Is the Ministry of Information Needed?

The Somaliland government has many ministries that it neither needs nor affords to maintain. One of these unnecessary and costly bureaucracies is the Ministry of Information, headed by the controversial minister, Abdillahi Mohamed Duale. With a staff of over 100 people, the Ministry runs a radio station whose transmission barely covers Hargeisa and 3 newspapers (The daily Maandeeq and the two weeklies, the Horn Tribune and the Arabic Qarnul Afriqi) that usually nobody bothers to read due to their lack of credibility.

Like the old days of Siyad Barre, the radio and the 3 publications are used as propaganda tools. This is hardly surprising given that most of the staff at the Ministry came from the former state-controlled media institutions under the Barre regime. In fact, Somaliland’s Ministry of Information is the only government agency where one could be deceived into thinking that Siyad Barre is still in power here. Fortunately, Somaliland has independent private media that have taken roots, over the years since independence, to provide people with information. Somaliland’s private media have taken the impartial role of informing the people and allowing them to express their opinions on issues in a free manner. In this role, the independent media have nourished democracy more than anyone else. Contrary to the government-owned media, the robust independent press is a constant reminder to Somalilanders that their huge sacrifices for freedom have not been in vain.

Since the government media has been totally useless, it is untenable and counter productive to continue maintaining it. Money spent in this area could be re-allocated and cleverly used for publicizing Somaliland’s cause to the outside world that until now remains unknowledgeable about this country. Even if the government decides to keep its media outlets for the sake of "prestige," as some countries do, then it should at least turn its publications and radio into an independent and cost-effective media enterprise, where journalists and audience can exercise freedom of information and freedom of expressing their opinions without censorship.

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