Adding that, Somaliland, the 23 years Old Sovereign Republic Shall Never ever be Subservient to Mogadishu on any issue”
By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – The Mogadishu based Somalia Federal Government-SFG has been asked to desist from interfering in issues internal to the republic of Somaliland.
The urgings were made by the minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Eng Hussein Abdi Duale during an interview with HCTV in Hargeisa where he also termed contents of the latest report to the U.N. Security Council by its sanctions committee on Somalia and Eritrea pertaining to establishment of an oil fields protection police unit as of no harm at all.
In apparent reference to never ending SFG insinuations pertaining to purported illegality of oil survey and extraction contracts issued by the government of Somaliland to both foreign and local companies Eng Duale said:
“Being a sovereign country for 23 years and in lieu of never ending quest to enhance the livelihoods of its citizens, the republic of Somaliland shall not at any one time request Mogadishu permission to contract whoever it deems fit for the development of the unexploited and abundant energy sector.
Informing that the SFG has no authority on the actions of other countries among them Somaliland the energy minister who said that it is in the interest of its people that the government pursues relevant avenues of partnership adding that the international companies contracted so far are of sufficient repute thence capable of discerning illegality or legality of their deals worldwide.
The government of Somaliland has contracted a number of companies to survey and extract oil in the country among them Anglo-Turkish giant Genel Energy, DNO of Norway, Sterling energy, Australia’s Jacka resources and Petrosoma etc
As he negated ongoing media reports that the UNSC Somalia and Eritrea Weapons Sanctions Committee has warned of insecurity if Somaliland deploys a special trained police unit to protect its oil fields and contracted companies Eng Hussein Abdi Duale said the issue of protecting its diverse resources as well as foreign or local contractors in all sectors is paramount to the government of Somaliland.
According to U.N. experts plans by Somaliland to deploy special forces to protect foreign oil companies could worsen conflicts in the long unstable Horn of Africa, as they recommend ascertaining whether the planned armed police unit could be viable or not.
The so called experts concerns were raised by a confidential May 27 letter to the U.N. Security Council sanctions committee on Somalia and Eritrea, obtained by Reuters on Friday.
While Terming alleged fears’ of insecurity as unfounded the Minister of energy and Mineral resources Eng Duale who revealed that plans are in an advanced stage to field an oil protection police unit under the ministry of interior said such a move will not only provide protection but also act as fulfillment of the government’s obligations to provide security to foreigners operating in the country.
Though the energy Minister credits the UNSC committee with proper insights as pertains the horn Africa Region, The experts, who monitor sanctions violations in Somalia and Eretria, said in July that Western commercial oil exploration in disputed areas and discrepancies over which authorities can issue licenses to companies could cause more fighting in Somalia.
with Due respect to the expertise of the UNSC committee assertions that “discrepancies over which authorities can issue licenses to companies could cause more fighting in Somalia” are erroneous owing to the fact that Somaliland a former British Protectorate withdrew from its 1960 voluntary union with Somalia-Italia in 1991
During the fateful union between the two countries that ended in bloodshed the then republic of Somalia had numerous arrangements with about a dozen companies, including many multinational oil and gas majors, licensed to explore Somalia before 1991, but since then Somaliland, and some administrative regions of Somalia like Puntland have granted their own licenses for the same blocks.
Though unrecognized 23 years later continued imposition by the SFG on oil contracts issued by Somaliland are nothing more than irksome encumbrances only geared towards constraining the imminent extraction of the liquid gold whose proven reserves is in the billions of barrels.
