By: Yusuf M Hasan
Somalilandsun – The Somalia administrative region of Puntland is to receive a $10m Kuwait grant following signature of the agreement in Garowe, the region’s capital recently.
The $10m grant from the Kuwait fund is geared towards the upgrade to international standards of the Garowe airport and Makhir University in Badan district of Sanaag region, Somaliland.
The grant agreement in which the Garowe airport and Makhir university receives $5m each was signed by a Kuwait fund representative and the Puntland minister of finance and witnessed by gthe region’s interior minister Abdilahi Ilkajiir whose presence brings a broader twist to the actual reasons behind the inclusion of Makhir university.
Mr. Ilkajiir though a powerful minister in Puntland is a Somaliland national and originally from Badan district where the Garowe administration continues to lay claim to, in spite of the fact well known that the area is in the territorial jurisdiction of Somaliland.
While Kuwait has been a good friend of Somaliland for a long time, no official statement has been released by either the Somaliland or Kuwaiti authorities as to the motive behind funding Puntland to effect a development project in Somaliland.
As things stand only time will tell what happens next and unless Somaliland has given away Badan district then something needs to be done soon rather than later since bending cold metal is untenable.
