Investigative Reports

The Diplomacy of Gullibility: How Somaliland’s Foreign Ministry Keeps Falling for International Fraudsters

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In what has become a familiar scene in Somaliland's...

Ex-US Ambassador to Somalia Lobbies for Hormuud’s Access to American Banking System

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Questions mount as André partners with Somali MP who...

Major Corruption Allegations Rock Somaliland Finance Ministry’s Recruitment for World Bank’s Public Resource Management Project

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According to documents examined by Somaliland Chronicle, serious allegations...
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DP World Announces two Scholarships for top Performing Students in Somaliland

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Staff
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In a statement issued by DP World and published on Dubai Government Media Office, DP World announced two scholarships for top performing students to Abaarso School of Science and Technology and Barwaaqo University.

Full statement below.

Global trade enabler DP World has embarked on an ambitious partnership with Abaarso School in Somaliland, to dynamically enhance educational opportunities for youths. DP World Berbera manages and is currently expanding the multi-purpose port of Berbera.

The partnership was officially launched with a visit by Suhail Albanna, CEO and Managing Director, DP World MEA Region, to Somaliland. The name Abaarso has become associated with excellence, thanks to the Abaarso School of Science and Technology, the only American accredited school in Somaliland.

DP World Berbera has just finalized two scholarship programmes. The first is a scholarship programme for high performing Somaliland students to attend the Abaarso School of Science and Technology. Through this scholarship, ten students will have their entire six years at Abaarso funded by DP World Berbera.

These students were selected from amongst the highest scores on Abaarso’s 7th grade enrolment exams. By providing this scholarship, DP World Berbera helps assure that Abaarso’s world-class opportunities are open to all Somaliland students regardless of financial capability.

The second scholarship is for DP World Berbera to provide eight annual scholarships for promising young women from the Sahil Region to join Barwaaqo University’s School of Education. Barwaaqo University, founded by Abaarso in 2017, is the first all-female boarding university in Somaliland. Modeled on Abaarso’s education, Barwaaqo focuses on developing strong fundamentals and character, delivered in a 24-hour boarding environment.

The aim of this scholarship is for the young women who graduate to return to the Sahil Region and significantly improve the quality of education. To this end, DP World Berbera plans to partner with Abaarso and the city of Berbera to support the creation of a K-12 school in Berbera; DP World Berbera Kaabe School.

Suhail Albanna, CEO and Managing Director of DP World MEA Region said: “The presence of a high quality American accredited K-12 school will have a positive impact on the education opportunities available to the people of Somaliland. In the long term, we also hope the young women from Barwaaqo University will help to establish an international standard education system in Berbera, which will enable expat management who will establish their business in the Economic Zone to bring their family and children with them. The Barwaaqo University will serve the entire Sahil region and will support women’s empowerment in the area.”

Albanna added “Education is one of the key pillars in our sustainability strategy and we are looking to improve people’s lives to bring positive change to communities in which DP World employees live and work.”

Abaarso School currently serves students in grades 7-12, and the demand to enter its Grade 7 is over 35 times the available capacity. It has just opened its 1st Kaabe School in Hargeisa, which will ultimately enroll approximately 700 students, employing a student-centric Montessori-inspired learning environment.

The DP Berbera Kaabe School will follow this same model and aims to achieve American accreditation. The development of the school will give DP World’s Berbera employees access to high quality education for their children rather than having to send them to boarding schools or live in the capital, Hargeisa. 

Somaliland Government Re-Nationalizes Vehicle Registration and License Plate Services

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Staff
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In a Presidential Decree signed by HE Muse Bihi Abdi, the government of Somaliland has withdrawn from agreements with two private companies that were previously awarded the management the issuance of vehicle registration and license plates.

No reason was mentioned in the Presidential decree other than the Public Private Partnership law is yet to be completed but sources in the Presidency state that President Bihi has ordered a review of all agreements that privatized many government functions.

This is the second time President Bihi has vacated agreements that privatized government functions including security related contract in Egal International Airport and Berbera Oil Terminals management.

It is unclear exactly when these contracts were awarded to Hodan Enterprises and GTS or what the terms were but President Bihi has asked the Ministries of Transportation, Commerce, Finance, the Accountant General to submit the market value of the equipment for possible reimbursement.

Employees currently working for these private entities have been asked to continue their work though the decree did not mention the status of their employment.

Somaliland Civil Service Commission Continues to Spend on Foreign Consultants for Basic Services

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Staff
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Somaliland Civil Service Commission has unveiled its five-year strategic plan on December 5th, 2019 in a glitzy event attended by many government officials and headlined by the Vice President of Somaliland HE Abdirahman Abdallahi Ismail Saylici.

Vice President of Somaliland HE Abdirahman Saylici with CSC Chairman Farhan Adan Haybe

The Civil Service Commission is at the tail end of a multiyear project 10 million dollar project funded by the World Bank known as Somaliland Civil Service Reform Project.

We have reported in the past on how heavily the Somaliland Civil Service Commission is reliant on foreign consultants to help deliver the most basic functions such as creating policy documents. The best example of this reliance is the Strategic Plan that unveiled on December 5th which was composed by outside consultants.

The creation of the 54-page Strategic Plan has cost the CSC 45,000 US dollars, 25,000 of which was paid to a Ugandan national. This cost was covered out of the 10 million dollars project from the World Bank.

Contract Reference No. SO-CSC-105120-CS-INDV
Two Contracts totaling 45,000 US Dollars to author a 54 page document.

Although the contract stipulated 50 days’ worth of work to speak to the stakeholders and understand the inner-workings of the CSC to compile the document, sources say that the consultants held minimum consultation and spend far fewer days to complete the document. 

Other CSC employees complained about the fact that the document that will chart a course for all future activities of the Civil Service Commission was authored by a foreigner who had zero knowledge of the commission.

Another CSC employee who saw the document questioned why it was necessary to hire external consultants when many there are competent employees who have an intimate knowledge of the CSC and could have done the same work.

Expensive /ˌkət ən ˈpāst/ Job

Multiple Instances of Plagiarism

One issue with the document is that there is nothing remarkable about it, in fact it a word salad that was cut and pasted from around the web using a standard Strategic Plan template.

For instance, “There is a widespread perception that public servants in many Governments Somaliland inclusive, have not delivered what was expected from them. On the other hand, returns from improving effectiveness of the government are immense. An efficient public service is necessary (though not enough) for benefits to reach the socially and economically weaker sections of the society who have fewer alternatives to services provided by government.” has a 98% similarity to a UNDP paper called Public Service Reforms – Trends, Challenges and Opportunities.

The Lessons Learnt and Best Practices section of the Strategic Plan shares 92% similarity to “Lessons from the Church Commissioners for Kenya” document.

What are the chances the Somaliland Civil Service and the Church Commissioners of Kenya had a near-identical Lessons Learned and Best Practices? 

At 833 US dollars per page, this is an expensive document with a minimal value to the development of an effective civil service workforce. Particularly when the Civil Service Commission has ignored the talents of its own employees in favor of expensive foreign and external consultants.

Our attempt to get an official answer from the Civil Service Commission on why it continues to relay on foreign consultants has been unsuccessful.

New Chief of Police Appoints Former Head of Traffic Police to the CID

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Staff
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Somaliland’s new Police Commander Brigadier General Mohamed Adan Saqadhi Mohamoud (Dabagale) has tapped the former head of Somaliland Police Traffic Police and Police Spokesman Colonel Faisal Hiis to head the Criminal Investigation Division.

It unclear why Colonel Hiis was picked for this position or if he has previous training but sources say that the Police Commander has consulted the President of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi in appointing Colonel Hiis to head the CID.

Though Colonel Hiis has been at the helm of the Traffic Police for years he was famous for his combative press releases and threatening media outlets in his previous capacity as the Police Spokesman.

DP World doubles down its bet on Somaliland with a 12 SQ KM Free Economic Zone

By
Staff
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The world’s largest port operator DP World and Somaliland government finalized an agreement from 2017 to develop a free trade zone in Berbera.

According to a statement from DP World on 2017, the new Special Economic Zone in Berbera will be modelled on Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the Middle East region’s biggest free zone is also owned and operated by DP World.

According to sources familiar with the negotiations, this is an entirely separate agreement from the Berbera Port where Ethiopia holds a 19% stake. The Free Trade Zone is a partnership between DP World and Somaliland although no other details on ownership percentage and number of years was readily shared.

Sources add that Somaliland government has been renegotiating the previously signed agreement to get more favorable terms, this is the reason for the reason for the delay of finalizing the agreement.

CEO of DP World Mr. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem with President Muse Bihi Abdi

In 2017 when the original agreement was signed, the CEO of DP World Mr. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem drew a parallel between how the UAE got started and the development path Somaliland is on and added “Our vision is to make Berbera a trading and transportation hub for the Horn of Africa.”

Addressing the dignitaries at the signing ceremony, President of the Republic of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi said “As a nation, the main objective we have of the Berbera Port is to achieve economic growth for our country and share it with the Horn of Africa region and the World. Our goal is a prosperous Somaliland and we are on that path with the start of the Port Construction, Berebera corridor and Berbera Airport which will be an international commercial airport”

Mr. Suhail Al-Banna CEO & Mng Director of Middle East & Africa, representing DP World stated “Our experience in Somaliland has been one based on close collaboration and partnership with the government and the people of Somaliland. DP World Berbera today has over 1,200 employees which is over 98% of our staff is local Somalilanders”

Once operational, Somaliland joins few countries in sub Saharan Africa with Free Trade Zone and it is expected to attract businesses hoping to sell in the growing African markets.

Djibouti has recently unveiled a Free Trade Zone built that was financed by 3.5 billion US dollars loan adding to its already staggering debt to China.


Family of Four who Perished in House Collapse Laid to Rest in Hargeisa

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Staff
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A family of four who perished after their home collapsed in Hargeisa today were laid to rest in the Massalaha burrial ground in a ceremony attended by the President of the Republic of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi.

According to first responder sources four members of the family were lost after their home collapsed in their Hargeisa suburb near Birjeeh military base.

President Bihi consoles a relative of the deceased.

There has been continuous rain showers in the capital the last few days that may have contributed to the collapse of the house. Although the President reminded citizens to stay away from flood-prone areas, there was no official statement from the Mayor of Hargeisa or the government of Somaliland on the cause or what type of dwelling the perished family inhibited.

In the past, heavy floods have caused death and injury in the capital due to clogged and debilitated drainage system. Others were electrocuted by downed electric wires.

Although there is a building boom in most major cities in Somaliland, there are no building and safety regulation that prohibit construction in flood prone areas or ensuring proper gauge wires are used for overhead power lines.

Somaliland President Reshuffles his Cabinet

By
Staff
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The President of the Republic of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi has reshuffled his administration today for the fourth time since taking office two years ago.

The Ministers of Education, Planning and Justice were relieved of their duties in addition, the President sacked the Deputy Ministers of Planning and Finance.

With the exception of the Deputy Minister of Planning Eng. Hussein I Buni, all others were relatively new appointees where some have been in their current positions for less than a year.

  • Mr. Mohamed Muse Diriye Wacays
  • Mr. Saleban Yusuf Ali Koore

In addition to the sacking of these ministers, President Bihi has also swapped the Minister of Water Development Mr. Saleban Yusuf Ali Koore and the Minister of Information Mr. Mohamed Muse Diriye Wacays. Minister Wacays has been heading the Ministry of Information for less than 6 months.

The Minister of Livestock and Fisheries Development Mr. Hassan Mohamed Ali Gafadhi to head the Ministry of Planning and National Development.

  • Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Diriye Egeh
  • Mr. Saeed Sulub Mohamed Hussein
  • Mr. Mustafe Mohamoud Ali Bile

President Bihi has added three new Ministers to his cabinet, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Diriye Egeh as the Minister of Education and Science and Mr. Saeed Sulub Mohamed Hussein as the minister of Livestock and Fisheries Development and Mr. Mustafe Mohamoud Ali Bile as the minister of Justice. Mr. Bile has previously served as the Director General of the Ministry of Commerce and Tourism.

Mr. Saeed Sulub has served as a minister in President Kahin’s administration and is a heavyweight politician from the Waddani opposition party.

Questions to the Presidency to understand why some ministers were sacked or moved while in office for less than 9 months were unanswered.

International Hypocrites – Why Somaliland needs to re-think its Unreciprocated love for the International Community

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Staff
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The international community has admonished Somaliland over its handling of important issues such as freedom of speech and its recent spastic political discourse which featured some unnecessary and possibly unlawful arrest of opposition figures.

Somaliland democracy has been tarnished by repeated delay of parliamentary and local council elections and is far from perfect but generally rates higher than many countries in the region including Djibouti, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan and more importantly Somalia.

IGAD member countries
IGAD member countries

With the exception of Kenya’s problematic election in 2017, none of the IGAD member countries have ever held a one man one vote election, where Somaliland has had five peaceful transitions of power with three nation wide elections.

So why is the International Community quick to denounce Somaliland?

“One Somalia Policy”

Because most countries, the ones that matter anyway, including the United States and United Kingdom have adopted a “one Somalia policy” and have no interest in seeing Somaliland stand on its own.

IGAD and the United Nations’ position are understandable as they derive their relevancy from Somalia’s chaos and IGAD with its line up of dictators and strong men has zero interest in seeing Somaliland succeed.

Despite regular terror attacks and targetted killing of at times, Somali intellectuals with European and other foreign passport holders in Somalia, the International Community has never condemned Somalia in many of its failures.

While the International Community is quick to bounce on Somaliland’s stumbles, its approach to Somalia is entirely different.

One recent example of the International Community’s hypocrisy and double standard towards Somaliland is its response to the assassination of the Mayor of Mogadishu, Mr. Abdirahman Omar Osman (Yarisow) a dual Somali and British national. The intended target, according to some media reports was the United Nation Secretary General Special Representative Mr. James Swan who has met the mayor earlier in the day.

The 147 word statement by the UN with 2 quotes from Mr. Swan glossed over the simplest question of who is actually save in Mogadishu when its mayor was killed in cold blood?

Britain and its Ambassador has offered simple condolence for Mr. Yarisow’s untimely death.

Another tragic example is the death of Ms. Almas Elmi was shot dead while driving inside the seat of the government known as Halane and supposedly one of the most secure areas of Mogadishu.

On the issue freedom of speech and rule of law that the International Community and more specifically the Brits have repeated criticized Somaliland, Somalia is currently detaining a journalist who is also a dual Somali and British National who was accompanying a young Somali activist without any explanation.

Although AMISOM has quickly issued a statement attributing Ms Elman’s death to a stray bullet, the International Community has not uttered a word about the killing of this young promising women and the detention of the only eye witness to the circumstances around her death besides the usual condolence to the deceased and has quickly moved on to loud Somalia’s unseen successes.

The International Community has been very clear about its obvious bias and tilt towards Somalia to the point where it never criticized Somalia on almost anything and is almost complicit in Villa Somalia’s social media based governance.

Perhaps one reason why the International Community walks on eggshells in Mogadishu and is reluctant in criticizing it is Somalia’s spectacular bluff of assigning a persona non-grata to Mr. Swan’s predecessor Mr. Nicholas Haysom when he took villa Somalia to task on its criminal intervention in Baidoa that resulted in death of civilians. Somalia bluffed and the International Community blinked.

Maybe the International Community holds Somaliland to a higher bar than the failed state of Somalia and want to keep Somaliland on track to further improvement of its democratic institutions, good governance and rule of law.

Somaliland in its quest for recognition has been painfully polite and rather timid at times in its dealing with the International Community and at times seems to accept criticism from the very actors who have spent billions of their taxpayer funds in propping up Farmajo’s regime in Mogadishu.

It is quite clear that Messrs Fender and Yamamoto wont recognize Somaliland anytime soon and although their countries do contribute aid to Somaliland the relationship seems woefully lopsided and uneven.

Contrary to what many believe, Somaliland’s recognition does not depend on the level of politeness to Britain’s lowly diplomat in Hargeisa but instead taking its case to new capitals and reminding the world of its strategic importance.

It is time that Somaliland took a more aggressive approach and pushed back on the false narratives from the international hypocrites and maybe even ban few in working in Somaliland. After all, these are Ambassadors to Somalia and not Somaliland.

Somaliland Chronicle is responsible for the content of this editorial.

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Notice: This article by Somaliland Chronicle is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Under this license, all reprints and non-commercial distribution of this work is permitted.

Protect and Serve or Iron Fist? What Should We Expect from Somaliland’s New Police Commander?

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Staff
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  • Is the concern of full militarization of Somaliland Police with the appointment of a military General legitimate cause for concern?

On November 5th, the President of the Republic of Somaliland His Excellency Muse Bihi Abdi appointed a new Police Commander to replace the late Major General Abdillahi Fadal Iman.

Late Police commander Major General Abdillahi Fadal Iman with President Bihi

Brigadier General Mohamed Adan Saqadhi Mohamoud (Dabagale) has been a member of Somaliland’s military since its inception and has steadily risen through the ranks.

During his service in Somaliland military, he has also been busy studying in Somaliland and has had the good fortune to attend overseas military education in the UK and Ethiopia where he has graduated at the top of his class and received a master’s degree in military sciences. 

Those that know the General describe him as a very pious man constantly in search for knowledge and is not shy to ask.

There is however another side to Somaliland’s new Police Commander, he is a decorated SNM veteran. Brigadier General Dabagale is said to have joined SNM forces as a young man and has quickly gained a reputation for bravery and exemplary leadership.

So what should we all expect from Brigadier General Mohamed Adan Saqadhi Mohamoud (Dabagale) as the Commander of Somaliland Police? Before we get into that, we should ask why did President Bihi choose a military man for what should be a civilian law enforcement agency?

Brigadier General Mohamed Adan Saqadhi Mohamoud (Dabagale)

Perhaps, the answer lies in the new Commander’s reputation for fierce independence and fairness to the point of appearing inflexible. This is according to people that have known him for decades and have served with him in the Army.

According to sources, President Bihi is intent on modernizing Somaliland Police by instituting systems to ensure civil liberties are protected and prevent unlawful arrests and to achieve this, it made sense to him bring in an outsider to ensure meaningful changes are instituted.

Somaliland Police is a vast system with many moving parts but unfortunately there is no system in place to help manage it and connect its various pieces, for instance, all case records are on paper and records can be lost or altered.

One of the other main issues with Somaliland Police is that there is no oversight of any kind, civilian or otherwise, and unfortunately have at their disposal a rather draconian piece of legislation that was recently modified and passed – Law Number 63/2013 generally referred to as the Somaliland Police Law.

There are many documented incidents where police not only overstepped their authority but have behaved in ways that were outright illegal, one of these incidents happened right after when President Bihi took office where Police have sheered hair off some youth because of a supposed joke that he will discipline youngsters by shaving their heads.

Free haircuts, courtesy of Somaliland Police.

The concern of full militarization of Somaliland police by the appointment of General Dabagale spilled into full public view when the opposition Wadani Leader Mr. Hersi Haji Hassan echoed these concerns at the new Commanders swearing-in ceremony.

Past performance is generally not an indicator for future outcome and it is simply too early to judge how the new Police Commander will turn out but what is certain is that his success and failures depend on how much institutional change and accountability he brings into Somaliland Police.

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Notice: This is an article by Somaliland Chronicle. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Under this license, all reprints and non-commercial distribution of this work is permitted.

Business Profiler: Meet the Smartest Businessman in Somaliland

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Staff
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In another special segment to showcase the beating heart of Somaliland’s entrepreneurial spirit, we caught up with Mr. Abdirahman Hirsi, the founder and the CEO of Horn of Africa Strategic Initiative (HASI) to get him to divulge the secret to his success and encourage the next generation of Somaliland entrepreneurs.

Mr. Hirsi and his business are entirely unique in Somaliland and are taking a different approach to business; he is not in the import and export business, build houses or run a non-governmental organization. What he does is rather novel and smart; he is probably the first person to create an entire business around management consultancy in Somaliland.

Mr. Hersi, explain to us your business and how you got started

What we do is pretty straightforward, we develop leaders and help businesses to adopt a strategic posture to think beyond today and help them create a plan for success.

As you know Somaliland’s business environment is becoming more competitive so one area we focus on for private businesses in marketing and customer acquisition and retention while helping them understand the value of their employees.

Leadership is an area that is somehow misunderstood where the head of company or a government entity is unapproachable and the only means of communication are a memo or notice stuck on a wall but we see it differently, leadership is a science and one of our specialty is leadership development.

Another area that we focus on is is change management and help businesses and individuals understand that a change is not a threat to them when properly managed. 

The easiest way to understand what HASI Consulting does is that we help businesses convert their human capital into a structural capital.

Who is your customer, is it mostly private, government and NGOs or combination of all.

The majority of our customers are from the private sector but we also have some government clients though those are mainly individuals in public service who want to take advantage of our expertise.

We hope to work more with the public sector as we see the current challenges faced by our government, at the risk of sounding bit political, I am always amused when I see a government agency announcing a new effort for this and that and claiming it is the first time and I remember hearing similar announcements from that same ministry, the issue here is the lack of continuity between appointees.

This is an area we can bring in a lot of value in creating institutional memory and ensuring knowledge does not walk away when someone is replaced but is distilled into a repeatable and measurable business process.

This is certainly an unconventional business, what are the challenges you face?

We have had a lot of doors shut in my face over the years but tenacity definitely pays off but the main challenge is how some businesses and most NGOs value our expertise compared to an expatriate. There is an assumption that an expat flown in from Nairobi is more knowledgeable and this is something we have managed to overcome.

It surprised me when I learned there were two different rates for us, local management consultancy and training versus an expat, they call it local or international rate. We have always had a policy of not accepting this and clients have recognized the value we bring to their business and especially our deep understand of the local market.

Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director

Even Christine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund thinks it’s a waste of precious resources and unworkable to use international consultants for developing strategic plans.

How did you get started in this business?

Well, the short version is that I did not have a half a million dollars to start a hawala or a construction company so you can say it was out of necessity to start a business that is built on what I know and my core competency but I have always dreamed of having my business. I had the privilege to work with an NGO called PSI that has done similar things where I have learned the robes.

You have traveled extensively outside of Somaliland and have been to Europe and North America, have you thought of staying there?

Perhaps, if I were in my teens but the hustle overseas especially in America is a young man’s game. It’s funny, every time I travel to one those countries everyone I know urges me to stay and apply for asylum and are always shocked when I tell them that I am not interested in living there and my reason is simply there are more opportunities in Somaliland.

What is your advice to young people who are looking to enter the workforce or are looking to start a business?

I am biased and will always be on the side of the entrepreneur but it is not for everyone, some people prefer the security of a paycheck and the structure of 9 to 5 but I would advise young people to start somewhere and not wait for a government appointment, or getting hold of that half a million to start your dream job, start somewhere, put your soul and heart into it and you will see it grow.

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