By: Dr. Mohamed A Omar

As the country is coming to terms with the recent tragic events caused by land tenure arguments, Berbera is feeling the heat of a fresh land problem. Those who involved in previous land-grabbing were ordinary people such as small traders, displaced persons or unemployed former warriors. In Berbera, it is the government ministers, port bosses and rich merchants that are lined up for the grab. Is it an economic development or an economic exploitation? The stakes are higher, so are the consequences.

Berbera has recently become the scene of intensive land-grabbing involving politicians and business people. They are regularly seen in hoarding large plots of land. Although their motives are different, the inescapable fact is that they all aim to secure land before the state land- law kicks in.

There are two explanations in offer. Some of those who are involved in this practice are business people pursuing investment plans in the form of services and infrastructure facilities with the envisaged local economic reconstruction in mind. As such their interest can be explained as economic and could also be seen in the light of the increasing use by the Ethiopian government and business people of the port of Berber. The expected development plans in the area by the international aid agencies is also another contributing factor for their interest.

However, the involvement of politicians and government officials in this land rash seems to be ‘opportunistic’ and they can be labeled as ‘greedy profiteers’. By virtue of their power, they are looting land resources earmarked for public use. It is not a coincidence that Berbera is nowadays the meeting point for the most senior members of the Somaliland administration, and the first site for foreign delegations to visit.

I am sure the government would like us to believe that this policy is an appropriate response to the economic development opportunities being presented to the country. But its rationale does not offer a coherent argument. It appears that the government views the perceived economic reconstruction as an absolute goal in itself. Yet the economic benefits must be in the service of wider social goals such as peace, social justice and creating democratic society. I can’t see how rushing to the land, before even a land law is finalized, is helping to achieve those broader national ideals.

As the experience in Somaliland shows, every unoccupied land in Berbera and its immediate surroundings is like a time-bomb waiting to be exploded. Whenever the local municipality office offers a land-ownership document to a new landlord, the chances are that someone else will claim the land and conflict may follow. If the recent trend continues, conflicts that arise as result of this may become deadly, like those we have witnessed elsewhere in Somaliland.

All this is happening in a context of corruption-ridden local assemblies. There are no transparent procedures and verifiable mechanisms for land allocation and protection of landowners throughout the country. Unauthorized use of public land and buildings has become common practice leaving even a bigger grey area.

Underpinning all this is the ever increasing land values in Somaliland. The land demand in Somaliland is not a result of an economic boom or an increased wealth. It is based on fear or an expectation that the land value will increase regardless the economic predictions. This phenomenon, in itself, turns the conventional economic wisdom on its heard.

The Government’s ambiguity over the land ownership system is not helpful either. The crucial question, I suppose, is whether the parliament will make a law stating that all the land is legally owned by the state and that the people can’t own land through tradition. There is also a need for proper procedures for land allocation and ownership which can be defended in a court of law.

In the wake of the current land ownership confusion, what Somaliland needs most is a comprehensive land-law not another land-rash. Unlike previously, the Berbera rash involves big businesses and big names. Thanks to the independent press and the elected parliamentarians, those hiding behind the noble economic aims, while looting public resources, will be named and shamed. For some, this may weight heavier than the anticipated benefits.

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