By Abdullah Farah, Ottawa, Canada

The destruction by fire of the Factory producing mattresses was unfortunate fate that awaits all Factories, houses, buildings, Hospitals, hotels, restaurants, automobiles and all establishments in Somaliland without having anything to protect them. May Allah forbid. I was advocate of this imminent danger and in fact wrote letters to all concerned Ministries.

I regret and feel sympathy for the owners of Khayer Factory whose Factory was destroyed by fire and may Allah reward them. It is shameful on our Government for not taking initiative and protection of facilities like this factory. Having fire trucks is the civil responsibilities of the Government and it is the first priority for all infrastructures. A simple fire truck with 30,000 Liters water tank and hoses costs about US$50,000. Although our economy is weak and dependent on meager taxation, it is hard to believe we couldn’t afford to provide one fire truck for each major city and Town in Somaliland. One other failure by the Government is that, it didn’t encourage or support the insurance companies established by local investors some years ago who made all efforts to provide insurance coverage for all automobiles with plans to diversify by adding insurance coverage of other facilities. How many automobile accidents are occurring daily with fatalities? With the increase of automobiles and lack of adequate roads, accidents and death or injury are daily occurrence.

Contributions (Qaadhaan & Magg) by the tribes became heavy burden and unbearable issue. How many houses are burnt with residents died in them? Who compensate them? The public has the right to basic equipments and rescue apparatus made available as far as our economic capability can allow.

The industrial sector in Somaliland is more venerable and susceptible to fire because most of the materials used in building and goods manufactured are fire hazardous. The investors in the industrial sector are nationalistic and courageous men and women entrepreneurs, who have burning desire to contribute to the economy of Somaliland, elevate unemployment and save hard earned currency for the national economy. Have these men and women got encouragement and assistance they are entitled from the Government? The answer is no. On the contrary, the Ministers concerned have been responsible for the duplication of factories which resulted loss of huge investments. A ready example is; there are 6 water bottling factories in Somaliland today and one is being planned. Does Somaliland have enough consumers for the production of 7 bottling factories?

The Ethiopian Insurance Company had visited Somaliland in 2006 and made a comprehensive survey. After they submitted their report, the Ethiopian Government had approved their recommendation to open branches of Ethiopian Insurance Company in major cities in Somaliland. According to the Ethiopian Ambassador in Hargeysa, the Ethiopian authority had forward draft agreement to this effect to Somaliland, but the Ministry concerned has not responded as yet. Had this agreement been implemented and Insurance Company established in Somaliland, the factories like Khayer would have been covered by insurance and Khayer’s fire destruction would have been compensated by the Insurance instead of attempts to campaign for fund raising for the owners.

In addition to Insurance, there are other draft agreements which Ethiopia and Somaliland have formulated and are still pending with the concerned Ministries in Somaliland:- 1) Opening branches of Ethiopian Commercial Banks in Somaliland, 2) Somaliland resources including fish, salt and locally manufactured goods to enter into Ethiopia without customs duty. The question that presents itself is, why these agreements are pending and not implemented? Aren’t these agreements more advantageous and beneficial to Somaliland than Ethiopia due to our economic situation? If the Executive body have failed, isn’t it the duty of parliament to raise these issues and issue a bill to expedite implementation of these agreements?

I would like to take this opportunity to advise the President of Somaliland Republic, Hon. Dahir Rayale Kahin that, freeing the Qaran politicians is the prime interest of Somaliland. Our reputation of being a democratic nation with history of peace and security is damaged by the imprisonment of these politicians whose struggle and contribution for Somaliland regaining its independent is undeniable and is written in the history with gold pens. Remember, bad political advisors are responsible for the downfall of Presidents in emerging nations, most of them in Africa.

e-mail:haraf@haraf_canada@hotmail.com