Truth be told, I hardly pay attention to politics, for it is a complete waste of time, esp. Somali politics, which is an insult to human intelligence. I could say Deni inherited those projects, and has done well in their implementation. He is a f*cking lunatic with tyrannical tendencies judging from the Bosaso incident alone. Out of pure stupidity, if memory serves me right, he is the only leader to have caused a bloody confrontation in that peaceful city.

Gents, This is hardly surprising, if one has visited these parts in recent years. This is truly tragic. I did observe rather odd dealings at Jigjiga (Ethiopian federalis), Wajeer (Kenyan police), and even in Xamar (heavily armed African soldiers), and almost got into a war of words with those at Wajeer, and Xamar. a) On my first trip to Xamar for 40 years, at the airport, an African soldier slightly pushed a Somali elderly lady, speaking to her in English, mouthing off orders to move away; as I was standing in a queue, in disbelieve, seeing what was unfolding in front of my eyes, and with many Somalis around, I was hoping one of the many people in front of me, incl. airport staff, would say something, but no one batted an eye, or even thought of it as an issue. When I spoke with the soldier in the most stern, possibly way one could muster in that situation, with a 300lb inflated African soldier in combat gear with a riffle in half mast, other Somalis were literally telling me to stay out of it, and leave him alone. As one of us here said, the general attitude there too was: it is a "minor and isolated incident". I hate what has become of Xamar, as that once beautiful city is no longer a Somali city. b) At Wajeer, Africans are policing, and inspecting Somalis; when I enquired where the Somali were, they laughed, in that annoyingly naive African laugh, saying "it is OK sir. welcome to Kenya". To cut a long story short, I asked one of them to bring his superior, who invited me to a tea, where I told him, he had no business in searching me on Somali soil; in the end, and I will not recount our conversation, the situation was sorted with his letting people through, and one of the officers serving us all tea. Again, other Somali were telling me to mind my own business. Still enraged, from afar, I spotted a Somali lady cleaning, I called her, fuming at the sight, in my most angry Somali shout "Naa yaa hee kaalay, duf ku baxe" asking her why are they not manning the airport; she said for fear of Al Shabaab, Somali staff are no longer stationed at the airport with Kenyans policing instead. The humility and subservience is beyond belief. c) In Jigjiga, according to some sources, there is a two-tier system where Ethiopians civilians can come in, and go as they please into the airport whereas Somalis are not permitted. This was compounded by a breakdown of communication where the average Somali speaks Somali, and Ethiopia federalis speak Amhari. I will not bore you with details of what I have observed at Jigjiga university, which is wholly taken over by Amharas. Our people are under occupation, and are being treated as second class citizens on their own soil. This can not go on. This must not be seen as a minor incident. One is not free, if one is not in control of his affairs.

Land / lot rate in Garacad: According to a local land broker, a 20 x 20 lot, in the old city, begins at 5,000 US dollars. Land by the beach is no longer for sale 'cos the local city council is busy with town planning, and for now lots has been placed on hold. In general though, lots by the beach is triple that of the town centre, unless of course one is local, or connected, in which case, it is negotiable. Be ware of the "dilaaliinta". Adjunct: What makes Garacd different from other port cities I have seen is that in a few miles, livestock is all around the city from "geel" to "adhi" of its different kinds. On the other direction, sea food is aplenty. Its weather is beautiful unlike Bosaso, Berbera, and Jabouti. Its biggest challenge is erosion, and sand dunes. I do hope the locals begin planting trees, and building levies against sand dunes. if not, and with climate change being what it is, city might be buried under sand in the near future.

The Somali territories are prime to grow, and develop with the border between Somali peoples eventually becoming irrelevant, as seen in my recent trips from Xamar, Hargeysa, Bosaso, Kismayo to Jigjiga. Was disappointed at Wajeer. It is a long, arduous recovery trek, but Somalis finally seem to be turning a corner. Our future depends on it. As people, we are left behind. Time to catch up. Build together. A word of warning to the online warrior commentators in the West, go home, see the reality on the ground, help where you can, and be part of the development.

I bought a small piece of land (100 x 150) from an old friend from the area in 2018, and paid a fraction of what I paid for 40 x 35 in outer skirts of Hargeisa in 2007, but I am sure a lot has changed since then; I shall ask a local land broker in Garacad as to the going rate per sq ft now, bearing in mind the locals go by per lot. I have no idea how the relationship dynamics of Deni vs Madoobe are.

This reminds me of a repartee between B. Gates, and S. Jobs in the mid 2000s, where Jobs was talking up the smart device, and Gates opined: why on earth does any one want a boxy palm device when one could have a thin laptop - MSFT was secretly incubating the Surface tablet idea at the time; here, Gates could not envisage the paradigm shift on the horizon, albeit mostly financed novel, if critical Apple projects (the two being close friends). Now, S. Wozniak's take, the de facto Apple engineer, who built the first Mac, was of a different kind. Garacad port facts (metre): Depth: 10.25m - 15.5m (berths A - D) Width: 120m - 157m Freight tonnage: 10 - 30 thousand ton ships (berths A - D). Depth of other local ports (metre) *: Kismaayo: 11m serves** 511 thou Mogadishu: 10m serves 1.4 million Berbera: 10m serves 232 thou Bossaso: 8m, the smallest in the country, serves 1.2 million. * to be confirmed. ** Serves in terms of population. Distance to (km): Galkacyo 240, Tuur Dibi (Xadka DDS) 303, Boosaaso 920, Muqdisho 750, Berbera 1,400 Funds earmarked for the project were 305 million with less than a third of the funds being used, and even though unconfirmed, the first toll-based private road might be built to connect Garacad to Tuur Dibi. The Wadaagsan group are advised to consider funding the road project, since they have got the funds in hand, and fold it into the bigger port project. As costed, they could recoup the investment in less than 10 years. A worthy investment, methinks.

Indeed, one small. yet important step forward for the Somalis. Let us hope it (nation building) spreads, and continues in all regions. A man, who is not a master of his affairs, is not a free man.

Garacad port, berths A & B, open for business on Sat.

Just so you know 45.7 billion, with a "b" US Dollars had been misappropriated as part of the Covid-19 relief funds. One person of European distraction has taken 168 million. Another business, which made no PPEs was awarded 500 million. This is not to remove blame from those found guilty of grand larceny, but did you ask yourselves, why focus on the 250 million by the minorities? To put this in context, 3.5 trillion was shelled out by the US government towards the relief fund.

In my humble estimation, by far the worse outcome.The populist gales, which gave the world Brexit, Drumpf, Zeman, Kurtz, Bolsonaro, Orben and the like now deliver Deni. A dark era, a shot to the federalism, and end of the road for the region. On what planet was this even possile. These juvenile MPs are fools in high visibility vests in the wind.

And what formulae did you apply to have to determine his being inept?

I agree, yet he is not my numero uno, and most are decent folk barring Gaadaale. It is the intentions of some one must be wary of.

This analyses looks as if it is coming from a source unfamiliar with the political landscape of the region. My prediction: In lap one, Cali CIise is likely to glean 2/3rds of Sool, 1/3rd of Mudug, and 1/3rd of Bari to move onto the 2nd lapse, 31% of the votes. If it goes past the 2nd round, it' ll be "laba-Cali, wiil iyo abtigi". Earlier today, I was listening to a local radio station phone-in poll from the public, and here was their finding: 1. Cali X Warsame 46.6% 2. Asad Cisman 17% 3. Cali Ciise 11% Gaas 4.4% Mudan 6.6% Morgon 4.4 Juxa 2.2% Deni 2.2% Jabiye 2.2% Others did not get a looking.

Galbeedi, Am only feeding you a spoonful of goodies a piece at a time as if a huntsman feeding his quarry prior to effecting the final blow, for you appear not to have acquired the requisite flair for researching obscure subjects beyond your sphere, yet so full of misplaced gumption, which I find rather endearing. Ata lad. Again, keep the arguments brief and precise, if you so could, should you want me to follow your logic, and repeat not yourself where applicable. Ya badaawi, “geeljirenimo” is the highest accolade one could bestow upon a nomad, yet it appears you have not developed shine for “kaftan”, and are still in the Dila sticks; kaftan aside though, I think we said all that could be said on the matter; so, moving along. Addendum: But first, allow me to let you in a little secret; in my most recent visit to the region, esp. the said two regions, I paid a close attention to three areas of interest namely: a) Work force & skillset, b) Cost of Qat, socially and economically with an emphasis upon hard currency leaving the country in planes, and c) Revenue generating constructs along with VAT collection mechanism. I was saddened by the former (a), shocked by secundus (b), and encouraged by the latter ©. On the heels of such discoveries, and with respect to the former, I paid sanctioned visits to the old Hargeisa Polytechnic, now a budding university, EA Bosaso, one of the better seats of learning in the region, and GTec (Garowe), a teacher training facility; equally of interest, and in good spirit, I paid guided visits to the ministries of finances in both regions, and main ports ( Bossaso & Berbera in that order). These were not casually mere stopovers, but deliberately inspecting, if guided, yet unscientific, and only armed with my engineering trained skills & tools, by local authorities with general directors furnishing discernible data. Valuable data, not for public consumption, I gleaned, ergo my enthusiasm, and less cynicism, unlike you young Turks spewing malevolent rhetoric. With duly enthusiasm, I entered, was consumed by melancholy with tears being shed during, but left with smiles, aspirations, and hope. A great deal of potential, there i observed with silent heroes all round. Word to the wise, give politics a rest, and instead focus upon and invest in, brain and brawn, what & where (skill, re-acculturating, and hard work ethics) [it] matters the most. Adjunct: Bemused, I was with this bold statement; how dare you sir, attempt to engage in a serious conversation with data as deprecated as 80s'; do you not recall what was going in the NE regions back then? This was at the height of the armed rebellion with the majority of the population displaced in the said regions, most at the time, living in Somali Galbeed (DDSI) with entire villages burnt to the ground; I did not relaise I was conversing with a young lad still hanging unto the tail of his dear mama’s skirt (irresistible joke; hana gadoodin dee sida reerka lagu yaqaan ;--). It is all in jest. Put it, let me in a perspective you could identify with, with your being a nomad and all, shall I? Do you recall Borama back in the 80s prior to Awdal being designated as a region, and even years after Baki was the designate capital for the then would-be regional Awdal region? Do you recall how tiny Borama was back then (it was technically a daabiyad, even if that) in terms of population and city-wise in comparison to today? If so, then let that be a comparable barometer for your burgeoning wit when engaging in discussion concerning NE regions, or any other region in the old country now that we have established your restrained, if contrived exposure. "In the early eighties when I traveled the highway from Gaalkacayo to Garoowe, the only village that was visible was Burtine, with two blocks on both side of the highway. " Till then, I shall bid you farewell.

انا لله وانا اليه راجعون; How very tragic, yet so unnecessary.

Galbeedi, I thought you were a reading man; show malaha ninkaagani lafaha hoose ayaad geeljire ka ahayd; ya badaawi;—) sorry, could not resist taking a soft dig at your expense. Besides, I am in a charitable mood today, and shall indulge you. Here is the relevant info. See the last worksheet titled “sheet9”, and you will notice a budget line item 13103, row 58 column D. Budget breakdown, 2017. Again, our focus must be upon creating skilled work force (notice I did not say educated), which in turn would accelerate the ability & tools to lowering overall poverty rate, if unable to eradicate it altogether, availing clean water to the locals, and creating sustainable native economic development projects incl. modernising livestock & husbandry industries, and fishery and marine resources.. Best of luck.

And for reference, here are the projected 2017 Budgets for SL, PL, and the federal gov’t. SL. https://imgur.com/mVN9TA9 SL 2017 budget. PL. https://imgur.com/cOyI0OR PL 2017 budget Federal. https://imgur.com/kyDcN8z Federal 2017 budget

Oodweyne, I actually read the report a couple of times, and your questions are valid.

See, Galbeedi, now you are getting it. Monopoly eliminates startups & kills completion, and by extension narrows wealthy distribution, which in turn shrinks the middle class. For example, in the UK, the largest middle class, per community, are the Indians, who, by and large, control small businesses in the UK. Conversely, the lowest are the West Indies, who own almost no small businesses in the UK with no discernible representation in the middle class. And the same applies to these regions. Samalfal spoke to it well.

Galbeedi, Point taken, apology accepted, and offered in return. I think deep down you are a decent run of the mill person, potentially misguided, but well-intentioned, and I will take back the amateur personalyses granted you could be persuaded to refrain from hasty, rash postulations, and being all over the map, esp. when discussing subjects beyond your metier, which I find rather infuriating. Truth be told, I am not in the least bit interested in Somali politics, however the report attracted my attention for two reasons: a) it contains measurable trendies in the Horn, and b) it highlights the sufferable, desperate conditions under which people are living. That breaks my heart. That interests me. And I could not care less about anyone’s political persuasion. I am more concerned about the young Somali student with no discernible future, and the prevailing hopelessness in the region. But I realise none of that interests most ‘cos many are physiologically jarred. By all means, criticise away at your heart’s content ‘cos that is part & parcel of being one with the people. It would be a missive on your part to do otherwise. And by the way, for the record, and based upon my knowledge of the regions, and I do know of and about both regions, I would argue Northeast has larger concentration of nomads than Northwest, but ‘cos I do not have actual data to cite, I will therefore leave it till verifiable data has been published by yet another NGO. Oodweyne, I will read your note tomorrow. Could not keep it short, could you?

^^ You are talking about used methodologies of collecting data, which could be questioned and debated, however scientific methods and statistical formulae had been applied to analyse the data. The two are not mutually exclusive. Surely, you are not suggesting otherwise, are you? Again, the focus must be upon deplorable conditions and glaring findings of the report mainly about lack of access to improved water (not clean water), incredibly low academic fulfillment and skillset, and lack of development in the country as a whole. I do realise that is hard for many, but try applying yourselves and squeeze that thinking organ.

As people, we have got our priorities upside down. This is what we should be talking about instead of the usual diatribe of "mine is bigger or better" than yours. “In line with other relevant non-monetary indicators, such as education and employment, households living in North East show a relatively low degree of inequality in access to an improved source of water between urban and rural areas. Indeed, more than seven in ten people living in urban households of North East have access to an improved source of water, against about 5 in ten in rural areas; a stark contrast to the North West region, where only 52 percent of urban dwellers and 9 percent of people living in rural households report access to an improved source of water (Figure 2.23). “

I do not know if that is the case. besides, healthy rivalry between regions and "xifaaltan" among peoples is acceptable, and even encouraged, but downright ignorance with four legs in trousers in a broad daylight is nauseating.

Wow, really man. have you no decency. I really do not know what to make of that, but then again, at best, trying to have a conversation with a Somali person is like talking to a person suffering from a rare type of schizophrenia. Did you just call me a liar without having any reasonable cause or evidential material data to support your argument, or refute what was presented in the report? "It said , statistics do not lie, but liars use statistics. I have never seen anywhere about Puntland budget reaching %160 million." Just to demonstrate the foggy nature of your psyche and your lapse in sound reading, there are Cagaarre, Heema, Daara Salam, Bacaadweyn, Xarfo, and then Buurtinle. And that is just naming a few on the main tarmac road. why do you insist on postulating upon subjects beyond your grasp, i will never know. "On the rural issue, Puntland has the lowest number of villages and rural communities. Between Garoowe and Gaalkacayo, which is almost 250km , there is one single town called Burtinle." Again, what are we basing this on? and please try data, figures and hard statistics unless of course you are a Drumfite, in which case, never mind. "Of course Somaliland has huge rural population, from Awdal to Sanaag which could triple in size than Puntland," I will leave it there. how does one form an opinion without studying data presented, i will never know. only Somalis can do that with a straight face. Naturally, civilised people use scientific and mathematical data to make or support a point, but why bother with that when you have got your own home-grown facts and conjectures. plus, a cultured person would try to understand what he/she does not know to expand his spectrum, but a Somali's purview is confined to his small range, village, family, or clique. all else does not matter. damn you people, when will you ever evolve from being accursed nomads. "To be honest I did not read the report, but ..."