In a ceremony attended by government officials and Somaliland’s international partners, the President of the Republic of Somaliland Republic HE Muse Bihi Abdi has unveiled the second phase of the Somaliland Development Fund.
According to a statement released by Somaliland Presidency, the 2nd phase of the SDF will fund a total of 9 projects including a fishing jetty in Mayd and the rehabilitation of Berbera – Burao road.
Somaliland Development Fund is designed to be a single stream for donor funds to Somaliland where projects are aligned with the Somaliland National Development plan. Current contributors of SDF include the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
According to the Minister of National Planning and Development Hon. Hassan Mohamed Ali Gafadhi, “SDFI has realized the implementation of 12 projects across the country in various sectors”. The first phase of the Somaliland Development Fund cost a total of 58 million US Dollars.
President Bihi during his remark at the unveiling ceremony touched on few issues including complaints from donor countries on how the previous phase of the SDF was implemented and pledged that his government has strengthened financial transparency and will ensure the 2nd phase will be implemented to produce tangible results as intended by the donor countries taxpayers. The President added that donor countries and agencies to respect Somaliland’s sovereignty and rule of law.
The President spoke at length about the need of finding new water sources for the rapidly expanding Hargeisa and that despite tens of millions of dollars already spent on the water expansion project in Hargeisa, the currently available wells in Geed Deeble can only supply about 40% of the capital’s inhabitants.
Previous projects implemented by SDFI have been marred by lack of oversight and prioritization of critical infrastructure, despite the 58 million US dollar price tag, there is no little to no visible impact of the first phase of the Somaliland Development Fund.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Interior, Somaliland government officials from the security sector met officials from the Somali region and Ethiopian defenses to discuss strengthening the security cooperation between the two countries.
From the Republic of Somaliland, the meeting was attended by the Minister of Interior Affairs Hon. Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, the Minister of Defense Hon. Abdiqani Mohammud A’ateye (Farid), the Commander of Somaliland’s Armed Forces Brigadier General Nuh Ismail Tani, and Mr. Barkhad M. Kaariye, Somaliland’s Deputy Ambassador to Ethiopia.
The head of the Special Liyu Police General Mohamed Ahmed Mohamoud and the Eastern Deputy Commander of the Ethiopian Forces among others attended the meeting.
Somaliland shares its western border with Ethiopia’s Somali region where the movement of people and massive amounts of commerce takes place making the Wajale town of the most vibrant economic hubs in Somaliland.
Although Ethiopia does not officially recognize Somaliland and the arrival of the current Prime Minister Mr. Ahmed Abiy has pivoted Ethiopia to support Villa Somalia, it maintains close ties with Somaliland in trade and security.
The time has come for Ahmed Muumin Seed, Agriculture Minister to go. The damage he has done to Somaliland Agriculture the country can’t ignore anymore. His decision to give a whopping 2,000 hectares of Wajaale Plains, the best agricultural land, to a sham Chinese company to grow Castor beans without the consent of local communities, without environmental studies on the impact on land and the livelihood of communal farmers, was truly reprehensible, if not a criminal.
After fierce public pressure from affected communities and activists, the Bihi administration rescinded the Chinese Wajaale Plains farm project. This is welcome news for the communal farmers in Gabiley, but Somaliland people would like to know why the Agriculture Minister gave that land to an unknown Chinese company, in the first place?
Under his watch, the Ministry of Agriculture never did proper vetting and through investigation of the Chinese African Agricultural Development Company, or even verified whether it existed.
Gubanmedia researched the Chinese company and found no record of such a company showing up.
Up to date, no contract is available to the public about the Chinese farm project in Wajaale Plains. We do not know whether a legal contract existed, and even if it existed Mr. Muumin never made it available to local communities affected by such agreement or to the media. The secrecy surrounding the Wajaale Plains Castor Beans farm project did irreparable harm to government accountability and transparency, increased the likelihood of corruption, and people suspecting fraud on Ahmed Muumin Seed and a rogue local agent of the Chinese company.
According to Somaliland Chronicle, Abdullahi Abdi Mousa, who used to run a hotel located on the flood-prone area of Hargeisa, brought the Chinese to Somaliland. Mr. Mousa indicated that the Castor Beans project will create 200 jobs for the local people, help food production, which was a hoax. Castor Beans is not a food crop.
Under his leadership at the Ministry of Agriculture, we have become a laughing stock of the world. Ahmed Muumin Seed should be held accountable, because the whole Chinese Castor Beans farm project in Wajaale Plains was fraud. At least,Ahmed Muumim Seed must go. The government should also probe the whole Chinese Castor beans farm project.
While he was showing the Chinese company to Wajaale Plains, his displayed a disdain toward the local farmers. He said that the local farmers have not been using the land to its potential. “From Kala-baydh up to here, there was just empty land where people settled and no one had utilized the land.”
But it is the dereliction of his duty that has caused harm to the local farmers in Gabiley region or elsewhere: Whether it’s for failing to providing them crop protection, fertilizers, or farm machinery, or fighting the locust, under his leadership, the Ministry of Agriculture was AWOL.
The only solution for the conundrum of Wajaale Plains is first to remove the military from that fertile land and give back to the rightful owners of the Wajaale owners—-Gabiley communities, and let them manage the land, and grow food and vegetables to feed for their own families and the country. The government should support that effort by developing groundwater in the aquafiers so hardworking people can grow food, instead of the government selling their land to the foreign investment scammers.
The local communities are saying that Wajaale Plains is not for sale or open for investment of the scammers or fraudsters. Mr. Muumin Seed has repeatedly brought Wajaale Plains purported investors year after year showcasing it as it was government land. This charade of bringing fraudsters to Wajaale Plains must stop now.
This prime agricultural land should only be used to grow crops such as corn or wheat, which can then be processed locally into flour and bakery products to create more jobs for the youth, and help our food security. For instance, companies such as Boodhari Mills or any other commodity food traders should also be given an incentive to develop Wajaale Plains.
In the past, Gubanmedi.com has serious reservations about Ahmed Muumin Seed as Minister of Agriculture—-a man with zero government experience or agricultural experience , with a standard eight level education whose chief credential was being Wadani party’s loyal apparatchiks. In fact, Bihi was wrong, in the first place, to appoint him as Agriculture Minister.
Ahmed Muumin Seed has to go because Somaliland deserves better. But it is unlikely for Bihi to fire him because of the pandering to Borama constituents. And that is bad for Somaliland, for the agriculture and for the local farmers. Bihi should do the right thing and put the nation over his re-election efforts.
More importantly, President Bihi should have to explain to the public why such blatant fraud happened, under his watch because “The buck stops at his desk.”
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.
We are deeply concerned and disappointed that the House of Representatives of Somaliland rejected to approve the Quota for Women and Minority Groups. For the last two decades, Somaliland Civil Society was advocating the Quota in different stages, this time they were hoping to achieve that goal. During the Debate of the Election bill in the House, Civil Society members led by ISCO Somaliland met the Acting Speaker of the House AhmedYasin Sheikh Ali Ayanle, they requested the House to approve the Election Bill with the Quota for Women and Minority Groups. Somaliland Civil Society was expecting that their voice would be heard, but now it seems that the House did not. This is not a surprise decision when all government institutions are dominated by male officers.
According to CPA’s data collection of Women in Government institutions in April 2020, Women secures only 2% of the 407 directly Elected Officials. There is only one female in both Houses of the Parliament. In other words, Somaliland has 613 elected or nominated public officials including the Parliament, the Cabinet Ministers, the Independent Institutions, Local Councils, Regional Governors, etc. Women secures only 16 positions out of the 613 public officers. That figure shows how women are already marginalized from the decision-making platforms, and it becomes a more male-dominated system, now it seems that even the outcome from the government institutions became a male favored output decision. That is why it is very important to have a Quota for Women and Minority groups to have voices that can represent them in decision-making platforms and to increase their political participation since the current male-dominated systems fail to listen to the concerns of the Women and Minority Groups.
We are calling the President of Somaliland to reform the government institutions and to make sure that women and minority groups are represented within the government institutions. Since women and minority groups have no voice in both chambers of the parliament, we are calling the speakers of the parliament to listen to the voices of women and minority groups. We are calling the House of Elders to review the Election Bill and to make sure that the Quota is included in both the Parliament and Local Councils.
THE END
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints of Somaliland Chronicle, and its staff.
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.
