ISG.
Written by Kawsar Nuur Friday, 23 July 2010 10:02
THE SOMALILAND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: VOTERS SPOKE LAUD AND CLEAR.
FOR CHANGE AND FOR DEMOCRACY.
In their 18th of July, 2010 meeting, the ISG members discussed the success of the Presidential election and their advice to the new government. The meeting was sponsored by the Social Research and Development Institute (SORADI).
It was moderated by its Director, Dr. Mohamed Fadal. The Somaliland Independent Scholar’s Group (ISG) members are all long-term participants of Somaliland rebuilding and democratization process, who are considered to be highly competent to provide an objective analysis and strategy to address the issues at hand.
The ISG members are: Abdi-shakur Sh Ali-Jowhar (Psychiatrist and political analyst: warkamaanta.com), Amina Mohamoud Warsame (Executive Director of NAGAAD); Abdilkadir H Ismail Jirde (Ex-Deputy Speaker and Member of Parliament- now travelling), Shukri H. Ismail (Former National Electoral Commissioner and Member of African Democracy Forum and Chair of Candle Light); Ibrahim Jama Ali –Raite (Member of Parliament and Lawyer), Fawsi Sh. Yonis (Somaliland Lawyer’s Association); Abdi Ahmed Nour (Forum for Peace and Governance-FOPAG), Bobe Y. Duale (Research Coordinator, APD), Haroon H Ahmed Qulumbe (ActionAid), Jafar Mohamed Gadaweyne (SONSAF); Mohamed Hassan Ibrahim (Researcher-APD), Suad Ibrahim Abdi (Researcher-APD); Wais Muse (Executive Director of Samatalis Coalition of Human Rights)), Dr. Mohamed Fadal, Director of (SORADI);Muse Abdi Elmi (U. of Hargeisa; Dean Academic Affairs) Dr. Yusuf Kariye (Researcher in Anthropology; Hinda Mohamed Jama (an Associate of Burao University); Dr. Aden Abokor(Progressio Country Rep.)..
In Appreciation of Those who Toiled for this Historic Achievement:
The ISG congratulates the Somaliland population for the successful Presidential Election held on the 26 June 2010. The ISG started analysing the challenges of the Somaliland Presidential election in March 2009 and has often faced the wrath of one side or the other of the key stakeholders when its monthly reports came out. The Group hailed the first agreement between the Political Parties in May 2009, to set a date for the election; it also hailed the subsequent signing of several codes of conduct and agreements between the key stakeholders as positive steps towards free and fair elections. The Group confronted the previous National Electoral Commission (NEC), when it rejected the use of the National Voter Registration results and welcomed their eventual disbanding and the appointment of new NEC members.
It pleaded with the international partners not to give up on Somaliland and has continuously intimated them with the unwavering commitment of the Somaliland people to hold the election.
Today, the ISG commends the political parties for the clean campaign they conducted and for the discipline of their supporters during the campaign and the voting day. The Group congratulates NEC for a job well done. The performances of both NEC and the competing Political Parties set high standards for the future development of the nascent Somaliland democratic culture. The ISG also thanks international partners of Somaliland, for enduring its numerous political twists and turns during the struggle to realize this election.
The Group also thank the International Observers, who took the risk to witness Somaliland elections, perhaps against the advice of their families and friends.
Special thanks also goes to the Ethiopian and UK Governments for the timely intervention in September 2009, which put the election process on track again. The Group also likes to thank Interpeace for making world standard technical support to make this election possible. The Somaliland civil society should also be proud of its role in this historic achievement.
The ISG congratulates the outgoing President, Dahir Rayaale Kaahin, for setting a record for a peaceful and orderly transfer of power. The ISG also welcomes and congratulates President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Silanyo) and his Vice- President Abdirahman Abdillahi Ismail (Zeili) for the honour the Somaliland people bestowed on them to lead them in the next five years. We commend Kulmiye party for the professional and exemplary campaign work it organized.
The Somaliland People Voted for Change, But What kind of Change?
We believe that the people’s voice is loud and clear for better governance and democracy.
1. People voted for change in search of a national vision for Somalilanders to rally around, to nurture it and to be inspired by it in their effort to build a prosperous and just society.
2. People voted for a quality government, with people who has the integrity and required skills and who can be creative to face the daunting challenges facing them.
3. People voted for a responsive government. People want a Government, which is responsive to their demands and concerns and which does not over-rule them or manipulate their divisions and which lives by the rule of law.
4. People voted for an effective government, which shows internal cohesion and which fosters the cooperation of the three branches of Government and respects their independence.
5. The People voted for administrative and financial transparency in the public sector. More importantly, people voted to see the culture of corruption and impunity routed out from the public sector.
6. People voted for respect for the constitution and to have all their higher Government institutions including the Local Government to operate on valid mandate.
High Expectations from the new President
The expectations from the new government are high, but that is natural considering the efforts, which the Somaliland society put into this election. However, in the end, there is only so much that any government can do in its term of office. A lot will depend on how it prioritizes its strategies and targets in addressing the immense challenges facing it.
ISG Suggests Following Priority Areas of Action
The ISG would like to add its voice to the stream of well meaning advice and suggestions given to the new President to highlight following areas:
Revenue:
Low level government revenue has always been a real challenge to all Somaliland governments and it still is. The ISG believes that for the new government to meet the expectations of its citizens, it has to have the resources to function and to do development work.
There is not much to go round with an annual budget of around $40 million. One has to ask how we can expand the revenue base of the Somaliland state. First, change the culture of tax fraud, which is widespread in all other taxation outlets. The first step could be raising the salaries of tax-collection personnel to have some leverage on their behaviour.
Secondly, for a long time now the Somaliland government took the easy way out of tightening its grip on the imports and exports. One key export commodity is the livestock, which is already reeling with the weight of the taxes, service charges and regulation costs imposed on it by different levels of government. We do not see any possibility or even logic of putting any more tax burden on it.
The second important commodity is imported “Qaat”. We believe that there is here enough room for the government to increase its revenue. To streamline its policies and to effectively tax the qaat trade and consumption is not only bringing in extra revenue but will be a prudent social policy strategy for the new government to reduce its adverse effects. Equally cigarettes’ import taxation offer amble room for tax revenue generation; it is often cited that Somaliland cigarettes sales are one of the cheapest in the world. Why should we offer such an incentive to cigarette consumption, while the rest of the world is fighting it?
Thirdly an important potential source of revenue, which the Somaliland government did not tap, is income tax on both the individuals and corporate levels. Lack of system to realize it is the major hurdle. The new government needs also to look into the VAT model, which is used by many countries. Property tax is also an under-utilized revenue source.
Fourthly, maximizing income from key economic infrastructures is also expected from the new government. The Port of Berbera and the Central Bank of Somaliland are two key areas, with a lot of untapped potential to lead the economic development of Somaliland and to become the focus of expanding government revenue base.
Security:
Security issues should remain a priority for Somaliland, both internally and in the regional context. At the local level, the Sool and Eastern Sanaag issues need to be seriously attended to. Somaliland is built on dialogue and there is no alternative to that approach also now.
President Silanyo has already aired his commitment as candidate to engage the eastern regions’ issue on dialogue. The present situation is untenable for two reasons: a. to sustain a continuous combat status of the army forces is costly and with the present level of government revenue is not prudent to be lax about it; but also one cannot keep people of whole regions in limbo for so long. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Somaliland government to use all possible channels to seek possible solutions.
There are some other unfinished businesses, such as the “Ceel-bardale” conflict and other latent or conflict-prone issues such as the land problems. On the former, there is an urgent need to solve it. If it continues to simmer, it may not only get worse, but it may also tempt other sinister forces to try to destabilize Somaliland from within.
Governance:
Kulmiye has won a substantial majority of the Somaliland people’s votes compared to other competing parties and is therefore expected to accommodate all Somaliland communities equitably to minimize any group feeling excluded. With this, the ISG does not mean to sanction apportioning government positions on clan lines; the focus is rather more on the new government’s public relations to attend to initial perceptions in the street. The elected president, we believe have the acumen and experience to handle such a situation.
The “limited multi-party system" in Somaliland also limits the quality of its democracy. It is an important Kulmiye election pledge to what in the street jargon is described as ”opening the political parties”. It has not only attracted supporters for Kulmiye, but it has also shown Kulmiye’s commitment to nurturing Somaliland democratization. This will remove a major contentious issue in the Somaliland politics if fulfilled. While changing the constitution may need a wider process of public debate and consensus building, the more straight forward way out is to apply this time the Local Councils Election Law to follow the original design of the competition of multiple associations.
Another important expectation from President Silanyo is to pass through the Houses of Parliament a law which will regulate the election/ selection/ appoint or combinations of them of the House of Guurti. It was not lost to the audience recently, when on the important occasion of the announcement of the election results at Mansoor Hotel, the sitting Speaker of the Guurti has emphasized in his speech, the need for such a law. However, despite the urgency expressed, the President has still the opportunity to initiate meaningful public debate on the matter to get a general consensus formula of drawing new members into the Guurti.
Government Administration
Professional civil service, adequate administrative and operational systems and well thought of policies and strategies are critical requirements for an effective government administration. The Somaliland civil service needs a serious overhaul, which will include inculcation of the culture of competition and merit at the work place as well as at the entry levels. There is also need for an attitude overhaul to acquire client service culture.
The local Government services are not usually given the level of importance they deserve. This Level of government is closer to the people and hence should be more responsive to their day-to-day service needs and that is not the case now.
Despite the fact that, clear principle and procedures of decentralization are enshrined in the Somaliland constitution, they are not sufficiently applied. The new president and his administration need to correct the power imbalance between the two levels of government, if sound local service delivery and development is to happen. What is worrying is that the trend continuous to be towards centralization and not decentralization. The Local Governments are today more than ever before under the mercy of the Ministry of Interior.
Furthermore, In the Local government work, there is another form of centralization happening; it said to have been reduced to a “Mayor only” show. The power of raising revenue and spending it are both in the hands of the Mayor. Whatever systems that existed for the financial checks and balances are no longer effective.
Income and Employment.
Meaningful employment generation usually comes from the private sector and not so much from the public sector. Our youth has to be prepared to get gainful employment from the private enterprises. That means policies towards the education systems should also cater for that end.
To attract international investment, the government role is to create conducive investment climate: liberal investment laws, reliable court systems, credible financial regulations and infrastructure. The world today is competing for limited investment resources, and we need to prepare ourselves to compete and we can.
Furthermore, we need to build upon existing economic sectors. The Somali livestock export trade does not work well with monopolies. It evolved historically as a decentralized trade, which relied on many traditional values based on trust in the market place.
On the other hand, it has a tendency to anarchic competition at the export level. The positive role of the government could be to organize them to minimize the negative competition, but to be careful not to stifle it, which could result in Somaliland losing its historical and geographical edge to other export outlets in the region. Another important healthy category of the economy is the modern service sector. The telecommunication, money transfer, hotels, and airlines as well beverages and other emerging light industries, which need to be supported through facilitation and regulations in order to become the engine of employment and quality jobs generation.
In the context of economic development, the role of stable national currency cannot be underestimated. The issue of introducing the Somaliland currency to all Somaliland territory is one of paramount importance and will be an immediate challenge for the new Somaliland government to face.
Recommendations.
1. National Vision: The President needs to mobilize the nation to harness the immense positive energy and goodwill generated through this successful and peaceful election to build a national vision and strategy towards building a prosperous, just and democratic society.
2. The new government:
1. forming the new Government and the way it will work is expected to be creative to tap into the Somaliland’s immense potential and to tackle the multitude of challenges facing it.
2. Build a government which can work together as a team to move things.
3. Building Systems: Focus on building and revamping the systems of public finance, administration and management at both the national and local levels. Seeking technical assistance from the international community is important.
4. The Judiciary:
The problem of the Judiciary in Somaliland is a chronic issue and may not lend itself to quick fixes. However, the new President and his party cannot afford to maintain the status quo. Some of the solutions identified in various national gatherings include: allocate more resources than hitherto was the case to the operations and personnel of judiciary branch. Providing secure tenure of for the qualified judges and possible financial status on retirement could be explored even if not feasible now.
5. Security:
1. The Sool and eastern Sanaag issue needs to be attended to urgently. The ISG believes that the President is well-placed to handle it and hence urges him to open a dialogue immediately with serious actors and leaders of the regions. It is important to seek credible actors who care about the welfare of the people and who above all have tangible influence. 2. It is also important to address the other simmering land issues including the “Ceel-Bardale” problem. 3. The problems of southern insurgency are being regionalized and hence Somaliland needs to foster and enter into regional security cooperation agreements with the neighbours to counter such threats.
6. Elections:
1. Start early national debate on the issue of the election, selection, appointment or any of their combinations for the Elders House.
2. Fulfil the campaign commitment to follow the local Council election law to start new political associations.
7.Revenue:
Engage the business community publicly to expand the government revenue base. Draw them into the process of finding a longer-term solution. The new government need to realize the potential of such Key public sector sources such as the Somaliland Central Bank and the Port of Berbera.
8.International Cooperation:
The new government needs to develop effective strategies for international cooperation and guide the Somaliland diaspora to re-orient its focus to the implementation of these strategies.
WM Weekly
