Tough Choices for Puntland

In a few months’ time, Puntlanders will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of Puntland State Adminstration. Unlike Somaliland, Puntland based its autonomy on the argument that building blocks approach is stepping stone to resurrecting the Somali state. It has redrawn the map and claimed chunks of land that Somaliland had claimed when it drew up a new map 1991. Puntlanders have witnessed two major political developments in post-1991 Somalia: the establishment of Trasitional National Government ( 2000-2004) headed by President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan, and the Transitonal Federal Government of Somalia ( TNG) , headed by President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the founding president of Puntland; power struggle that led to armed confrontation between forces of president Yuusf and Jama Ali Jama who claimed that he defeated Yusuf in election in 2002.

Aftera peace deal struck by traditional leaders from Somaliland and Puntland, hostilities were ceased. The agreement paved the way for the Puntland election in 2005 and the current Puntland president’s ascension to power net’s asscention after he defeated former acting Puntland president Mohamed Abdi Hashi by a small margin of votes.

Since former Puntland president now heads the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, Puntland administration channeled resources to the TFG then based in Baydhaba. Puntland recovered the ‘money’ it lent the struggling TFG. That strong partnership did not solve the misunderstanding between the TFG president and the former TFG prime Minister Ali Mohamed Geeddi. The misunderstanding was trigerred by Puntland adminstration’s insistence that exploration contracts signed by Puntland and an Autralian company should be honoured by the TFG. The former Somali primine minster posed questions as to legality of such contracts; Puntland challenged the TFG’s position through novel interpretations of the the transitional federal charter. In a policy statement Puntland government reiterated that it “will not, under any circumstances, accept a central government of totalitarian nature, where regions and districts happen to legitimize the powers of the centre only – such a system isolates the people from being stakeholders of the decision-making processes and lead to the collapse of statehood eventually as proved already.”

The Transtional Federal Government will seek to strike a balance between being assertive with regional adminstrations like Puntland and being meek in the face illegal deals with foreign companies. It boils down to the legal wrangling; each party can draw attention to authoritarian central state and war lords and regional leaders with rapacious disposition.

Puntland is facing an economic crisis caused by the regional government’s lenience when it comes to dealing with business men who bought money printing. Political assassinations are becoming commonplace in the port town of Bosaso. In addition, Puntland is not on good terms with its neighbor, Somaliland. All these challenges put Puntland administration in a position to make tough choices without withdrawing from the TFG or resuming hostilities between Puntland and Somaliland.

Next year Puntland presidential elections will take place. More than three candidates from the diaspora have shown interest in running for the Puntland presidency, but none of them have addressed social, security and economic challenges facing Puntlanders.

Mohamud Musse Hersi, the Puntland president, came to power in January 2005. He inherited a bloated bureaucracy. His presidency could have studied recommendations from Puntland Development Research Centre on good governance.

The [first] administration did not meet public expectations and rated administration’s effectiveness as extremely low. The gravest blunder committed constituted the fact that the managers of state organs had been selected on clan quota-allocation- MPs, Ministerial and Judicial posts and recruitment of police officers and civil servants- instead of on formal qualifications, merit and competence.

In any political environment there are people resistant to change but that does not absolve the Puntland leader from addressing ineffectiveness and inefficiency caused by a clan based quota system. President Mohamud Musse Hersi holds the view that Puntland problems can be addressed through economic development. He is unfashionably libertarian. In a meeting with Bosaso business community, Puntland president argued against government ownership pf utilities. “You see that the power station is working now properly. If it were public service utility, it could not function properly. Repeated power failures would have occurred. Privatisation is the solution,” he told the businessmen.

Three main tasks await president Mohamud Musse Hersi: beefing up security, strengthening Puntland-TFG partnership and ensuring that he leaves a positive legacy on which a future Puntland president can build. Being aware of these challenges will mean making tough choices.

Source: Somali Press Review