Somaliland: Key Priorities for Next SL Gov’t

[Deeq A.]

Key priorities for the next JSL government:

Below are some of the key initiatives summarised, that should be the basis of the next government’s priorities term in the office.

Reduction of extreme poverty:

The government should assign a committee to determine the level and type of poverty the general population is experiencing.  Targets are to be set to reduce the poverty levels on annual basis, and to develop a focused strategy for making progress on reducing child poverty as a matter of urgency.Poverty is not just an issue, is the biggest problem in JSL currently, where most of its population lives in poverty, an average higher than other countries in the region, the government should aim to reduce extreme poverty, to lower than 10 % in the next 5 years. 

From the time a  newly government is elected they should issue a decree, declaring that its main goal will be the reduction of poverty, and looking after the weakest in the country.  For its purpose, coordinated work between Ministries and public institutions to develop and implement a (National poverty Reduction program).

Since JSL still has a mainly rural economy around (60% of GDP), one of the main aims should be to provide families with an alternative farming methods.  Most of the rural population lack any rural farming or agricultural education and equipment, thus the government should propose services to train people in building local infrastructures with the involvement of the public and the private sector.

These types of policies and legislations are expected to create a “spill-over” effect which will benefit all sectors of the JSL society, i.e. education, security, health etc.

Energy:

The Government should commit to reduce the cost of (energy) electricity and gas by 10% by the year 2022. These targets should be  met, in part, through the creation of integrating the national power system, where the government should be largest stake holder of any energy provider or the sole share holder, until the infrastructure and the relevant regulations for the energy sector has been established.  The government should also invest and fund renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar power, and the modernization of the current power facilities.

The Government should also introduce new and robust legislation that would ban or reduce the cutting down of tree for coal, to reduce  pollution and climate change.

Economic Development:

The Government should commit to a seven point economic plan:

·        Major investment in the health, education, and agriculture;

·        Lowering taxes for market traders and small business or providing 6 months tax breaks;

·        Supporting innovative ideas through new funding initiative;

·        Accelerating infrastructure investments, including road and water expansion project;

·        Investing in major manufacturing and exporting projects;

·        Lowering imports of essential goods, paving the road to self sufficiency;

·        Effective plan with a time table to eradicate the effect of draughts.

Government should commit to creating a valuable Manufacturing sector, the key importance is the government to commit  to invest 4% of the national GDP on Manufacturing every year.

Government should work with the Agricultural sector to deliver a program to assist grain and livestock farmers to expand and to cope with the regular draughts to increase and establish support for the economical development of rural areas by 60%.

Health Care and Education:

The Government should strive to ensure more of the population meets the basic standard in writing, reading and mathematics. The national literacy level should be at 80% within the next 5 years for rural areas. Government should also improve the current education funding formula by investing an additional 10% annually on education by 2022.

A new general hospital should be built, with the latest equipment and technology, to meet the needs of the public health for major surgeries and treating of diseases such as Hepatitis, Diabetes and other major complications, where people currently have to travel overseas to seek medical treatment.  A Strategy and legislations should be introduced that will see a roadmap to meeting the targets for improving public health. The program should continue to increase the quality of the public health overtime and hire additional staff, while guaranteeing new graduates jobs.

Ahmed miino

London