Even if a fair and open tender process were to take place Dahabshiil would almost certainly come out on top to prove that they can reopen and maintain the factory for a cheaper price and more profitability. It appears Duke just wants to shout "fire" when there's no smoke.

Well According to the NDP of Somaliland the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to expand its representative offices and strengthen their capacity between now and 2016, so if anything the ministry will become even larger. The ministry's plans for 2012-2016: The ministry intends to spend $6 million USD alone on expansion and nearly $1 million of that will go to expanding its worldwide offices

Looks like Ali Khalif's project is officially dead in the water. The abandonment of the state by TFG and PL not to mention the signifcant challenge posed by Somaliland ensured that this idea was short lived.

HARGEISA-Telesom Communication the leading communication provider in Somaliland is partnering with Google in a proposal to offer mobile chat, email and sms to its customers. Mr. Divan Lan, Google Representative for Sub Saharan Africa visited Telesom’s headquarter in Hargeisa the capital of Somaliland on Wednesday March 7, 2012. Mr. Divan Lan was given a tour of Telesom’s headquarter and facilities by company executives as they enlighten him on the company’s history and services. During the tour Divan Lan noticed that Telesom’s equipment and operation far exceeded what he was expecting. Divan Lan’s visit will make Google the first major information technology company to visits Somaliland in a bid to be part of Somaliland’s booming information technology market. With the expected arrival of the fiber optic cable connection to Somaliland the country’s limited internet infrastructure is expected to attract foreign firms and now that Google has taken the lead by partnering with Telesom Somaliland’s information technology sector is sure to develop. Speaking to the press after the tour Telesom Company’s Mr. Mohamoud Abdirahman spoke about the agreement that their company signed with Google on April of 2011 which made today’s visit of Mr. Divan Lan to Somaliland successful. Mr. Abidrahman also highlighted that Telesom is currently in the beta test of all services that they plan to partner with Google such as mobile chat, emails, and sms. About Telesom Telesom is one of the leading and most respected names in Somaliland which not only continues to bring innovation and connect this unrecognized republic but also contribute to the development of the community. Telesom funds many of the leading high learning institutions in the country as well as underprivileged students, funds and sponsors social events and brings awareness. They also contribute to the rehabilitation of roads and are currently the main investor of Borama-Dilla highway. http://somalilandpress.com/somaliland-telesom-and-google-partner-on-mobile-chat-email-and-sms-26789

This could prove to be either beneficial to Somaliland's development or allows Ethiopia to increase its political influence in the country

FreshPrince;800525 wrote: Are you clinically retard sxb? As usual, Fresh must resort to insults to drive his feeble arguments. The union was between two sovereign and independent states and can thus be dissolved into their constituent entities. The admission by Sharif that Somaliland was an integral and key part of the unification only furthers the point that it was and still is a sovereign and independent actor in the political sphere.

Loooool. Amin is too funny and insightful. I think all the people in PL camp need to chill out and learn to laugh at themselves because when Amin jokes about Somaliland you guys always seem to find the humour in that

It appears that Ali Khalif's project is on increasingly unstable footing with each passing day, It does not build confidence when the TFG claims to support you one day and then not even acknowledge you the next. All the meanwhile Somaliland still controls the capitals of both Sool and Sanag.

Hmm...interesting. Google has expanded everywhere else in Africa, seems like a natural progression to move into Somaliland.

FreshPrince;799711 wrote: We don't arrest or shoot guests like we're savages. We're not like you. So it appears that when Fresh tires from repeating the same points he resorts to name calling and insults. I find it fascinating how one can have such conviction to an entity that neither controls or administers the vast majoirty of the territory it claims.

Excellent news. Investing in infrastructure development In Somaliland especially in Sanaag will have a major multiplier effect on the social and economic well being of the country

Beautiful pics. The new school looks amazing, but I have to say that the picture above ^^^ is my favorite

^^^Don't know why you're pushing reconciliation so hard, if anything the Somaliland government has been emboldened as of late due the international community's acceptance of Somaliland as a distinct and separate entity from Somalia.

Dr_Osman;798327 wrote: black hawks Can you stop with this complete and utter BS? Your admin does not posses any UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. The cost of one is 21.3 million USD which is half PLs tiny budget of 38 million. In addition,they require even more money to maintain with spare parts and training pilots and mechanics. If you can show me photo evidence of Puntland militia using them then I'll be satisfied but since I know you're making up complete and utter lies, I know it won't happen just like the fighter jets "Cowke" was talking about. You're lies and propaganda are worse than Fox News.

"Foreign direct investors will pay no tax for three years. After that they will have to pay only 10% on profits, which can be freely repatriated. There will be full compensation for any expropriations, which would be done only in the "public interest". There will also be no minimum wage. Shire listed a number of foreign investors already doing business in Somaliland, including Coca-Cola, Western Union and Nubian Gold." I'm not a fan of neoliberalism or the Washington consensus, but it appears that this "trade barrier removal" and "investment liberalization" method appears to be giving Somaliland's economy significant amounts of investment and foreign exchange. I suppose time will tell if this experiment in neoliberalism was the right way forward. I for one am optimistic though.

^^ I'm wondering if Nassir will dismiss the NYT article as pushers of colonial agendas too...

Xaaji Xunjuf;796794 wrote: The most remarkable thing about Somaliland is that, whatever the claims to the contrary, it was founded as a genuinely multi-clan polity, and no other multi-clan Somali political entity has been so successful and with such genuinely local involvement. This is what many people tend to forget. Somaliland's foundation was built on the consensus of various stakeholders within the country. This meant that engagement and deliberation between all were key to foundation of the nation which is why Somaliland has the best democratic credentials in the whole region.

Duke sure is sipping on the "oil will solve everything" kool-aid. You seem to use it as a crutch in all your arguments even when it's not relevant. The truth is that the oil development will be in the exploration phase for quite some time and commercial production won't even start for at least a decade. Moving on, according to international law there is no "junior" or "senior" distinction for states meaning that all states' sovereignty is seen as equal and inalienable. This means that the union between Somaliland and Somalia was between equal sovereign states and according to the law these states can nullify this union as was the case with Senegal and the Gambia, Egypt and Syria, the dissolution of the USSR and between the Czech Rep and Slovakia,

^^^ Everyone knows that Erigavo is under the full control of Somaliland, it's been flying the flag for 20 years. SL has several government offices operating in the city, has a large amount of troops stationed there and held numerous elections there. I don't even know why you even try to contest that fact. Unless you can show clear evidence of some other admin operating there then don't make these wild claims. On the other hand Galkayo is a divided city in the truest sense as three administrations operate within the city.

Somalia;795674 wrote: Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Faroole Big surprise there. Anyway, as unorthodox as it sounds I nominate Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, He proves that one doesn't have to be Somali to genuinely care about the plight of its people. This article he wrote from last year really captures it: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/10/10/the_tears_of_somalia

i got to hand it to Silanyo's administration, they managed to create an effective government bureaucracy that's all about efficiency and service delivery. Raising the national budget to $107 million USD after only 2 1/2 years in power is quite impressive. Looks like they're well on their way to their $150 million USD by 2016 target as indicated in the national development plan. Is the main reason for increase due to the government collecting unpaid taxes from big corporations (Dahabshiil, SomTel) or is it from the VAT they're starting to roll out?

Great development. Ensuring maritime security is imperative for Somaliland's economy due to the importance berbera holds for it's numerous industries.

These oil figures are all over the place. One article says 19 billion barrels, this article says 100 billion and the new Reuters articles cites a lowly 300 million barrels. "Africa Oil and its partners in the two Puntland licences, Australia's Red Emperor and Range Resources, are targeting prospective resources of over 300 million barrels of recoverable oil." Which is it?

^^^ I never said Somaliland invented development strategies. Don't put words into my mouth. Almost every developing country has multi year growth strategies like PRSPs, SWAPs, or 2020 visions. I was pointing out the fact that the "Doctor" always accuses others of following Puntland's actions when in this case if we were to use his faulty logic, it would be the other way around.

Somalia;794708 wrote: Man, did you guys invent development plans? :rolleyes: He's not literally accusing Puntland of copying Somaliland, he's just using the same logic that Osman applies to anything Somaliland does which is "SOMALILAND IS COPYING PUNTLAND!!!" On a related note, I don't think its a coincidence that the Doctor made this thread only hours after I refuted his points in another thread using the Somaliland National Development Plan as evidence. He never responded to my rebuttal regarding the true figures of SL's budget and instead made this thread to flaunt Puntland's development strategy.