By Ibrahim Adam Ghalib, Borama.

Generally civic society and the private sector in this country operate under a climate of conflict and socio-economic fragmentation. The administration is intrusive and the degree of controls that the government imposes to these organizations is very great. The power base of the administration is very narrow and it is hard to get any general policy based recommendations through.

In Awdal region they divided the people rather than bridging differences. The opposition populace in this region is marginalized unlike other regions. Accessibility to the collective goods is only to those favorite groups and political loyalty became a matter of ethnic affiliation. While the bigger slices of the state pie goes to the other regions yet any developmental projects that we come with is always undermined by the administration.

The business community mobilized itself for the first time to fill their space in the public domain and formed an association called Awdal road net works association to pave the road from Borama to Dilla. They dipped into their pockets and contributed a good amount of money to start with. The governor of Awdal and the mayor of Borama attended the first meeting. The mayor explicitly expressed that he wants to pave two kilometers in the city and would like the business community to assist in this project. The governor who felt unease who he saw opposition members of the community in the meeting supported the business community instead of bridging the conflict of interest between the two.

It was obvious from the start that there is a conflict of interest. In subsequent meetings the governor was time and again expressing that the government supports this project. He was always denying media reports that the administration is derailing this important project. This was first reported by the confident young man Hashim Gott in Harowo website.

All of a sudden the minister of public works was dispatched to the region. One of his missions was to dislodge the activity of Arna and make it government controlled. He told the distinguished business community that they have acted as a state. After that meeting a delegation was sent to Hargeysa and a deal was struck to include government members in the organization. In here Arna lost its credibility as a private sector to trust. This is in violation to the democratic governance.

Unfortunately the government do not understand that a notion where civic society and the private sector has strong voice which is heard by the state and democratically contested is one in which the state gains legitimacy. It was obvious that the governor was working behind the scenes to freeze this project. The supportive speeches he was spelling all the time was mere slogans and a political game. How the stake holders and the donor agencies will trust this organization?

Frankly speaking the country is not politically stable. The institutions are not functioning democratically. There are no independent courts that can legally and independently translate the constitutional law when there is a conflict. The top brass are mostly from military rank and file and are the guardians that made corruption to continue in the country. Lack of professional leadership is also another major constrains that made civic and private sector in competent to fulfill their mission.

The administration believes if they empower the people to participate in the decision making process is a threat to their power. They do not understand that involving the people to participate and manage their affairs without interference of the state is the best way to obtain sustainable development. The poor people of this country are politically, economically and socially exploited. They are depressed and lost sight and can hardly differentiate between bad and good.

Despite the existence of government, traditional ethnic structures and dominant forces are extremely influential. In a globalized world today the state can no longer play alone a proactive role in terms of guaranteeing the political and economical needs of the country. The private sector along with a vibrant civic society can handle these tasks. The state has legal obligations to respect, promote and protect the right to political and economical participation and have to adopt an equivocal pro people stance. The administration will act as a facilitator and encourage the people to have a greater role over the direction of their lives.

Civic society rests on the premise of the community being free from the controlling power of the state, yet regulated by law. In this respect people acquire the habit of thinking, deciding, working together and overcoming their differences and solve conflicts. They contribute their time, effort and money if they can afford it.

The appointed and elected officials must listen rather than lecture. They are to be patient and not interrupt. They have to learn rather than teach. This will improve the democratic process and bring sustainable development to the people.

The role of the Academy for Peace and Development is not apparent. The role of the academy is to actively engage in making government to understand the activities of vibrant civic society and the private sector and how they can interact with the state.

The media in this country lacks the know how to educate and report that the participation of these societies is healthy for our development. Control of the media by government does not permit the communication necessary for healthy civic society to develop.

It is important to develop and give priority to human capital to get needed skilled manpower. These organizations should be encouraged to offer educational programs that are shorter in duration and produce quick results and immediate visible impact. This will bring the best minds in the public service and they should be paid accordingly.

Institution building depends primarily on experienced cadre committed to the public accountability and willing to take risks in asking sensitive questions about how public funds are used. If these interests cannot be expressed publicly how would government power be checked?

We must draw a strategy to work together and help educate both the elected and appointed officials that no one institution –civic society and the state- over power the other, there by making a balanced shared responsibility.

The government should recognize and encourage the civic society and the private sector as a democratic and sustainable development. In return the cooperation of these organizations with the state is vital for good governance, peace building, reduced vulnerability, improve access to social services and economic growth and diversification.

kaalib33@hotmail.com