Puntland Needs to be rescued from the Federal Government

[Jacaylbaro]

In the interest of disclosure, I have never been involved in Puntland politics but my father was for a long time. He was one of its founders and held the position of vice president and later become president for short period before he lost a fair and transparent election to Puntland's current president. Through my family connection, I found myself paying close attention to the state of affairs in Puntland. I would like to share some my feelings about current events and how they could shape the future of Puntland.

 

The state of Puntland is in political and economic turmoil. All branches of the government are at or near dysfunctional stage. People accuse the government to cater to the needs of Mogadishu more than it does to its people. The economy has been in deterioration for some time, and people feel that their wealth is either heading straight to Mogadishu and the TFG or ending up in the pockets of individuals possessed by greed and incompetence.

 

There are so many things going wrong in Puntland today that everybody has a favorite line or an example of what went wrong. Here is mine. I have been struggling to understand the irony that Puntland, only few months ago was unable to defend itself from an attack deep into its territory by forces from Hargeisa, yet it somehow miraculously was capable of sending thousands of troops, arsenal, money and other logistical support across a foreign country into an armed conflict taking place thousands of kilometers away. How did they do it?

 

What are the priorities here? I think it is worthwhile to briefly look back in history to get some prospect of what led to the creation of Puntland in the first place.

 

The State of Puntland was created in 1998 as a result of a common vision shared by its people. This vision was based on three objectives:

 

* Create an entity that is responsible for the collective peace and security of the region and encourages economic development and improvement of social services.

 

* Engage people in other parts of the country in an active dialogue to end hostilities and work together to preserve the country's unity and start national reconciliation talks.

 

* Ensure that the people of Puntland get a fair share of representation in future national governments.

 

Nine years have passed since then and with a number of positive achievements such as establishment of fair and transparent election process, strengthening of peace and security - at least initially, and creating an environment conducive to economic development by private entrepreneurs. On the other hand, a number of things went wrong during the same period. The cumulative effect of the wrong doings has raised serious concerns among many in the region. At the top of the list is wide spread security vulnerability and economic deterioration across the entire region.

 

Failed security

 

Puntland was founded on the understanding that security of the region is at the top of its priorities. As a result Puntland built an army capable of defending its territory. Today, the army is a little more than groups of armed tribal men incapable of responding effectively to threats facing the region.

 

For example, few months ago a heavily armed force from Hargeisa attacked and captured the town of Dahar, located at the heart of Puntland about 30 km west of Gardho and the highway that is the lifeline of Puntland. For almost a week Puntland's army was no where to be seen. Local residents, out numbered and poorly equipped, bravely engaged the enemy long enough to make them nervous about being surrounded and cut off from all sides in an unfamiliar territory. They withdrew hastily in fear of an all out attack from Puntland's army which in reality is barely a shadow of what it was, just few years ago.

 

The truth is the army of Hargeisa was perfectly capable to march 30 km east to the city of Gardho, rattle its residents and cut off the highway. Doing so, even for few hours, would have been a dramatic victory for them and a devastating blow to the psyche of Puntland and its people. Although its action was half hearted at best, Hargeisa made its point very clear. No place in Puntland is far from its reach. Hostile troops are camped out 25 km from Las Anod, and everybody knows how close Galkayo came to fall into the hands of Islamic courts late last year.

 

Where is Puntland's army? For all practical purposes it disintegrated as result of years of low morale, unpaid wages and constant brain drain due to active recruitment of its officers and soldiers by the Federal government. They are fighting in the streets of Mogadishu and beyond and Puntland government has an obligation to make sure they get paid on time.

 

It is no secret that many people in Puntland and all its governments including my father's administration have given an unwavering support to the Federal government. In doing so, Puntland has lost sight of something very important- itself. There are a lot of questions people are asking themselves and their leaders:

 

How do you balance Puntland's needs for security and economic development against those of the federal government?

 

Is there a limit on the sacrifice we make to help out the TFG at the expense of our own people? Where do you draw the line?

 

To put it bluntly, does the leadership of Puntland, past and present, has any say over how much of their resources the TFG can take? Can they say no?

 

Does president Yusuf has the ultimate say in what can or cannot happen inside Puntland? Is he the only real authority behind the scenes? Does he has an undeniable right to the presidency of Puntland, and can claim it at anytime or transfer it to anyone he chooses? If the answer is yes to all of these questions, then let us be honest and ask the president to nominate a governor and dismantle the government of Puntland. All it takes is a decree. Haddii meeshu tahay mukhaayad Cabdullaahi Yusuf leeyahy, dee beenta joojiya oo dabka xaabo ku gura.

 

 

The failed economy

 

The news on the economic front while not as bad as the security situation is nonetheless bleak. The port of Bossaso, the economic engine of Puntland and many other parts of Somalia is suffering from excessive taxation, corruption, and nepotism. It is becoming more and more difficult for innovative entrepreneurs to do business and create jobs and opportunities. Meanwhile, poor and misguided government regulations and agreements with foreign entities have only exacerbated the plight of the business community.

 

The latest example is the agreement that allows one foreign born individual to have monopoly on livestock export out of Puntland. This agreement not only prevents local businesses from making a living in the most important economic sector of Somalia, but it also grantees him a fixed price for each head of livestock. I am sure a trip to the local animal market would have been enough to enlighten those who crafted this ridiculous agreement about the basics of a free market economy.

 

 

Conclusion

 

The biggest threat to the existence of Puntland is the relationship it has with the federal government of Somalia. This relationship must be defined in detail in an open and transparent talk between the two sides. Failure to do so will undoubtedly lead to the demise of Puntland as we know it. If the federal government cannot take care of the needs of the people of Puntland, then it has no right to deprive its people the ability to care for themselves using their own resources. We want the federal government to succeed. But we are not prepared to bear its entire burden on the back of Puntland and its people. It is in interest of the federal government to save its cash cow, for lack of a better word, from oblivion.

 

The people of Puntland have two choices. Sit down and seriously negotiate with the federal government to define the nature of the relationship between the two sides. The other choice is simple: prepare yourselves to welcome a governor in Garowe. I think Mohamed Dheere would be an interesting choice for that matter. At least he is tough on security.

[Jacaylbaro]

SOURCE

[Thankful]

Jacaylbaro, humiliated ex-Puntland minister Faroole sons made Garoweonline, so they have there own agenda. With regards to the writer of this article, I say think of Al Gore's son writing an article attacking the current U.S admin, would anyone take him serious? What would their responses be? His son wouldn’t be uneducated enough to even bother, but not in Somali politics! No wonder his father is no longer president and lost a fair election to a man that came to Puntland only a few years earlier, but I guess whatever you see, as negative towards Puntland is good for you. Everyone knows what happened when Somaliland tried to bring a delegation so close to Puntland and what they did to that military commander after the humiliation, a very long, long list of humiliations.

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

Cade Muuse painted him self as progressive reformer and that is why he won against Maxamed Abdi Xashi a former president known to be a little inflexible. He apparently disagrees with his father by questioning if Abdullahi has the last say on everything puntland but clearly we know that is not the case. If puntland is doing everything possible to see to the return of a central, it should be cause for pride more then anything else. This federal experiment is a puntland idea, we, must keep in mind and for puntland not give hundred percent would be wrong. I Also think that the authers analysis is a little exagerated. Puntland, unlike Somaliland sees not need to station troops in every city or town that might interfer in peoples way of life. When Somaliland attacked Dhahar, they were chased out like every other town they tried to take over:Xuddun, Buhoodle, Las Anod. As for the Port Bosaso, its doing better then any port in Somalia.

[xiinfaniin]

Puntland is TFG's step-daughter.Ethiopia is the elder wise man for both, and Somaliland is a distant cousin of theirs---all united in their loyalty to Ethiopia. When it comes to handling south central Somalia, a troubled sibling of both Puntland and Somaliland, they are benignly yet subtly in cahoots (more so to Puntland than the other) to tame it so the elder in Adis gets the respect it deserves.

 

That’s in the context of the current political matrix lest you mistaken it for lineage.

[Jacaylbaro]

I always thought and heard from our members that Puntland is part of somalia and recently the tfg took over the militia to be the tfg troops ,,,, i'm wondering how some ppl are calling PL to be saved from the tfg ......... it is like the tfg is against PL ,,,

[Fabregas]

Cade Muuse painted him self as progressive reformer and that is why he won against Maxamed Abdi Xashi a former president known to be a little inflexible.

 

 

You make it sound like the man was elected by the people.......

[General Duke]

^^He was elected by the resp's of the people, like all presidents before him even the late great Adan Cade, A/rashid and so on.

 

He has a mandate, however this article is bull, Puntland is part of the TFG and thats that.