HAS PUNTLAND LOST ITS VISION FOR SOMALIA?

Many people, including Residents of its residents, are perplexed by the policies of the State of Puntland. Certainly, there are reasons for this confusion. Here are some of them:

1. There were no enough deliberations of Puntland policies by its successive administrations towards Somalia for the past 22 years.
2. Schools in Puntland don’t teach civic education as they are private shops with no public quality control and curriculum enforcement.
3. There are no meaningful think tank centres in the State.
4. There were no concerted efforts in the State to address youth issues.
5. Centres of power and influence like traditional leadership and civil society organizations were left to their own devices for abuse by non-governmental actors.

The result is devastating for all to see and feel now.

Now the administration of President Deni is desperately trying to catch up with the lost time, but it finds itself doing an uphill battle to reorient, re-inform and re-educate the general public. The information gap is huge and will require tremendous efforts and resources to bridge. However, the critics of Puntland and opponents of federalism have been taking advantage of Puntland weaknesses. There is a battle for public opinion now raging in Puntland. In this regard, the next three years will be critical when you will see the dust settling in.