Somaliland can provide enough to satisfy every person’s need, but not every government officer’s unlimited greed

Every human being has the right to freedom from oppression. Let me begin by first saying that I basically wrote this article for the advocacy of Somaliland poor people who are in a poverty rate of 73%, according to UNDP statistics; a country that has 70% of its population under the age of 30 with a wide range of social, economic and political challenges facing them; a people governed with inequality of opportunities in an unfair and cruel way, prevented from having freedom. I also write this article to point out that what made Somaliland people poor is not the country, it is by those who govern and the way they govern it. The root cause of poverty of a country is social injustice and the bad government that abets it.

Let us remember that leadership service demands selflessness and the willingness to give their honesty and ambitions fully to the cause of the betterment of their poor people. I am of the opinion that the selfless strived speeches of the candidates in the election campaigns was never meant for the self-glorification or gratuity of those who won the elections and rule the country. But rather it was meant to serve; yes to serve the people, to serve the down-trodden poor, to serve the have-not community in the IDPs, to serve the children paving their way to a better future, to serve and develop the livelihoods of our rural population.

Somaliland people passed through long journey of oppression type of rule, ethnic cleansing genocide, forced displacement, refugee life style sufferings, destructive struggle for freedom and the loss of over hundred thousand of their beloved ones. After they regained their political independence that was lost in 1960 the people of Somaliland again experienced another 28 years passed bye with tolerance, endurance, courageous resistance and withstanding ability of the pains, difficulties and unpleasant hardships resulted from their endless lack of the essential human needs. Somaliland peoples’ tolerance for that long time was just because of their ultimate hope to see one day a Somaliland free from injustice, inequality, corruption, nepotism, favoritism, power abuse; poverty, unemployment, and from selfish exhausted compromised and visionless leadership long on deceiving ideas and short on actionable plans.

There are a number of elements within our inner side lives that are not known to others, that actually define us and have played a significant role in making us the persons we are in front of others. In Somaliland such elements within our political leaderships and government political elites showed us that they have an excessive greed to possess the public assets as their private belongings and lust for public money thefts. I remember of the words with great icon that Mahatma Gandhi said “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed”. May I equally say that “Somaliland provides enough to satisfy every person’s need, but not every government officer’s unlimited greed”. When we change our mindset based on material and selfishness to moral value and national success; we can change the living standard of our people.

This philosophy of selfishness that every man and every woman who has to take up government responsibility is thinking to get much money and many properties in the period of his/her service destroyed Somaliland and does not work anymore. A country can go forward and develop when its leaders and others in the government services love their people and are ready to serve them better; when they become humble to consider the problems of the different social groups and diverse their opinions in order to choose the best path. This means this country has hope only if our leaders, cabinet ministers, MPs and government officers change this selfish greed and become selfless persons ready to serve for the common good, not aiming only their self-glorification and gratuity.

Somaliland government was not and is not working on a Plan based on building a nation inspired by a bright vision; a nation featuring highly in social development indexes that our country be connected and open to neighbors and the world. Politically it is necessary to work on to improve governance and regional integration. The government should work for the vision enabling Somaliland to promote its economy and become socially, economically and environmentally in a sustainable development. We need to see Somaliland transforming itself to become among the most efficient food producers in the region and Africa; we need to see Somaliland become a country with booming and innovative industries; we need to see Somaliland become a supplier of products to the outside world besides its import needs.

Somaliland is rich with all economic development sectors like agriculture, livestock, minerals, natural energy, sea resources and architectural areas for tourism; it is also geopolitically strategic in location with good climate and very efficient people. But unfortunately it is one of the poorest countries in the world. In order to make use of all these economic development resources; we need economic development re-orientation plan and a procedure of its implementation; beginning from an assessment of the most important investable sectors in our country like agriculture, fisheries, livestock, minerals, energy and infrastructures. The 2nd step is to create easier and encouraging investment policies; and invite foreign and local companies to invest the country through the foresaid sectors.

The government must develop national policy supporting and encouraging agricultural production and implement it through government decisions and directives. The government has to organize and lead a massive national campaign with all private, public and social sectors to put their commitment on the desk of investing their money through the identified investable sectors; instead of importing goods that can be produced or processed within our country. The government should introduce a monetary exemption which refers the removal from import taxes, service charges and municipal taxes on all imported agricultural motor items, agricultural machinery and equipments. At the same time the government must prepare and make available all the proper tools and mechanical instruments of the country’s different types of farming; with a procedure enabling the farmers to use these tools and instruments. The government must conduct training workshops that develop or modernize the methods of farming and must improve the technology employed in that sector.

The government should set a strategy that encourages the commercial corporations, companies, firms and business enterprises of the country to upgrade their innovations and innovators further to push the country from importer to producer. The government can introduce a technique making them understand that their main task and objectives should not be only to generate income through importing goods; but to accept and take their social responsibility to invest their money in their country and produce what they select from the nationally assessed and evaluated list of the investable agricultural, industrial and marine production. In this strategy they can generate easier income and they can create more jobs for their people; on whose account they have become so rich. The government should make tax exemption on all the imports they need for their Manufacturing processes; if they make such local investments; it must also push tax raising reforms on the rich monopolies in the country to help small and medium-sized enterprises flourish; if they fail to take their part on the country production booming campaign.
Somaliland currently has a demographic bonus, 70% of its population is young, under 35 years. I f Somaliland government develops such vision with a plan to implement, this can open opportunities of hiring and contracting our local repressed scholars who have the talents and expertise to the fields of the related investments; a vision that grantees our young people, our skilled workers and none skilled workers get jobs. If we need to create job opportunities to our young graduates and to reduce the 90% unemployment rate of our youngsters as much as we could; we need to make non-stop work directed by intellectuality and selflessness. Then we can orientate our educated youngsters to work for the good of their people, enjoying with a democratic, supportive, transparent statehood that promotes equal opportunities for all.

God bless Somaliland; guide and support her poor people; bless all her children and give her peace, development and urgent recognition ISHA ALLAH.

Adam ALI Younis E-mail: aayonis@hotmail.com