Bank discussing the importance of the Singapore New Silk Somaliland Energy Company in April 2019Mr. Abdullahi Abdi Moussa with Vice President of Somaliland Abdirahman Saylici breaking ground with foreign investors in Berbera.
Mr. Abdoulahi was one of the representatives of Singapore New Silk Somaliland Energy Company.
Mr. Hamse Khaire, a member of the opposition party of Waddani has warned of the dangers of ricin a poison found in the castor plant, and questioned the need for this type of plant at a time when there is a more immediate need for basic vegetables in Somaliland.
Although used to produce oil the castor plant is also the source of the ricin poison and according to the United States Centers for Disease Control, “Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury. Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans. It can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid.“.
It is unclear why the Ministry of Agriculture chose the large scale plantation of the castor plant in 2000 hectors which is more than 40 percent of Wachaale plains when Somaliland is still importing basic vegetables such as tomatoes from onions from Ethiopia.
As recently as last month Somaliland experienced vegetable shortage due to the clashes in Oromia. Currently, supply of vegetables produced in Somaliland is not sufficient to supply market demand.
Efforts to reach Mr. Abdoulahi and Minister Moumin Seed for details on what type of due diligence his ministry has done to ensure the company known as African Agriculture Development is legitimate and if they have reviewed their past track record were unsuccessful.
Questions sent to Mr. Abdullahi Abdi Moussa about Singapore New Silk Somaliland Energy Company, the oil refinery, and the employment of the 400 National Service graduates and given his track record so far, why should the public trust him and the new company Africa Agriculture Development were unanswered.
In an unprecedented move, the Ministry of Information and National Guidance ordered all government-owned media outlets to allow opposition voices an equal coverage.
In a circular addressed to the Radio Hargeisa, Somaliland National Television, Dawan newspaper, and all other government-owned media outlets, the Deputy Minister of Ministry of Information and National Guidance Hon. Abdinasir Omer Jama ordered that an independent and balanced coverage be given to all aspects of the news cycle in Somaliland.
The circular notes the importance of giving equal and fair coverage to all political parties especially dissenting voices from the opposition and the public.
Government-owned media outlets in Somaliland lag far behind independent media and focus on programming designed to showcase government achievement and the activities of government officials.
It is unclear if the circular from the Ministry of Information and National Guidance marks an end to the government’s ham-fisted policy towards freedom of speech and arbitrary detention of journalists.
Dawan a government-owned newspaper and one of the oldest and continuously operating papers in Somaliland seems to have put an immediate effect by running a segment featuring a Waddani opposition party criticizing Hargeisa Local Municipality for the poor road infrastructure in the capital.
This is the first time in Somaliland’s history that government-owned media are explicitly instructed to be impartial and operate independently.
In the last few weeks, officials from the Somaliland Auditor-General have been conducting investigations at multiple government agencies including local governments, and have announced multiple arrests across the country.
In an interview given to the VOA Somali, Mr. Ahmed Yusuf Dirir, the Auditor General of Somaliland announced the arrests and stated that criminal complaints have been filed and the process is going through the judiciary channels.
Somaliland Auditor-General Mr. Ahmed Yusuf Dirir
Although the Auditor-General’s Office has investigated government agencies such as the Ministry of Education and Science and Hargeisa Local Municipality, the Civil Service Commission, and many more, no information has emerged on what was uncovered and no arrests made. Auditor-General reports are not available to the media and the public at large for scrutiny.
In the interview with VOA Somalia, Mr. Ahmed Yusuf Dirir stated that his office has arrested officials from Borama, Berbera, and Burao and charged them with corruption.
Charges were filed against the former Minister of Information and Culture Mr. Abdirahman Abdillahi Farah (Guri-Barwaqo) and the former Defense Minister Mr. Issa Ahmed Hawar along with other officials from those ministries in March 2019.
The Auditor-General’s office has filed criminal complaints against ministers and director-generals in the early months of President Muse Bihi Abdi’s administration, no one was convicted of a crime although most of the officials named in the complaints have been fired as a result.
According to sources, many of the officials charged with corruption are mid to low level and are mostly from local municipalities. It is unclear if the charges filed will cause convictions and prison sentences.
Efforts to reach officials from the Auditor-General’s office to ask about the reason for increased activity after years of inactivity and why their previous criminal complaints have not resulted in convictions were unsuccessful.
The Bihi administration got it right for bringing to Somaliland, Trafigura Group Pte, the world’s second-biggest independent oil and industrial metals trader. Trafigura will help the Somaliland Government’s efforts to transform the Berbera port as a strategic hub in the Horn of Africa region where the demand for energy is growing year on year.—-which could spur economic growth and create more jobs.
Port of Berbera’s Oil Terminal, upper left, and its newly expanded container terminal, foreground (Photo/ Government of Somaliland)
According to a press release, Trafigura has signed with Somaliland Ministry of Commerce, Tourism and Industry an agreement “to invest Berbera Oil Terminal(BOT) facilities to position it as a gateway to serve customers within the country, and integrate oil logistics across the Horn of Africa.”
Founded more than a quarter century ago, Trafigura trades 6.1 million barrels a day, is based in Singapore but it run from Geneva. Its total revenue is $83 billion by June 2020, according to company’s financial statement.
Trafigura has its own misdeeds in the past. In 2010, a Dutch court had found Trafigura guilty of illegally exporting toxic waste from Amsterdam to Ivory Coast, allegedly making people sick and killing up to 16 people. Trafigura paid a $200 million settlement and Ivory Coast’s prosecutor declared that there was no evidence of any illegality or misconduct by any Trafigura company or staff..
It also used to rely on middlemen to win contracts in natural resources rich African countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo—where corruption is rife, and it’s difficult to do business without first paying a bribe or kickbacks. But it ended that predatory practice after it faced corruption probes from regulators.
In Somaliland, Trafigura would supply fuel with low sulphur content with the international or regional standard. Last week, Trafigura delivered the first shipment of such fuel to BOT. “We’re delighted to be working with a leading independent, international company like Trafigura to improve the quality and reliability of refined petroleum product supply into the country,” said Mr. Mohamoud Hassan Saad, Minister of Trade Industry and Tourism, “By working with Trafigura there will be increased transparency, high standards, and increased competitiveness across the supply chain.”
There are currently six companies that supply fuel to BOT, or operate fuel depot: Red-Sea, Som-Petroleum,Hass, Al-Harbi Petroleum, Waraabe Petroleum, Dahabshil Group and others. Some of the owners of these companies include a fuel distributor from Kenya, a livestock trader, confectionery supplier, a money remittance operator, and a fuel gas station operator.
Unscrupulous merchants had entrenched themselves in the fuel supply business. They dumb dirty fuel to the local market , without regard the effect it would had on consumers. The local Consumers have no recourse to take legal action against fuel station operators selling dirty fuels, which damaged motor vehicles because of Somaliland’s weak regulatory and justice system. Fuel shortages, high fuel prices, or gas stations running out of fuel , are routine in Somaliland, especially Hargeisa, the capital city.
Now, With Trafigura solely supplying the fuel in BOT, Somaliland consumers will get a reliable supply of fuel from a global leader in energy supply. A fuel we could know its source.
Somaliland is one of the poorest country in the world yet it has the highest gasoline price in world, close to a $4/US gallon for a dirty fuel. In contrast, the price of unleaded gasoline in US is $2/US gallon. I would welcome Trafigura coming to Somaliland if it would bring down the cost of fuel—which is hampering local economy and development.
I am not against local private entrepreneurs managing or developing BOT; however, these merchants of dirty fuel had ten years to develop and expand BOT and bring a reputable fuel supplier—-but they have failed to do so. These suppliers have no resources or know how to expand our energy infrastructure. And, the process they got the contract during the corrupt Silanyo/ Hirsi administration, to supply the fuel was marred with corruption and nepotism.
For instance, Dahabshill Group which owns and manages a fuel depot , or Trafigura Pte—-which one of these companies is able to cleanup, Allah forbid, if oil spill occurs at BOT ? Trafigura Pte does, but Dahabshil Group does not.
And if Trafigura fails to clean up its mess, we could take it to European courts. But in the case of Dahabshil Group —Somaliland people have no recourse to force Dahabshil to clean up the disaster.In fact, even if a driver that hauls fuel is involved an accident, the driver’s clan, and not the proprietor of the business, are responsible for any damages.We can’t take that risky on our energy supply.
Gubanmedia have some other issues or policies that we disagree with the President Bihi ; but in this initiative, we are supporting Bihi’s decision to bring Trafigura.
This deal is not only good for our economy, but would strengthen our National Security in the long run.Trafigura could also help Somaliland develop our untapped mineral resources such as zinc and copper—-—where millions of our people are living in abject poverty despite the abundance of these metals in the country.The deal shows the confidence big companies have in investing Somaliland—-a country that has not yet received a diplomatic recognition.
I concur that people should know the terms of the Agreement. We should expect the leaders of do no-thing legislature to do its job and demand from the Bihi administration transparency and accountability and probe more details about the Trafigura deal.
But the failed un-elected party apparatchiks of the Wadani party should stop propagating fearmongering and disinformation campaign against Trafigura deal.We should move out the petty interest of the few merchants of dirty fuel.
I hope that Trafigura deal works out, because the current system of relying our fuel supply on unscrupulous merchants mired with corruption and prone to disaster is reckless. Therefore, I believe it’s time to move on and find a new source for the supply of our petroleum products needs.
President Bihi did the right thing for bringing big commodity trader Trafigura Pte, not because our consumers deserve a reliable source of fuel supply, but because Somaliland needs and the region would benefit as well. This is a win, win for Somaliland, for our security,for our economy, for local consumers, and for the region.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ali-Guban Mohamed Founder and Editor
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints of Somaliland Chronicle, and its staff.
On August 31st, the Ministry of Communication and Technology unveiled the latest sophisticated equipment from signals intelligence firm TCI International to manage Somaliland’s airwaves or spectrum. According to the Minister, Dr. Abdiweli Abdulahi Sufi, this makes Somaliland the 27th country in Africa to have the ability to manage its airwaves.
The star of the well-attended ceremony was the TCI Model 737 installed on a V8 Toyota Land Cruiser with its directional antenna extended as a cadre of government ministers looked on in amazement.
TCI International specializes in spectrum monitoring, radio-frequency, and signal geolocation. Its core competency is what is known as SIGINT or communications intelligence and has supplied both civilian and military agencies for decades.
According to the minister whom we spoke to for this report, the procurement of the TCI 737 system is the part of the ministry’s effort to regulate the telecom sector and will enable the Ministry of Communication and Technology to enforce the Telecom Sites Regulations.
The Telecom Sites Regulation is the legislation that governs all aspects of telecom sites such as distance from populated areas, range, height, and infrastructure sharing. He added that it would enable the ministry to assess the fees of using the airwaves. He estimates that 80% of Somaliland’s airwaves are in use.
There have been public complaints and fear of adverse health effects from the cellular towers and their placement and proximity to residential areas throughout Somaliland cities where each carrier has its cell site rather than sharing resources.
At the unveiling ceremony, the Minister stated that this should put an end to public complaints about the health hazards of the numerous towers in urban areas and give the ministry the ability to measure the power output from cellular towers with great precision. He added that his ministry would take appropriate legal actions against anyone making allegations without proof.
At the outset, all looks well as the Ministry of Communication and Technology seems to be taking steps in the right direction to regulate the telecom sector with a mix of robust legislation and the purchase of a world-class spectrum monitoring system but the main issue with this approach is the prohibitive cost of the system and that fact that the government can only afford just one of these systems at the moment.
How much did the TCI 737 Spectrum Management Cost?
Can its cost be justified?
According to Somaliland’s government records reviewed by Somaliland Chronicle, and corroborated by the Minister, Dr. Abdiweli the TCI 737 spectrum management system has cost an eye-watering 4,932,000,000 Somaliland shilling or roughly $580,000 US dollars.
Despite evidence to the contrary, the Minister asserted that 60% of the expenditure was paid from the fiscal year 2019 where the remaining 40% came from the 2020 budget.
60% of $580,000 US dollars would still account for 23% of the ministry’s meager budget of roughly 1.5 million US dollars for 2019.
One of the main issues with the acquisition of the single TCI 737 mobile spectrum management system is the fact that it is a single unit and logistically enforcing the ministry’s Telecom Sites Regulations across Somaliland would be nearly impossible.
Asked how a single system can enforce the Telecom Sites Regulation across the country, the minister stated “Since purchasing a complete Spectrum Management System that can cover the entire country is expensive, and we cannot afford to acquire it once, we plan to implement a full functional Spectrum Management System in stages. That means our plan is to get more system units of both mobile and fixed ones that can cover all the six regions in the country for the future.”
Other Priorities: Postal Service, Carrier Interconnectivity, Secure Critical Infrastructure
When asked why the Ministry chose to prioritize this costly system over other areas in its purview such as a functioning postal service in Somaliland, the Minister cited budget as one of the impediments and claimed that the postal service is functional to a certain degree and delivers over 1000 parcels for the Somaliland government agencies in the capital.
Another recent promise by the Ministry of Communication and Technology is the implementation of an e-government system, and when asked about it, the Minister stated “Regarding the e-government project, many tasks are going on internally, and we will share updated information for the public through the media at a suitable time. The Ministry is working on the Spectrum Management and e-government simultaneously.“
Another major issue for the public has been the lack of interconnectivity between carriers in Somaliland, the two major cellphone carriers Telesom and Somtel are unwilling to open their networks for each other.
“This question is related to what is called Telecom Services Interconnection. The main challenge is the tough competition between the two leading operators in the country. Their competition covers every side in the telecom, like pricing, subsidization, and the infrastructure. By taking those factors into consideration, the Ministry has developed Interconnection Regulations and roadmap that will guide the telecom interconnection. Similarly, the Ministry has brought together both Telecom operators and has hosted negotiations between the operators to solve issues and start interconnection service. The parties conducted several meetings at the Ministry premises. Therefore, the Ministry is working to enable this service to the Somaliland population soon.” the Minister said regarding carrier interconnectivity.
A blind spot for the Somaliland government and the ministry is oversight of national critical infrastructure. Despite the monumental significance of The ZAAD and e-Dahab electronic currency owned by the telecom companies to Somaliland and its financial sector’s basic functioning, the ministry has no oversight role from a strictly technical sense in the availability and security of these systems to minimize risk to the economy.
The ZAAD system has experienced intermittent outage in the past and earlier this month. There has been no official explanation of the root cause and no impact report to assess the economic price tag of these outages.
The Ministry of Communication and Technology has failed to institute any semblance of order and oversight on dozens of systems in various government entities some built with the help of aid agencies and others in a vacuum. The majority of these systems lack basic security to help protect public data.
After meeting with @StuartBrownFCO and #Somaliland Ministry of Justice, we can announce expansion of our judicial case management system to Hargeisa Prison, Custodial Corps, & MoJ planning dept. This uses #UKaid to improve access to justice & strengthen the rule of law in country pic.twitter.com/0xoOYc3jUV
There is no evidence the Ministry of Communication and Technology intends to aid in any effort that may lead to mass surveillance of public communication, although there have been past allegations when it purchased the Telecom supervision (TSS) system for Telecom Revenue Assurance back in 2018.
The Minister, Dr. Abdiweli Abdulahi Sufi testifying in front of the parliament, gave a lengthy explanation that taxes paid by telecom operators are not accurate, and the government has no choice but to accept figures submitted by the telecom companies. He stated this platform would enable the government to significantly enhance tax collection by assessing the actual taxes owed by these companies.
He stated that the equipment, once plugged into the telecom carriers’ network, will generate a file known as CDR or Call data Record. A CDR file contains granular metadata of a customer’s communication including the length of the call, tower relaying the call, starting, and receiving numbers.
Although the carriers have not yet accepted the integration of this system into their networks, the system is functioning according to the Minister.
The question whether the TCI 737 spectrum management system is capable of spying on the public was posed to the Minister by Mr. Sidiq Birmid of the BBC Somali Service and the minister answered with a simple no.
According to a source from the Ministry of Communication and Technology who spoke to us on strict conditions of anonymity, “There is an inherent pressure on government officials especially ministers to show they are doing work but in this case, we have purchased a Ferrari and have no roads to drive it on. It is not hard to know where every tower and we know were most are but the system [TCI 737] is a fantastic shiny object to dazzle the old guys at the helm and be another expensive relic that people will forget about soon.“.
He added “There is no denying that the telecom companies wield huge political clout which may explain why the Dr. Abdiweli and is defaulting to buying expensive tools to generate data that is already available at the telcos and the public and especially the government is entitled to with the right regulations in place. Remember, we bought equipment in 2018 to figure out the taxes they actually owe, and they simply refused to connect it to their system. End of the story. The missing ingredients seem to be the political will and robust regulation to gain this information to bring them into compliance”.
The Ministry of Communications and Technology is not the only government agency that over-promises and under-delivers as minimum consideration are given to the effectiveness of a project as opposed to the positive publicity its announcement will generate.
Although regulation of the telecom industry in Somaliland is a priority and the TCI 737 acquisition by the Ministry of Communication and Technology may help bring some order to the chaos, the single system that cost Somaliland taxpayers $580,000 US dollars may be nothing more than a proof of concept or an expensive publicity stunt.
The current Somaliland parliament has been in office for 15 years due to elections postponed several times. Elections were scheduled to be last year on 27 March and were postponed ones again by the Electoral Commission. On July 12, 2020, the three political parties made an agreement to finally hold parliamentary elections in late 2020. However, the Electoral Commission has yet to announce the exact dates.
Members of parliament have been in discussion on the Election Bill for the upcoming elections last week and on Monday announced that they will vote on it Saturday’s session, September 12, 2020.
One of the most important articles of this bill is “Gender Quota”. Women and minority groups have been particularly disadvantaged in Somaliland politics where tribal dynamics and numbers play a major role in elections. The quota although not specifically codified in the constitution, will give women and minority groups fair representation in Somaliland’s legislator.
There has been a vibrant public debate about the treatment of minority groups and the role of women in politics, where politicians and imams have spoken on the issues.
Setting up a quota for women and minority groups have been in the works for a while and President Bihi and his cabinet have approved a quota allocating 21 seats for women and minority clans in June 2018. Similarly, all three political parties have expressed support for the quota.
During the discussion, some members’ of Parliament raised that the constitution guarantees equal opportunity for political office as a reason why setting a quota for women and minority groups might be unconstitutional.
It’s important to note that many members of parliament endorsed the quota and stressed the importance of approving it to ensure women and minority clans have access and representation in the political and decision-making arenas.
Mr. Abdiqadir Jirde an MP and a senior member of the Waddani opposition party stated that there is no religious edict that prevents women from participating in politics.
There is a lot at stake for women and minority groups regarding tomorrow’s vote on the Election Bill and although there is wide support for the quota for women and minority groups and although many members of Somaliland parliament have expressed support, it is unclear if women and minority quota will be approved as originally suggested by President Bihi and his cabinet.
On September 2nd, the oil tanker MT Omair docked in Berbera port to unload 14,000 metric tons of diesel into Berbera oil terminals. According to Somaliland government officials, this is the largest shipment of fuel to ever arrive in Somaliland.
According to the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Hon. Mohamoud Hassan Saad (Saajin), the shipment of diesel belongs to Trafigura – an energy trading multinational conglomerate called and will resell the shipment to the fuel traders who previously imported their supplies individually.
the Minister of Commerce Hon. Mohamoud Hassan Saad (Saajin) stated that this is another major milestone in Somaliland’s effort to attract major companies to come and invest in the country and added that Trafigura as a company is larger than DP World.
Explaining Trafigura’s role in becoming Somaliland’s fuel supplier, the Minister of Commerce Hon. Mohamoud Hassan Saad (Saajin) stated that the company will be modernizing the fuel storage facility in Berbera.
The fuel market in Somaliland has been highly fragmented and subject to wild price swings and there has been an instance where contaminated fuel shipment affected thousands of vehicles.
When the ship arrived initially in Berbera, a different account of who owns the fuel was given to the media by the Berbera Port Manager Mr. Hassan Saeed Berbera oil terminals manager Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim (Embassy), both stated that the fuel delivered by MT. Omair was purchased by the Ethiopian government while the rest belongs to the Somaliland government.
Although it was widely speculated in the past few months that the Berbera Oil Terminals will be leased to Trafigura, this is the first time the Somaliland government has confirmed its deal with the multinational conglomerate’s take over of the Berbera fuel storage facilities and become Somaliland’s sole provider of petroleum products.
In August 2018, Somaliland President HE Muse Bihi Abdi has renationalized a number of assets that were managed by private companies. Berbera Oil Terminals previously managed by Berbera Oil Group was one of them.
It is unclear how long the government has been in talks with Trafigura to supply fuel to Somaliland and takeover the Berbera Oil Terminals but government officials have mentioned that the Somaliland government intends to import fuel and supply it to existing traders. It is unclear if the Trafigura deal is related to these previous statements.
There is no evidence that the agreement with Trafigura to manage Berbera Oil Terminals and supply fuel to Somaliland as announced by the Minister of Commerce Hon. Mohamoud Hassan Saad (Saajin) was ratified or approved by the Somaliland Parliament. In comparison, the deal with DP World to manage Berbera Port was ratified by parliament.
Trafigura has a checkered past and has had a number of scandals over the years, it has been found guilty of dumping toxic waste in Côte d’Ivoire that according to the government said claimed 16 lives and affected thousands with a multitude of health ailments. The company has since settled with the case with an undisclosed payout to 31,000 victims.
The Guardian reported in May that the company’s oil trading division may be under investigation for alleged market manipulation and corruption related to its oil trading activities.
The Somaliland government has in the past entered into agreements with shady or non-existence companies. Singapore New Silk Somaliland Energy CO LTD was one of those companies that the Somaliland government announced a major deal to build an oil refinery in Berbera and employ 400 National Service graduates. More than a year after the announcement, there is no activity on the supposed refinery.
It is unclear how much due diligence the Somaliland government has done to consider its dealings with Trafigura.
Officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism as well as Berbera Oil Terminal and Port Authority did not return calls for details on the specifics of the agreement with Trafigura, the fuel it will import into Somaliland and its use of the oil terminal.
Developing countries have one large need limiting their ability to progress and advance – access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy. After all, companies and societies cannot thrive sustainably without access to reasonable electricity and petroleum products. While this pressing issue happens in developing countries around the world, one prime example is Somaliland, where electricity and petroleum products are priced higher than those in their peer countries.
Somaliland has been a government for almost 30 years, after dissolving its union unilaterally with Somalia in 1991. Even with almost 30 years to work out some of the problems associated with being their own independent country, they still struggle in several ways. Both Somaliland and Somalia currently have one thing in common compared to their peers in the region – a lack of affordable energy.
Electricity prices are some of the highest across the world, peaking at a dollar per kilowatt-hour. By comparison, in Ethiopia, Kenya and the US the average cost is 1, 22, and 14 cents per kilowatt-hour respectively. For low-income families and small businesses, where the average household salary is less than $4 per day, the impact can prove crippling. For most, it is practically impossible to even consider paying for electricity.
In fact, despite Somaliland having substantial energy resources – primarily wind, solar, oil, and natural gas – consumption per capita is among the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is due to the prohibitively high cost compared to the average income and an overall lack of local/diaspora investment. While primary energy demand in Africa in 2018 was just over 800 Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (Mtoe), demand in other parts of the world was much higher. Demand for oil alone was approximately 3.1 million barrels per day (mb/d) in all of Africa, coming in higher than the 2.8 mb/d of the Middle East and 3.0 mb/d in China but lower than the 4.3 mb/d in India. The entire continent is actually expanding low levels of oil, but primarily that demand comes from countries that are much larger and more developed than Somaliland.
Like many other post-conflict zones, the energy mix in Somaliland is dictated by a short-term, localized outlook. Private operators set up diesel-based mini-grids with a small combination of solar power systems without batteries that require limited infrastructure investment. The operational overhead is much higher than renewables or gas-fired power plants, but the returns are immediate and more attractive. In comparison, the return on investment for a solar or wind plant is typically 10-12 years where a gas-fired power plant is 15-17 years.
Although these local energy sector operators are well established on their ‘turf,’ they tend to lack the capacity to implement large renewables and power plant installations that would significantly lower electricity prices for the citizens of Somaliland. Engaging with these local, well-connected operators and finding a way around their limitations is a central, practical consideration for any investor’s success, but it is not as simple as it might seem. In fact, it is exceedingly complex to overrun the two big players in the current market. The most significantly prohibitive issues that will deter any investor from entering this area are: limited regulation & oversight of the sector, monopoly distribution control, acute shortage of qualified staff, generation & distribution losses (up to 40%) due to poor infrastructure and collection, and finally high electricity tariffs due in part to energy company inefficiencies.
Though a complete switch to renewables would be the ideal answer to cover Somaliland’s energy needs, the real-world answer will be much more complicated when the country achieves its dream of becoming an industrialized tech hub for the region. A balance between natural gas-powered plants and renewables will mitigate the risk of peak power demands and national security co-storage issues, as well as increasing diversity and relieving concerns of energy security.
Often lost in energy transition messaging, and admittedly difficult to appreciate in the present industry downturn caused by oversupply and lost demand due to COVID-19, is the critical role of oil and gas both in fulfilling current energy needs and in facilitating future change. Proposals for a sustainable future rely on electricity, but there seems to be a disconnect between that ideal and the realities of power generation where fossil fuels still play the predominant role.
Africa still sources more than two-thirds of its electricity from fossil fuels, with natural gas adding nearly 5% of that total and growing with every new gas-fired power plant. Solar and wind account for less than 7% of overall domestic needs, and new solutions like hydrogen are nonexistent in the world’s second largest continent. Simply put, a solution like electric vehicles won’t change the demand for oil and gas, it just shifts the burner tip from the car’s engine to the power plant two counties over.
As populations and economies grow, energy appetites persist with fossil fuels playing a lead role. This may not be ideal, and this may not be true forever. However, in the current situation, unless the quality of life is sacrificed or energy storage technologies significantly develop capacities that will store energy to power large scale industries and communities, it is a present necessity. The transition process is gradual, and we can’t focus only on the horizon lest we lose sight of what’s right in front of us and what is necessary today to move towards that goal.
For Somaliland to realize accelerated economic and industrial development, local and diaspora investment will be needed to build self-sustaining projects unlocking the full potential of domestic energy resources. Increased access and affordability of energy will then attract credible international investment looking to help Somaliland expand and develop. It will be hard to sell the idea to international investors to invest in Somaliland’s energy sector due to Somaliland still not being recognized on the global stage and the infrastructure needing to be built from scratch– which is not currently an option due to demand issues that can only be solved by tripling access in the next five to ten years.
In this series, we will examine the impact of constant road trips by Somaliland government officials who often travel in large convoys to the furthest reaches of Somaliland to ‘supervise’ or cut the ribbon on a project.
While work-related travel is not at all unusual for any business including the government, in the Somaliland government it creates a level of disruption that keeps government agencies from reaching their full potential and closing the glaring gaps in public service delivery.
Ministers of Tourism?
In the last three months, almost all the Ministers in President Bihi’s cabinet have undertaken some sort of work-related travel within the country. Some, like the minister of Health Development, Hon Omar Ali Abdillahi travel more frequently and has been on the move for the last two months, crisscrossing the entire country in a convoy of 5 vehicles and more than 20 people entourage.
Below is the travel log of the Minister of Health Development Hon. Omar Ali Abdillahi.
Date
Destination
26-Aug
Berbera
24-Aug
Baki
24-Aug
Borama
15-Aug
Borama
3-Aug
Burao
19-Jul
Burao
18-Jul
Eil Afweyn
16-Jul
Erigavo
14-Jul
Eil Afweyn
12-Jul
Ainaba
12-Jul
Laasanod
11-Jul
Adhi Adeeye
12-Jul
Laasanod
9-Jul
Burao
8-Jul
Borama
Although every ministry employs an army of administrators at every region and district in Somaliland, for some reason, ministers and other government officials in Somaliland find it necessary to personally travel at times to break the ground of a new government project, hold a meeting with regional officials, supervise an ongoing work or simply attend a ribbon-cutting event.
The Minister of Health Development Hon. Omar Ali Abdillahi has traveled the entire country from coast to coast, perhaps justifiably due to COVID-19 pandemic, but what the Ministry has put out publicly on the Minister travel does not reveal a major restructuring, staff changes or reorganization of the Ministry that would require the Minister to embark on a two-month-long trip costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.
After such a lengthy mission is undertaken by a government official, there is never a report that details the outcome of the travel and what was accomplished.
The Minister of Health Development Hon. Omar Ali Abdillahi is by no means the only one with extensive travel, the map above illustrates a fraction of the travels undertaken by government officials in the last two months.
Some trips posted by officials online do not seem to entail any work at all, while public resources and time are clearly being used. One such trip was undertaken by a delegation led by the Director-General of the Ministry of Education and Science Mr. Ahmed Abokor to Saadadin island. There are no inhabitants on the island and no schools.
Ministers or traditional elders?
Another reason that keeps government officials, especially ministers constantly traveling is their unofficial duty as peacemakers or tribal elders. Case in point, the Minister of Interior Affairs Hon. Mohamed Kahin Ahmed and a delegation of ministers have been in Sanaag for months as part of the government’s effort to prevent the tribal conflict that has plagued the region for years.
This is the second such trip by the Minister of Interior Mr. Mohamed Kahin Ahmed to Sanaag where he previously led a similar large delegation of ministers only for the violence to return.
At this very moment, the minister of Information and National Guidance Hon. Saleban Ali Kore and the minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hon. Yasin Hagi Mohamoud Hiir (Faratoon) are in Sool working on resolving yet another tribal conflict.
It has been a common practice by successive Somaliland governments to send officials to their ancestral lands to work with traditional elders to solve conflicts and although generally successful and while a mission to bring peace and preserve life is an absolute necessity, these efforts fail to produce policies or studies on the underlying issues to help prevent future conflicts.
One may argue that government entities have the structural resilience and can function if the minister is away, after all that is the function of a deputy but unfortunately, many officials who spoke on background, describe the issue of delegation in many ministries as nonexistent. One described the process of a minister being away as a classroom without a teacher and that most of the work screeches to a halt.
One effect of constant trips by ministers are power vacuums were deputy ministers and director generals try to make as many changes as possible, issue directives, or even enter into new agreements while the minister is away.
The result is widespread conflict among government officials that is on full display on social media.
Just recently, the Minister of Justice Hon. Mustafe Mohamoud Ali Bile suspended the authorized signature of the Director-General Mr. Abdirahman Sh Hassan Ismail for widespread staff conflicts and overstepping his legal authority and signing agreements with private parties. It is worth noting that the Minister of Justice has been a way to Eil Afweyn for an extended period of time as part of Minister Kahin’s peace delegation.
The true Cost
Although some travels are necessary, especially the peacemaking ones undertaken by ministers, the truth is the majority of these travels are unnecessary and a simple conference call or video call which President Bihi has been using to convene his cabinet since COVID-19 would suffice.
So why do these officials travel? According to several sources, some current government officials who spoke to the condition of anonymity, local travel or hospitality is simply another method of misappropriating public funds without raising eyebrows.
Besides wasting taxpayer funds, the lasting effect of the constant traveling of government officials is the major disruption to the functioning of government agencies.
Somaliland government agencies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in banquets and receptions in major hotels in 2019.
