Somaliland: Land Of Misery And Poverty‎‎

By Ibrahim Jibah, California, USA

I recently returned from a visit to Somaliland July 16-25 and have witnessed a country that’s under total misery and poverty. The economy of the country is nonexistent due to unemployment and lack of government help. The unemployment rate is staggering at 95% with no jobs available even for those who have somehow managed to secure a secondary or higher education. There is so much misery and poverty among the people because there is no single industry in the country that will increase the livelihood of the Somaliland people. Although Berbera port has adequate facilities to load and unload all ships that would anchor there, the tariffs levied on ships and boats coming into Berbera have become prohibitively extreme leading to the death of shipping and related commerce. This present government has made the Somaliland ports into ghost towns and the dangerous result is that business in Somaliland is dying a slow and painful death. Even though the people are trying to bring businesses into the country, the majority of the people have no purchasing power and the goods that has been imported languish on store shelves. If measures are not taken soon to reverse this, it will become irreversible.

The recently elected Parliament [Legislators] in Somaliland is in a predicament situation. Every time an issue or a motion to debate is raised on issues that would benefit the country, the Executive Branch, Judicial Branch and the Guurti [non-elected] working together refuse to pass or continue on the motion, effectively killing any movement ahead by the elected Parliamentarians. The Guurti, who are supposed to be the elders safeguarding the culture and the Constitution of the country have turned themselves, in effect, into a House of bandits and cruel politicians. As we all know, these Guurti have been there for the last 17 years and have been getting bribes to keep the status quo which led the people of Somaliland into misery and poverty. The Parliamentarians should return to their constituents to let them know the gridlock that has been imposed by this non-elected body and the Executive Branch which uses tax money to bribe the Guurti to their agenda. The Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch and the Guurti have become partners in crime against the people of Somaliland .

There is currently no free press in Somaliland. A free press is the cornerstone of any true democracy. A free press, for example, keeps both governments and citizens honest about what is really going on. True democracy guarantees freedom of speech, free commerce/business and freedom of association. Presently, no one can speak on the radio freely, speak freely or associate without constraint. The government keeps this right for itself only and there is a dictatorship in the making. There is disinformation to the public when opposition parties or citizens voice their concerns about the corruption, nepotism and misuse of public funds in that they are labeled as “breaking the peace and security of the country.” But peace without prosperity is not a peace. We must not forget that this President is in office by your vote and should be held to account to keep the freedom of the press and freedom of speech a reality. This is what Somalilanders gave their lives for. No Parliamentarian is allowed to inform the public through the press, radio or television of the misdeeds of this Administration. The people of Somaliland need to know what their government is doing with their tax revenue, constitutional rights and their elected Parliamentarians.

There is a total environmental emergency taking place in Somaliland. The environment of our country is our lifeline. If we destroy the trees, pollute the water and ruin the landscape, then the basic oxygen that sustains us will turn into pollution. As I have observed around the town, there are cars, trucks and lorries that are not suitable for driving around unless their exhaust and the burning oil from these vehicles is regulated or managed. These vehicles emit burned oil, diesel and gasoline fumes which are not good for the air that we breathe in. The roads are in total disrepair and this Administration does not appear to be concerned whether there are roads or not.

Secondly, I have seen unregulated building that has resulted in urban decay throughout Hargeysa. Planning should be done to carefully regulate dwellings built to ensure the impact on the environment and growth is assessed. Non-biodegradable materials, such as plastic bags, must be collected and disposed of carefully, as these materials are taken with the wind, causing severe damage to trees and livestock. If the environment is destroyed, the animals will suffer. If the animals are gone, the human beings will suffer. I would suggest that the parliament should regulate what is coming in to the country. The trash that has piled up on every comer should be removed by the local government who are collecting local taxes. On the other hand, it is imperative that we have to find another source of energy for cooking other than cutting out trees for coal, without replacing them. We run the risk of turning Somaliland into desert. If we do not replenish what we are using now, it will have a great impact on our survival. I hope we must heed the importance of taking care of our environment on future generations. We must teach respect and protection of our land in the earliest years of education to sustain our land's wellbeing and survival.

Another major issue facing Somaliland is unregulated immigration of economic refugees coming from Ethiopia and the surrounding countries. There is no control over the influx of these individuals. If measures are not put in place to regulate immigration, these groups will overpopulate Somaliland and the indigenous people of Somaliland will not have recourse in the near future. These refugees are learning the Somali language, the clan system and their genealogy and becoming a part of that particular clan they have learned about. It is common believe among the Somalilanders that some of these economic refugees are spies and spy for the Ethiopian government. The borders of the country should be secured as soon as possible and the Somaliland people should repatriate these refugees who are giving birth by the thousands every year.

Finally, take back your country and demand that the House of Guurti should be elected legally after their term is over or lapsed. The power and the effort is within you and you must rescue your country from the terrible, terrible negative effect of Rayale’s and his cronies administration. The primary steps should be to refuse or reappoint the House of the Guurti, whose objective is to continue this disastrous path and the distortion of the country economically and politically. The people of Somaliland need to stop being timid and start loudly voicing persistent, emphatic analysis of this Administration. It’s ineptness, inefficiency, bad policies, corruption, lies and marginalizing the Somaliland Constitution and substituting words and promises with lack of action should be a wake up call to every Somalilander. The primary task is to reform the House of Guurti that has been growing out of control for the past 17 years without much cooperation with the Parliament or, for that matter, without much strategic guidance or direction from them.

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