Somaliland special arrangement New Deal

Carafaat · September 21, 2013

Somaliland and the Special Arrangement in the new deal.

Chapter V. SOMALILAND SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Framing the Somaliland Special Arrangement

Somaliland’s unique development trajectory has evolved out of a process of more than 20 years of

grassroots peacebuilding and statebuilding, forged in relative isolation from other development

contexts characterising the region. Over time, a complex and resilient institutional structure has

taken shape in which modern institutions, traditional and religious authorities, the private sector and

civil society work together in order to effectively ensure peace, stability, freedom against piracy and

terrorism, economic growth, the delivery of basic services, the protection of livelihoods and social

development. Since the ratification of the Somaliland Constitution by popular referendum in 2001,

Somaliland’s development path has been led by five democratically-elected governments, with the

House of Elders (Guurti) playing a traditionally-mandated role in maintaining peace, order and

cultural integrity.

The Somaliland Special Arrangement lays out a way forward for institutionalising on-going

Somaliland processes and initiatives within an overarching and equal partnership between the

Somaliland government, its people and the international community. It is underpinned by a need to

protect and build upon Somaliland’s development gains, as a means for maintaining and expanding

upon security and economic prosperity throughout the Horn of Africa. The Somaliland Special

Arrangement represents an important element of a larger shift in approach to development partner

engagement.

The Somaliland Special Arrangement is a separate and distinct part of the Somali Compact. The

Somaliland Special Arrangement is the sole framework for engaging with Somaliland’s development

process under the New Deal partnership. The simultaneous endorsement of the New Deal principles

was conducted in the spirit of the 13 April Ankara Communiqué signed by the Government of

Somaliland and the Federal Government of Somalia as part of their on-going dialogue process, in

which the two sides agreed to work together to encourage greater and more effective international

development assistance. While the two arrangements were developed through separate processes

and will be implemented using separate government systems and mechanisms, their concurrent and

mutually reinforcing implementation will help to ensure greater cooperation, trust and goodwill

between all Somali people.

Somaliland’s Vision 2030 and the Somaliland Special Arrangement

The Somaliland Special Arrangement is based on Somaliland’s Vision 2030. It has been developed

under the leadership of the Somaliland Ministry of National and Planning and Development (MoNPD)

in consultations with Somaliland stakeholders, including the National Planning Commission (NPC),

line Ministries, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and implementing partners.

The overall vision, as outlined in the Somaliland Vision 2030, is to create “A Stable, Democratic and

Prosperous Somaliland Where the People Enjoy a High Quality of Life.

As the Vision 2030 states, “The government is determined to achieve economic prosperity and social

wellbeing for its people while consolidating the nation’s accomplishments in building stability,

maintaining security and developing democratic institutions. Our aim is to create an empowering

environment where all citizens feel that they have a stake and a role to play in national

development.” The Vision 2030 sets out a roadmap to:

• Enable Somaliland to take ownership of its development agenda;

• Inspire Somaliland and its leadership to mobilise resources and overcome development

challenges to attain a higher standard of living;

• Guide development partners to align their assistance with Somaliland’s priorities and aspirations;

• Provide a framework upon which Somaliland´s strategies and implementation plans will be

anchored.

In order to make progress towards the Vision 2030, a five year development plan for Somaliland for

the period 2012-2016 was developed through a challenging, but rewarding process, which involved

consultations across different stakeholder groups, including government and non-state actors,

central and regional actors. The overall objective of the plan is to address and overcome the

structural and institutional development constraints which Somaliland faces, and to achieve social

and economic transformation towards the attainment of national prosperity.

The pillars of Somaliland's Development Plan correspond to the five Peace and Statebuilding Goals

(PSGs) of the New Deal in the following manner: the Governance Pillar corresponds to PSG 1

(Inclusive Politics), PSG 2 (Security) and PSG 3 (Justice); the Economic, Infrastructure and

Environment Pillars correspond to PSG 4 (Economic Foundations); and the Social Pillar corresponds

to PSG 5 (Revenue and Services).

The priorities and corresponding milestones covered within these five PSG areas were derived

directly from a wide range of assessments and evaluations conducted by the government and

international partners over the past several years. In developing the Somaliland Special

Arrangement, these assessments were consolidated and taken into consideration through a PSG lens

by those Somaliland government and civil society representatives leading the Somaliland Special

Arrangement drafting process. Somaliland has been fortunate enough to draw on extensive prior

background material, including a number of sector strategies and assessments, which are already

structured to address the overall development framework—the Somaliland development plan—and

has informed the Somaliland Special Arrangement.