Somaliland: “Councils of Clan Elders Undermine Traditional Leadership Norms”-Minister Harir

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Deputy Minister Harir

By: Yusuf M Hasan

Somalilandsun – Clan authority in Somaliland is vested with traditional leaders and not councils of elders.

This mandate is slowly eroding due to the interference of the councils composed of prominent elders, merchants and intellectuals whose proliferation has intensified lately says the deputy minister of commerce and investment Bashir Abdi Harir.
Acknowledging the necessities of the clan elder’s councils the deputy minister who cautioned on the non interference with established mechanisms of traditional clan leadership urged the elders to concentrate on their mandate of development activities within their specific areas.
“Communal Authority should be left to traditional leaders appointed by their individual clans” said minister Harir

Clan elders at a function/file
The investment minister who attributed the successful prevalence of peace and security in Somaliland to the partnership between the Somaliland government and Traditional leadership said the status quos should not be constrained at all.

Although the Somaliland constitution recognizes traditional leaderships, it doesn’t have stipulations related to the councils of Clan Elders whose proliferation is seeing an increased and intensification coupled with their unchecked dabbling in clan matters thus undermining established mechanisms and norms whose preserve is slowly that of Sultans, Kings, Garads and Chiefs etc.

Somaliland anointed traditional leaders at the welcoming ceremony of a Garad at Egal int airport/archives
“within the last four years the elders councils have gotten, purportedly representing their clans in a large number of national and local issues mostly political that are normally in the mandate of traditional leaders ” says the Somaliland deputy commerce and investment minister Bashir Abdi Harir who is conclusive that things need to be checked before they get out of hand.