By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – – “Both Appointment and Dismissal from government office is a presidential prerogative”
This was the unanimous content of speeches by various dignitaries during a ceremony in Hargeisa where the outgoing Central bank-CB Governor Abdi Dirir Abdi hand over office to his replacement Abdilahi Hajji Jama Ali.
Present during the hand over function were central bank staffers, parliamentarians, government ministers and numerous traditional and political leaders as well as managers from various banking institutions operating in the country.
According to the CB Director General Abdilahi Hasan Aden the outgoing governor shall be remembered for his efforts that saw the Somaliland shilling made compulsory legal tender in the whole country and more specifically in the eastern regions of Toghdeer and Sanaag that had been using the Somali shilling.
In his address to the function deputy bank manager Omar Yusuf Buuh praised his outgoing boss specifically for his efforts in fighting inflation thence alleviate livelihoods of citizens.
In his speech Dirir Abdi who thanked the Somaliland president Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo for giving him the opportunity to serve the nation also revealed that he is handing over $23m (150,000,000,000 SL shs) compared to the paltry $8m he found during his office assumption in 2010.
The new Somaliland central bank governor Abdilahi Hajji Jama Ali told function participants that he shall not only endeavour to follow the footsteps of his predecessor but more so to advance them.
The change of guard at the Central bank follows a mini reshuffle undertaken by president Silanyo last week that saw a number of senior government officials either reshuffled or appointed and others dismissed.
Though it is the prerogative of the head of state to appoint and fire senior government officials the incoming central bank governor comes with poor credentials owing to his suspec association with the International Bank of Somalia based in Mogadishu.
