The Somaliland National Vision 2030

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H.E Ahmed Mahmoud Silanyo The 2030 visionary President of Somaliland“My Administration aspires for a Stable, Democratic and Prosperous Country where people enjoy a high quality of life “President Silanyo

By: Yusuf M Hasan

HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – The Administration of President Silanyo has embarked on ambitious plans for the Multi-sectored developments of the country.

These plans have resulted in the Somaliland Vision 2030 which has five pillars namely Economic Development, Infrastructure Development, Good Governance, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT and Environmental Protection.

The five pillars of the president Silanyo fronted SL vision 2030 which are the guiding principles for the five years National Development Plan-NDP (2012-2016) has a budget requirement of $1190.03 for the five year period.

The budget is distributed within the five pillars as per the identified and planned developments that are clearly itemized (detailed) as per pillar and related sub-category. The funds allocated to each pillar are Economic pillar $174.55, Infrastructure $486.99, Governance $191.13, Social $294.53 & Environment $42.83. The budget component of each pillar clearly indicates amount allocated each activity in each of the five years.

While the minister of planning and national coordination Dr Saad Ali Shire, supported by a number of stakeholders has achieved outstanding five year planning concerted efforts from all of us are required to ensure success.

Below is the full verbatim excerpt of Somaliland’s President H.E Ahmed Mahmoud Silanyo on the launch of the Vision 2030-National Development Plan for 2012-2016

Quote. “In the last 20 years, Somaliland has made remarkable progress in all spheres – political, economic and social. In 1991 our cities were in ruins; our educational system barely existed; our health care system did not function, and government structures were destroyed. Since then we have rebuilt our cities; we restored order; we established a democratic state; and today we can boast of having more than 200,000 students in primary and secondary schools; we have sixteen Universities graduating thousands of young professionals – doctors, engineers, accountants, lawyers etc. and we have at least a health post in almost every district.

Nevertheless we have arduous challenges ahead, as a nation. We have a fast growing young population, more than half of our labor force is idle; most of our people are illiterate; we have a rapidly degrading environment; we grow little of the food we consume; and we have still unacceptably high child and maternal mortality rates. But at the same time I see the enormous potential of this nation: we have vast untapped mineral wealth, we have huge marine resources, we have the land to quadruple our food production, and we have exceptionally enterprising people. In view of these challenges and opportunities, it is important that we develop a vision that embodies our aspirations and guides us in realizing our potential.

The Somaliland National Vision 2030: “A Stable, Democratic and Prosperous Country where people enjoy a high quality of life” is the road map for our country’s long term development aspirations and goals. It poses a number of key questions to us: Where are we coming from? Where are we today? Where are we going to? And what kind of society do we want to become by 2030?

This is going to be the foundation upon which the National Development Plan (NDP) reflecting the priorities of my new Government will be based. Vision 2030 highlights the structural challenges we face and is based on five key pillars: Economic Development, Infra-structure Development, Governance and Rule of Law, Social Development, and Environmental Protection. It requires sustained orientation of government resources to promote socio-economic transformation. The preparation process of Somaliland Vision-2030 involved bringing together citizens and other stakeholders to explore, brainstorm and define key development issues. A series of workshops were held in which participants views were synthesized to produce a common consensus on where Somaliland presently stands and where it aspires to be by 2030.

I call upon all the people of Somaliland to embrace the principles stated in the vision 2030 and apply them in the design and implementation of national programs and projects during the implementation of the National Development Plan. I would like to urge the private sector, the Somaliland Diaspora and the civil society to work together and with the government towards achieving the country’s vision 2030. I wish to express my appreciation to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for their support and all those who worked tirelessly to produce it.

H.E AHMED MOHAMED MOHAMOUD

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOMALILAND

The Somaliland National Vision 2030:

Introduction by Dr Saad Ali Shire, the minister of Planning and National Cordination

Somaliland has decided to embark on the formulation of a road map for its long term development, aspirations and goals. The blueprint for this road map is our vision 2030 which has been developed by asking: Where are we coming from? Where are we today? Where are we going to? And what kind of society do we want to become by the year 2030?

Vision 2030 aims to achieve economic prosperity and social wellbeing for the people of Somaliland building on the country’s success in establishing peace, stability, and democratic institutions.

The Government is determined to create an enabling environment where all people can feel that they have the opportunity to realize their potential and play a role in the nation building process.

Vision 2030 is based on an inclusive consultative process in which citizens, individually and collectively have contributed to. It is also based on sound analysis of the nation’s strengths and weaknesses, of the opportunities it has and the threats it faces. The vision that emerged is a true reflection of people’s aspirations and hopes. It defines the country’s future and provides commonly owned goals that the nation can rally around.

The Vision will:

Enable the country to take ownership of its development agenda;

I. Aspire the nation and its leadership to mobilize resources, and overcome development challenges to attain a higher standard of living

II. Guide development partners to align their support with national priorities and aspirations

III. Provide a framework upon which national strategies and implementation plans will be anchored

2. Vision Preparation Process

The preparation process of Somaliland Vision 2030 involved bringing together a wide spectrum of stake holders to explore, brainstorm and define key issues to reach consensus on:

1. Where Somaliland presently stands (situation analysis at the end 2010)

2. Where it aspires to be by 2030 (the vision), and

3. How to achieve the “vision” by 2030 (Strategic Plans)

A Series of workshops were held during the preparation process in Hargeisa. The first workshop undertook a comprehensive situation analysis looking at Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities/Limitations and Threats (SWOT analysis) of Somaliland

Multi-sector working groups were established. These working groups captured the views of Government ministries, public agencies, development partners, Non-Governmental organizations, civil society members, private sector participants, interest groups and individuals – representing a wide cross section of Somaliland citizenry. Their views were synthesized to produce a common consensus on where the nation aspires to be by 2030.

Subsequent workshops with sector ministries were held and contributions from each ministry were incorporated into the vision 2030.

3. Guiding Principles

Seven principles were established as the guiding principles in achieving Vision 2030.

These are:

1. Citizen participation.

All citizens irrespective of sex, age, or social status must participate in the decision making processes that concern them and their future, and nation building

2. Self-reliance

Somaliland people must primarily rely on their resources and resourcefulness for the development

3. Sustainability

Development must be socially sustainable, environmentally friendly and economically growth oriented.

4. Competitiveness

The country should adopt new technologies and methods to raise domestic productivity and market competitiveness

5. Equity

Citizens should be equal before the law and should have equal access to socio-economic opportunities, irrespective of sex, age, or social status

6. Good governance

The practice of government should be democratic, transparent, accountable, law abiding and efficient

7. Preservation

We should preserve and build upon the wealth of our natural resources, environment, and cultural heritage and shared family and religious values.

To assess the full SL Vision 2030 and National Development Plan- NDP documents contact yusuf@somalilandsun.com or visit http://slministryofplanning.org