Somalilandsun – In reflection of all the hullabaloos and flimsy cries of foul whose “Out-cry” has hoodwinked the members of the public as concerns that Banking Bill before the legislative assembly, we smell something very, very fishy and sinister is going on.
If we hold the bull by the horns and call the spade by its rightful name the fetid fish or rats’ smell that stings our nostrils is a concerted effort to block the sovereign establishment of financial facilities in Somaliland.
The truth is that the arguments going on and doing rounds are out of context and does not address the bill. In fact we see headlines and the clergy in TV cries on/of the “interests” or precisely “Usury” bill and not the banking laws that needs to be talked about.
People are being hoodwinked that the formulated bill concerns “Usury” or ‘interests’ in and of the financial banking sector.
The clause in contention, to be frank, was indeed rightly phrased to mean and concern “commission dues”. This clause has been convoluted hence assumed to mean “usury” or “interest amounts”. The clergy in-turn wail loudly hence cry foul thence play on the people’s emotions to stir them into an instant defiance and into defensive mood against non-existent aggression on their religion!
The parliamentarians on the other hand are standing by the sidelines refusing to do their work or refraining from being diligent for reasons they know better!
The truth is that there are very many countries in the world which are Islamic, professing Islam, practicing Islam and are thousands of times more strict in enforcing Islamic values than Somaliland hence have banking facilities in their nations.
This Banking Bill ‘placed’ in contention should have been established a long time ago since when you have associated regulations on banking, insurance, investiture and similarly associated financial and commercial legalities in place to safeguard the stakeholders’ rights, you already have RECOGNIZED yourself and you beckon recognition out rightly.
If the said regulations are absent, it is vice-versa!
You do NOT RECOGNIZE yourself and you automatically repel others from recognizing you in totality!
We do not need nor want blanket assumptions hidden behind the masks of sainthood in formidably vigorous campaigns to forestall, and in reality, block the establishment of banks. Whoever does this, truly, is only against the essence, aspirations and being of Somaliland as a nation and as a sovereign country.
Within the absence of the financial industry, SL is technically and practically stalling itself hence places her people in an abyss, a jail, incommunicado, away from the community of humanities, away from the rest of the world hence cannot independently be master of her own destiny!
This is the simple truth; and this simple truth must be told in no uncertain terms. Yes boldly told.
Who are the clergy working for if not Somalilanders? Who are the MPs working for if not Somalilanders? The state must put and stamp her foot down since it is the only institution worth and charged with the task of defending her people.
Lies should be stopped and those hiding behind masks in masquerades should be told off.
The people need the truth and the truth shall they have. It is quite unfortunate that the parliament goes into recess in a hush a week early and at a sitting that was most certainly without quorum! God forbid!
The rights of the people of the land and their posterity should not be trampled by a few for suspect reasons.
Once more, we remind the people that the issue at question and on the table is not what is being said on the media. It has been hijacked, again, for suspect reasons.
If a non-Muslim doctor came to SL, would the patient force the physician to convert to Islam before accepting treatment? Why then fly to other non-Muslim countries?
Who is fooling who in this case?
An original editorial of The Horn Tribune a weekly English newspaper published in Hargeisa by the state owned Dawan Media group
