Public Confidence Boosts Post-Conflict Recovery in Laascaanood

[Deeq A.]

The newly built SSCK Khatumo Parliament in Laascaanood.

Laascaanood (PP News Desk) —Laascaanood, the administrative capital of Sool and the seat of the Sool, Sanaag, Cayn and Khatumo interim administration (SSCK) is recovering from a seven-month-long conflict during which Somaliland administration forces laid siege to the city. Some of those who endured the daily shelling of Laascaanood by secessionist forces now share stories of heroism and survival. “I was just 15 metres from the spot where Amiir Digaale was killed by a howitzer shell,” said Adan, a young man who now works for the Laascaanood Municipality.

Not far from Gooladda (the roundabout) in Laascaanood, the Puntland Post correspondent saw a soldier searching a car whose driver was carrying a weapon in violation of the policy barring civilians from bearing arms. The driver obliged and handed over the gun to a group of soldiers from Ciidanka Xasilinta (the Stabilising Force), which was established after the storming of Goojacadde Barracks in August 2023. Public patience for locals who disregard rules and policies designed to transform Laascaanood into a city governed by the rule of law is wearing thin.

Economic growth is becoming evident in Laascaanood, thanks in part to a two-pronged investment strategy by the SSCK diaspora. They not only fund the interim administration but also invest in business ventures in the city. “The difference between an administration formed by the people of Laascaanood and one imposed on them by a few local foot soldiers paid by the secessionist administration is clear to everyone here,” a businesswoman from East Laascaanood told Puntland Post.

One of the supermarkets opened in Laascaanood after the conflict.

The SSCK Finance Ministry has devised a mechanism to collect tax revenues from various sectors, with the goal of reducing reliance on diaspora contributions. SSCK interim administration has not officially published  any budget subsidies from either the Federal Government of Somalia or Puntland State of Somalia.

It remains unclear whether the SSCK interim administration declined to accept its share of funds that the Federal Government wired to Puntland State, or whether the Garowe-based administration refused to allocate a portion of those funds to SSCK—an administration that, under the federal system, remains officially part of Puntland State of Somalia. Last month, SSCK Finance Minister Abdiqani Hirad told Somali National Television, “We receive  subsidy from the Federal Government of Somalia.”

The lessons from Laascaanood’s post-conflict economic recovery lie in the confidence people have in the political order and institutions their leaders have established. This confidence, in turn, boosts investor trust, creating what Mohamud, a member of Laascaanood City Council, described as “a virtuous circle.”             

 © Puntland Post, 2024

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