Once more, I listened to the President’s address to the staff of the Ministry of Finance and I was deeply moved by his view of a report was on Radio Hargeisa that morning which cover the living conditions of the people displaced by droughts their gut wrenching living conditions.
The Government has committed to provide aid and support to the our people displaced by a cyclical droughts and established a commission named “Drought Recovery Commission” headed by the former Minister of The Presidency Mohamed Hashi which met every evening at the Presidential Palace.
Everyone with means has been approached to contribute to the effort and though i am not sure if was enough but about a Million US Dollars and change was and collected. There were also massive corporations including DP World that has contributed funds.
Unfortunately, the only record of any of these funds being spent on the vulnerable and displaced people were reportedly few hundred thousand that were said to be used for drinking water and transportation.
While the condition of the displaced people has not improved by any measure, HE Muse Bihi Government was elected where fortunately has taken over about a million dollars in the drought recovery funds from Mohamoud Hashi.
I can attest to the fact that the drought recovery commission that was later headed by Vice President Abdirahman Saylici has done a good job and unlike when the commission was headed by Mr Mahamoud Hashi, there was minimal accusation of graft.
To those that would assume that I am against the former Minister Mohamoud Hashi, I want to remind people that it was actually Mr Saylici that at one point fired me from my post as Governor of Awdal. I do not begrudge him for doing what he thought was right, in fact I commend him for a good job but will also point out any shortcomings.
Finally, I would suggest to the President to translate his beautiful words into action and add more funds to the million dollars the Drought Commission currently on hand and help the displaced people whose plight and living conditions have visibly shaken you. I swear that you will succeed if you make it your first priority to take care of our most vulnerable and less banquets for those with means.
Mr. President, we can see that you genuinely feel your people’s pain and suffering but I want to remind you, that you alone are in the driver’s seat and can actually do something to improve our displaced people’s living conditions, you can also correct the wrongs as you are the highest authority in the land. Use the powers that are entrusted in you and make a lasting change.
About the Author
Mustafe Isse is the Former Governor of Awdal, Sool and Maroodijeex regions and currently a high ranking member of the Opposition Party Wadani. Mr. Isse is a veteran journalist who has been writing since 1991 for such newspapers as Codka Hargeysa.
Somaliland’s Minister of Justice, Mr. Abdiqani Mohammud A’ateye (Farid) has implemented a Prison Management System that is part of a larger network managed from Mogadishu. Currently, the Prison Management system is installed in Hargeisa’s Main Prison as well as Mandhera and its purpose is to track and manage the inmate life cycle through the system.
While an ambitious project of this scale falls in the President Muse Bihi Abdi’s mandate to overhaul and modernize Somaliland’s justice system.
The Minister of Justice flanked by the head of UNODC and Vice President of Somaliland HE Abdirahman Saylici
In a Justice Symposium held by the Ministry of Justice in February, attended by the Vice President as well as heads of UNODC, EU, SIDA, UKAID and many other donor agencies, implementation of a digital platform to manage prison population was identified by one of five top priorities for Justice reform in Somaliland. Additionally, the Minister invited Somaliland local as well as international IT companies to the meeting.
In February 26 this year, the Minister tweeted “As part of the digitization of our prison services this morning we received from our partners @UNODC Phase 1 of the Prison Data Management Information System. Digitalisation of prison service & Education for prisoners is #Somaliland gov top priority @SRSGKeating@musebiihi“. Mr. A’ateye even included Michael Keating and President Muse Bihi Abdi in his tweet.
As part of the digitalisation of our prison services this morning we received from our partners @UNODC Phase 1 of the Prison Data Management Information System. Digitalisation of prison service & Education for prisoners is #Somaliland gov top priority @SRSGKeating@musebiihipic.twitter.com/gykpuhxy3T
“We were left stunned!” said a partner of an IT company that was engaged in active negotiation with the Minister on implementing a system that was custom designed for Somaliland. He added “Unfortunately, he does not own the system, they gave him two desktop computers that no one knows what is in the source code”.
According to people with intimate knowledge of this issue, in a particularly difficult meeting, the Minister was strongly advised against accepting this system from UNDOC by an IT advisor to President Bihi who was guiding him in selecting the most appropriate system. The President’s IT adviser made it clear to the Minister that unless UNODC submits the source code and reference architecture for close inspection he should not accept it.
At this point, the Minister gave back to two computers to the UNODC consultants and told them he was going a different route.
Somaliland Chronicle has learned that the Minister of Justice has proceeded with implementation the same system he had rejected back in February on grounds on national security.
According to sources in the Justice Ministry, one major factor in why the Minister has accepted this system is due to lack funding and perceived pressure deliver and show a tangible progress in his justice portfolio.
The implementation of a critical system with sensitive national security information, where control of its core functionality and actual data is mixed in with Somalia’s and managed from Mogadishu seems counter intuitive in Somaliland’s current efforts to extricate itself from any dealing with Somalia.
According to IT experts, this system puts the entire control of Somaliland Prisons under the control of the United Nations and UNSOM and the data could be accessed by Somalia’s Federal Government.
It was only this month when Somalia declared to have taken control of Somaliland’s skies and has been trying to exert more pressure on many fronts including cutting off aid to Somaliland.
Two African Union soldiers from Burundi where killed in an roadside bomb that targeted an AMISOM armored vehicle 30km north of Somali capital Mogadishu in the small town of Bal’ad.
The dead troops were part of a Burundian contingent serving with AMISOM in Somalia.
Al-Shabaab terrorist group claimed responsibility in a statement “On Monday, we carried out an attack that killed 2 soldiers and injured 15 others near Bal’ad town”. The statement added that the 15 wounded were medivaced to a Mogadishu Hospital.
AMISOM declined to comment on the incident but eye witnesses confirmed AMISOM wounded at Mogadishu main hospital.
Multinational AMISOM and African Union troops has been in Somalia since 2007 to prop up Somalia’s Federal Government. Additionally, there is a large presence of western Special Operation forces fighting Al-Shabaab and other Islamic State related terrorist groups in Somalia.
Despite Somalia’s Federal Government claims that Al-Shabaab is defeated, the terrorist network has been more emboldened in recent months and has been carrying out an assassination of Somali government officials in Mogadishu.
The widely discussed “Baadi Goob” documentary has once again ignited a debate that caste shadow in what has been widely perceived by both Somaliland public and the world as a free and fair election.
As imperfect as it may seem, let’s compare Somaliland to its immediate neighbors in terms of democracy, freedom of speech and advanced political discourse.
Ethiopia – The new Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed, who some hailed as a new savoir and solver of all sorts of East African problems , was not elected by the Ethiopian public; in fact Ethiopia has never had a democratic election – ever.
Djibouti – Since gaining independence in 1977, Djibouti has been pseudo-monarchic since the death of late dictator Hassan Gouled Aptidon and uncle of current President Ismail Omer Guelleh.
Somalia – There is no point in beating a dead horse; we all know how messy things are.
Somaliland – However imperfect it maybe, Somaliland had five different democratically elected Presidents and peaceful transition of power. Somaliland stands in stark contrast to all of the neighboring countries as a shining beacon for democracy and rule of law.
KULMIYE Party Supporters sit on a bulldozer bucket.An ocean of Orange. WADANI supporters at a rally event.
Coming back to the latest our election, there were definitely more positive than negative and though WADANI has had multiple complaints and for a period of two weeks looked like we might revert back to darker days in our young history at worse and at best become another Kenya where both Muse Bihi and Abdirahman Cirro would hold competing swearing in ceremonies. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed, and WADANI has accepted the results of the election and Mr. Cirro has put country his political ambition to pull the country from this terrible precipice.
How to Add Fuel to an Already Smoldering Fire
Then came this rather well produced documentary that alleges specific individuals of either subverting the rule of law and or overtly interfering with the democratic process to achieve a desired outcome – The election of the incumbent party’s candidate as the 5th President of Somaliland.
It looks like a rehash of the campaign slogans from some of WADANI’s rallies, where high ranking officials would swear that the election would not be fair and that votes will be stolen.
The WADANI leader on multiple occasions expressed skepticism about the fairness of the election and the legitimacy of its outcome even before the elections were held and results tallied.
Distrust in an election process is not uncommon and a good case study is the investigation currently dogging the sitting President of the United States of America.
This documentary, while it seems a lot of effort has gone into producing it, unfortunately it failed to consider something very important: it is adding fuel to an already smoldering fire; further dividing an already divided nation. While freedom of speech is an inalienable and a fundamental right of every Somaliland citizen, let us not confuse incitement and threat of war with freedom of speech.
Extrajudicial Arrests Must End.
Somaliland is born of out of an unimaginable cruelty and injustice visited upon its people, and it is worrying to see people call for arrest or telegraphing to law enforcement agencies to prosecute the producers of this documentary. Extrajudicial imprisonment of Somaliland citizens is something no one should tolerate. Aren’t we the very people who suffered, stood up and freed themselves from tyranny.
Freedom is in our DNA we should protect it and should never take it lightly when a government official orders the arrest of a random citizen who displeased him in one manner or another.
Somaliland is facing an onslaught from Somalia and its pawns in Puntland, and Somaliland is strong enough to withstand external pressures, internal divisions require equal and urgent attention.
Mr Irro patriotism and loyalty to Somaliland is beyond question, yet his less than forceful defense of Somaliland when it comes to external forces, and at times his almost always ill-timed issuance of statements has become a trademark. He has exhibited insincerity for political expediency as the case was for his call for prosecution of former President HE Mohamed Mohamoud Siilaanyo and resignation of current President HE Muse Bihi Abdi over the DP World Berbera deal and lease of military base to UAE. Some have pointed out his complicity as the speaker of the Parliament at the time of its approval.
Be that as it may, Mr. Irro is not the President of Somaliland; being in the opposition is easy, it harder to govern. Something our current President can definitely relate to.
It is the President’s job to bring the country and his people together. We cannot “Move Forward” as a nation if every single person that voted for Mr. Irro opposes his young administration’s policies. Reaching out and offering an olive branch is precisely what is needed in this moment to effectively govern and show the 40.5% that voted for WADANI. This is a significant slice of our population and simply ignoring them is both short sighted and ill-advised.
Here is a suggestion: Disband the Election Commissioners as demanded by WADANI. This is something WADANI and Mr. Irro has called for on numerous occasions, and while it is always tempting not to give in to opposition demands, it is a small insignificant token. In fact, it might be the best way show that there have been no backroom deals between KULMIYE and the Election Commission.
It doesn’t seem as if WADANI is asking for the bulldozing of the Election Commission’s building together with systems and a rewrite of the elections laws, certainly that is an unrealistic demand that should be simply rejected. But if all WADANI is asking for is the appointment of new election commissioners, how is this not a small compromise will not delay the upcoming local, house and senate elections.
It is your time to compromise Mr. President. It is time to bring your people together. Call Mr. Irro’s bluff and Disband the Election Commission.
Together we are SOMALILAND, TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG.
The regional governor’s repeated the same point previously expressed by Somalia’s Federal Government to withdraw the Somali Special Arrangement.
The Somalia Development Group has already rejected the previous appeal from Somalia’s Federal Government and made it clear that the circumstances that made it necessary to have the Somaliland Special Arrangement agreement still apply.
Judging from the Development Group’s previous response, it is unclear if the call from the regional governors will have an impact on SSA agreement as they were not party or a signatory to the agreement since they are represented by Somalia’s Federal Government.
Puntland has been on the offensive to reclaim some territory in Somaliland where it claims on grounds on tribal composition and has previously launched two unsuccessful military offensive against Somaliland Armed forces. Additionally, there has been an increasingly violent rhetoric from Puntland leaders where on more than few occasions they called for Jihad against Somaliland.
Mikael Thorstensson is a Swedish citizen and a businessman, he is from the small Vrigstad town in southern Sweden with a population of less than 2000. While there is a lot of information about him and Somaliland, we are going to dig a little deeper than usual. Hold on to your hat!
According to public records Mr Thorstensson is the owner of two businesses registered in Sweden, Swedinvest Scandinavia (registration Org.nummer: 556884-9235) and Copy Vision AB (Registration Org.nummer: 556656-5528). Mr Thorstensson and his wife Elisabeth Torstensson also run a nonprofit school for the disabled children in Somaliland called School Of Dreams.
A Web of Business and Humanitarian Activities
Vice President Saylici at the launch of Swedinvest Scandinavia in Swedan
While Copy Vision AB does not any have dealings in Somaliland (more on that later), Swedinvest Scandinavia, Mr. Thorstensson’s marketing material state that it is setup to bring investment to the Horn of Africa and particularly Somaliland. The launch of Swedinvest Scandinavia in 2015 was a high profile event that was attended by Somaliland’s Vice President Abdirahman Saylici.
Aside from a many promotional materials, the only thing we could find was a photo of a truck with the Somaliland and Swedish flags as well as the Swedinvest Scandinavia crest. The purpose of the vehicle is unclear but it appears to be an old decommissioned military vehicle with a white paint.
Mr. Thorstensson’s activities are all tightly intertwined, for instance Swedinvest Scandinavia is listed as a partner of the Charity School of Dreams for the disabled children he runs with his wife Elisabeth in Borama, though the nature of the partnership is not clear. Additionally, the website for the school is hosted by Copy Vision AB. This is a name you will see many times through out the story.
All four PARTNERS listed on School of Dreams are owned by Mr TorstenssonPhoto of Mr. Thorstensson his wife and Children on the www.baazar.se website, one of the purported partners of School of Dreams.
In fact, all the partner entities listed on the School of Dreams website are owned by Mr Thorstensson’s Copy Vision AB.
School of Dreams donations go to personal bank account owned by Mr Torstensson.
The School of Dreams‘s website solicits direct donations from the public via e-Dahab, Zaad and Swish, a Swedish mobile money transfer service. Close inspection of the swish account listed for donation reveals that it is linked to is a personal account owned by Mr Thorstensson at Swedbank och Sparbankerna.
Mr Torstensson’s kids pose for promotional photo with a disabled child for School of Dreams
Beyond the slick website and pictures in classrooms and on one occasion, Mr Thorstensson’s children pose in pictures with disabled children, we are unable to verify the schools’s operations, how many kids are enrolled or the type of services provided to disabled children.
Drawning in Red Ink
Loss and Profit Statement from Swedinvest Scandinavia ABIn Mid 2017 Mikael Thorstensson was evicted from his rented residence in Hargeysa for unpaid rent.
While Mr Thorstensson has cultivated an image of a successful international businessman, his finances tell an entirely different story of loss, unpaid rent and eventual eviction from his Hargeisa residence. According to tax records filed by Mr. Thorstensson for Swedinvest Scandinavia and Copy Vision AB have consistently lost money.
No doubt a busy entrepreneur and a humanitarian but that is not all. He also holds a portfolio as Somaliland’s Special Envoy to the EU.
Meet Mikael Thorstensson, Somaliland’s Special Envoy to the EU
Mikael Thorstensson and family dinning with Somaliland’s Vice President Abdirahman Saylici
Mr Thorstensson has a rather an unusual relationship with Somaliland, and some might even call him the ultimate insider with powerful friends in high places, this is an image has has worked very hard to cultivate as shown on his facebook and other public sources. Including this bizarre interview, where he is answering questions that are seemingly not asked by the reporter.
Even though Mr Thorstensson calls himself Somaliland’s Special Envoy to the EU, it is very important to note that during the appointment, Somaliland’s Foreign Affairs Minister HE Saad Ali Shire, has made it clear that Mr Thorstensson was not an Ambassador for Somaliland but rather an honorary envoy. It is unclear what this means as we were unable to find official government records to understand the parameters of the appointment.
Mr Thorstensson has frequently touted his connection to the Swedish Government, the only link we are able to find is between him and a parliament member from his small town of less than 2000 people, Mr Magnus Oscarsson who appears frequently with Mr Thorstensson and even visited Somaliland with him on few occasions.
Mr Oscarsson is photographed with a group of six children who do not seem disabled in a sparsely furnished classroom
In article that appeared on Vision Hoglandet which is owned by Mr Thorstensson and is one of the partner entities listed for School Of Dreams. Mr Oscarsson interviewed and is photographed with a group of six children who do not seem disabled in a sparsely furnished classroom.
We have reached out to members of the Somaliland Diaspora Recognition Committee in Sweden to ask them about their impression of Mr Thorstensson and Oscarsson and while none of them would speak on the record they were unanimous in how much power they saw Mr Thorstensson wielded within the government Somaliland even though he was merely an honorary envoy. For Mr Oscarsson, one described him as “simply a bored guy who would’nt mind a paid trip to an exotic location”.
Thorstensson with Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Former President Siilaanyo and current Vice President of Somaliland Abdirahman Saylici.
“When the guy who seemingly has no clear role or qualification to represent Somaliland at any capacity let alone the European Union is meeting the President and dining with the Vice President of Somaliland you generally do not stand in his way even though he is clearly in it to promote his own interest but if he mentions Somaliland every now and again, we are good with it” is how a member of the SKS group described Mr Thorstensson.
How Close is Sweden to Recognize Somaliland?
In a slickly produced video Mr Thorstensson announced that for first time in history “Today we had an historic day here in Stockholm, we established Parliament Organization for Somaliland in Swedish Parliament”.
There is only one issue with this extraordinary claim, there is no official Parliament organisation or a committee for Somaliland in the Swedish parliament. By all accounts this is a private organization with no association to the Swedish government that just happens to have three Swedish MP Björn Rubenson, Daniel Bäckström and once again Magnus Oscarsson.
Again, while Mr Thorstensson is not an official envoy of the Republic of Somaliland but rather an honorary, he has generously helped himself with emblems of the Republic of Somaliland and runs few Facebook pages one of them is Celebrate Somaliland which uses the logo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs complete with promotional material and blurbs about him in the media, some of which are once again, Mr Thorstensson’s own Vision Hoglandet magazine.
Bolder Lies
A fake website run by Mr Thorstensson that purports to be an Official Embassy of Somaliland.
Perhaps the most blatant example of Mr Thorstensson misrepresenting himself as an official Ambassador for Somaliland is yet another website, a rather slick site called somalilandabroad.se that purports to be Somaliland’s Diplomatic Mission to Swedan, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland. Once again, designed and hosted by Copy Vision AB one of many businesses owned and operated by Mr Thorstensson.
A Phantom Chamber of Commerce.
It gets better, there is a section somalilandabroad.se about investment in Somaliland and it refers to a rather interesting entity known as European – Somaliland Chamber of Commerce with a rather striking logo but we are unable to locate the website listed and any other information regarding this entity. It is safe to assume is another one of Mr Thorstensson many tentacles.
Clearly, Mr Thorstensson is a conman using Somaliland’s desperation for recognition to use it’s name in a way that was not authorized to him and concocting embassies of his own out of thin air. What is worrying is that he might be taking funds from investors while pretending to represent Somaliland. Somaliland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has in many aspects been an absentee landlord and the vacuum it created is where conman like Mr Thorstensson make their living.
Efforts to reach Messrs Thorstensson and Magnus Oscarsson have not been successful.
Phil Evans, head of the UK DFID Somalia, meeting President of Somaliland Muse Bihi Abdi in Hargeisa.
It has been widely reported yesterday that Somalia has written to the international donors that it will not be renewing the Somaliland Special Arrangement agreement that has been in place since 2013.
Phil Evans, head of the UK DFID Somalia, meeting President of Somaliland Muse Bihi Abdi in Hargeisa.
In the letter, the Somali Minister of Planning stated that treating Somaliland differently is not fair to other states of Somalia and that all aid should flow through the Somali Federal Government. In his letter, he did not mention that Somaliland has withdrawn from the union with Somalia in 1991 and has been an independent country for 27 years.
A response letter from the heads of Somalia Donor Group was not addressed to the Minister of Planning, instead to the Somali Deputy Prime Minister, and while diplomatically crafted it made it clear to the Somalia government that the circumstances that made it necessary to have this agreement in the first place still apply.
This is a clear indication that the SSA agreement is something that was put together by the international community to ensure Somaliland gets it is fair share of aid directly and not through Somalia.
In a rebuttal to the main point of the Somali Minister letter, stated that there are stark differences between Somaliland and Puntland and none of the other Somalia states existed at the time the agreement was reached. Additionally, this agreement is necessary to keep up with Somaliland’s breakneck development pace or as the letter put it development needs.
Constructive and Sincere Spirit
Finally, the response letter asks that Somali’s Federal Government to avoid politicizing aid activities and to reconsider the proposal in a “constructive and sincere spirit” and to come back with a no objection guarantee.
The response from the international donors has been public for few hours and has been widely discussed among regional observers, some view it as a strong rebuke to Somalia’s letter and a not so gentle reminder that the Somalia Donor Group will deal with Somalia with or without the cooperation of Somalia’s Federal Government.
There are unconfirmed reports from Addis Ababa that the President of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi has received an invitation from the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr. Abiy Ahmed and will be headed to Addis Ababa in the coming days.
Attempts to confirm these reports from the Somaliland Government has been fruitless as President Bihi’s administration is tight-lipped compared to previous administrations. However, the likelihood of this happening is very high as Prime Minister Abiy has so far visited every country in East Africa and few beyond except Somaliland.
President Muse Bihi Abdi departs to UAE on official state visit.
Somaliland, Ethiopia and DP World signed a trilateral agreement to develop the Berbera port where Ethiopia holds a 19% stake and. This agreement has been made directly with Somaliland and could be a major topic of discussion.
The Special Arragement for Somaliland was part of the Somalia Compact rectified in Brussels in 2013.
The Somali Minister’s stated justification for declining to renew the Somaliland Special Arrangement agreement is that it will seem that Somaliland is being favored by the international community and donors over other states of Somalia and that all aid funding should flow through Villa Somalia. Failing to mention that Somaliland, despite its lack of recognition has declared itself an independent country 27 years ago.
Earlier this month, in an interview with the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Senator Paul who is a fiscal conservative and a proponent of curbing US debt and spending said “There’s 920 instances of child soldiers, forcing children to fight. There’s evidence that some of these soldiers are parts of al-Qaida. There’s also evidence that some of these soldiers are nothing more than highway robbers”. and called for an end to end to US taxpayer money for Somali National Army.
Somalia’s Federal Government, while unable to control major parts of its capital Mogadishu and curb violence by Al-Shabaab and other Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups in Somalia, has tried to assert control over Somaliland on paper and complaints to the Security Council.
It’s unclear if this letter or Somalia’s withdrawal from the Somaliland Special Arrangement agreement will have an impact on Somaliland’s ability to secure funding from donor countries. What is very clear is that Somaliland has been less reliant on aid and more on investment and tax collection to deliver critical services to its population.
Somaliland has shown a remarkable ability to work directly with neighboring countries including the United Arab Emirates which sent a contingent of its military to help distribute relief to those affected cyclone Sagar.
Could this be about Tukeraq?
Somalia’s Minister of Planning in Somaliland’s Sanaag region.
Somaliland has accused Somalia’s Federal Government as being behind Puntland’s claim over large swaths of its territory and particularly the Minister of Planning who illegally crossed into Somaliland in January a head of the Tukaraq conflict to supply arms to Puntland militias.
Direct Engagement with Somaliland
Some observers point to the Tukaraq conflict and Somalia’s inability to gain ground in battle and thus resorting to its favorite method of trying to stifle Somaliland’s progress in any way possible.
There has been an increasing number of western politicians who has called for direct engagement with Somaliland, one of them is Zac Goldsmith a senior member of the UK Conservative Party who has called on UK Minister for Africa, Harriet Baldwin, to reconsider a policy and give British aid directly to Somaliland.
Others who are familiar with the international community’s frustration with Somalia because of massive corruption and lack of basic oversight of their taxpayer’s funds to Somalia, have welcomed the move and stated that they have always preferred to engage directly with Somaliland where robust governance has been in place for over two decades.
