Somalilandsun – It is good to travel through the country coast to coast, but for what? President of Somaliland, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Silanyo), started a long voyage through Somaliland by land, meeting with locals and promising development in a campaign style this week.
Some residents in Bulohar near Bebera city were so appreciative to receive shipment of rice from the President’s delegation and praised him to the highest level.
I was so touched by the innocence of this community and surprised how they perceived this aids arrival. They saw it as if it was the gift of the President rather than their god given rights. This clearly shows how the Somalilanders to this day and age are not informed about their rights as a citizen of this country. Sadly, they do not see the President as their public employee whom they could replace in any time.
Public requires to be educated about this and should know, it was the responsibility of the president to know their conditions and hard hit areas before he took office not three years later.
Nonetheless, the President placed a stone in every town he stops and continue to promise aditional projects from Borome, Saylac, Lughaya, Bulahar , Lasgoreh, Eregavo, Buro and many towns along the way. His long tour came into full circle & back to the capital of Somaliland Hargeysa without any disturbances with the exception of minor accident in Geetlookor near sheikh.
Nevertheless, though the president missed key region in the tip of the country – Sool (Laas anod) for obvious reasons, he was hailed for his expedition to rediscover his country’s landscape by many well wishers along the way. According to Somaliland national TV, it was first time in the history that incumbent president of Somaliland or governors for previous administrations ever visited Losgoreh.
However, the question that needs to be asked the President is – what was the purpose for his trip & what is the point of promising additional projects if you couldn’t deliver or complete outstanding ones? Certainly, this trip was success, if the aim was to raise an awareness about the president’s status and his control of the country. But, it is a loss of tax payer’s money and waste of time if objectively measure it. What does somalilanders gained from this or what it has been achieved by Somalilanders in this trip concretely. Some may argue, visiting Losgoreh worth the cost; however, I do not agree that assertion personally.
Ever since, this three years old administration came to power in Somaliland, there was no shortage of promises and placing stones. So many different projects were commenced in different parts of the country, but none of them had been completed as yet. Isn’t it logical and realistic to complete one task before you start the next one? Yes, but it seems in this administration, quantity of the projects started is far more important than the quantity of the finished ones.
Just to name a few incomplete projects, the road of Odweyne to Hargeysa, Hargeysa to Ina-guha, Hargeysa to Baligubadle, Hargeysa to Lughaya, and the number of road projects in Gabiley Area , Berbera to Hiis, Hargeysa to Bebera and Buro to Erigavo are somewhat under construction for the past two years.
However, the government of Somaliland sees these projects as clan driven, and does not think of them as having any chief responsibility except the one from Buro to Eregavo. In addition to these incomplete roads, 70% Hargeysa residence does not have any running water. But, this is not included this government’s priority at this time.
Precedential palace Minister Mr. Hirsi H. Hassan, reiterated known information about Hargeysa’s water shortage last month, but did not provide any concrete solution to Hargeysa’s water predicament. This is the most pressing issue in Somaliland today as far as the average Hargeysa resident is concerned.
Nevertheless, though there is no plan, no priority and no accountability in this government, but energy and ambition to achieve something, they can turn things around if they think rationally and pool resources into one mission at a time. In order to harness this energy and focus into the right direction for whatever is left in this President’s term, President Siraanyo needs to sit down, analyze and re-evaluate his government’s performances.
To achieve this, he has to sit down with an independent group of economists alone with his Minister of Planning and set the priority of the nation straight. He also needs to avoid any traces and resemblances of the past regimes, such as surrounding himself with victory pioneers, obvious securities personals & praises of well wishers around him. If not ended, this can cause unintended consequences & destroy the legacy of the presidency.
By Ali Jama
ahmedfayr@hotmail.com
