Category: public transport

PUNTLAND PRESIDENT DENI’S FIRST BABY STEPS

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June 30, 2019

Puntland President, Said Abdullahi Deni, has finally started his first baby steps in governing PUNTLAND State of Somalia, after disappointing several months in office since he got elected in January 2019.

It is was a stiff learning curve for him to understand the extent of mess left by his predecessor and to figure out the complexity of Puntland sub-clan political culture that has been pulling down the State since its establishment in 1998.
To start this journey, he, after a while, had paid a working visit to two important PUNTLAND cities, Port City of Bosaso, the backbone of PUNTLAND economy, and Galkayo, the security bulwark of the State. Now, it was time to address an annoying matter in Puntland, the Dubai P&O – Bosaso Port contract. He had paid a quick private visit to the UAE to takle with the issue. This secret business contract is still surrounded by suspicion and doubt about its contents and contractual conditions. President Deni still has to clear that cloud of mistrust in this deal.
Among the pressing issues of PUNTLAND includes infrastructure, new ports and road network. PUNTLAND is not land-locked as it is blessed with the longest coastline in Africa, being washed by waters of both the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. But, the State of Puntland has become air-locked with no reliable air-transport available despite modernization of its nternational airports in Garowe and Bosaso. That is because Puntland business community lacks behind all the rest of Somalia in their business outlook, entrepreneurship and collective pulling of finance to initiate and move major projects.
President Deni went on a quick travel, perhaps unprepared private visit, to Chinese firms in Peking. The visit and symbolic signing ceremonies were ill-advised to advertise, for the Federal Government and opponents of Puntland got noticed of DENI’S move in China, and according to informed source, they are trying to kill it. Nowadays, everything has to go through Mogadishu in the same way the world financial transactions go via New York City banking Swift codes. Welcome to Farmaajo-Khayre one city-state solution to all Somalia’s problems. Enroute to China via Addis Addis, President Deni managed to secure Fly Ethiopian Airlines deal to relieve Puntland passengers of the burden of driving all the way to and from Hargeisa of Somaliland. People see this here as one big baby step by President Deni. It is a welcome first step move.
Now, President Deni starts other baby steps like appointment of several regional and security officials. But, Puntland public is waiting for real reforms of government bureaucracy, fanance and security sectors, in particular, and creation of independent anti-corruption watch-dogs and legal instruments, and immediate movement towards democratization and multiparty elections. And, by the way, Deni re-election is only possible through multiparty election, if he does a good job in this Puntland Mandate.

PRESIDENT DENI AND PEOPLE OF MUDUGH TODAY

Galkayo, May 20, 2019

Mudugh & Security Council. Take a listen.

SHOW-CASING GARA’AD PORT: DENI vs GAAS

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2123799034413942&id=100003515972236

It was 1997 when a delegation of now defunct National Salvation Council (NSC), the Sodare Group, led by then Co-Chairmen Abdullahi Yusuf and Ali Mahdi Mohamed, went to Mogadishu to meet with an Italian envoy sent to mediate conflicting Mogadishu Warlords of Hussein Aideed, Ali Mahdi and Late Osman Ali Ato. I was one of that 13-member strong delegation. The intention of the Italian Envoy, Senator Serri, a deputy minister of the Italian Foreign Ministry, was to re-introduce Italy’s influence to the re-emerging Somalia from the Civil War. The idea was for Italy to be ahead of everyone else in the game of influencing Somalia as a former colonial power and power broker as the country re-instates itself from the total collapse as a failed state. The Italians believed that the obstacle to Somalia’s recovery was the warring factions of Banadir Region at the time. They had money incentives to bribe the warlords into accepting an Italian-brokered deal. Ali Mahdi wanted a piece of the cake. Abdullahi Yusuf planned to foil the Italian efforts as he thought the Italian policy was wrong-headed as he believed that Somalia couldn’t be reconstructed from the Centre, but rather from “Building-Blocks” as federated states. There was a deep mistrust between Aideed and Ato since the killing of Aideed Sr. The Italian Envoy’s mission to Mogadishu ended in spectacular fiasco to the pleasure of Abdullahi Yusuf.

Back in Nairobi enroute to Italy, and commenting on the unexpected Yusuf’s presence in Mogadishu, Senator Serri called a hasty press briefing during which he declared; “We were struck by an eagle in town”.

After two weeks in Mogadishu, we returned to Addis Ababa, the Headquarters of the NSC, to prepare for a national congress to be held in Bosaso, the North-eastern Regions of Somalia. Egypt, with the help of the traditional Ethiopian foreign policy naïveté on Somalia’s internal dynamics, had successfully undermined both the NSC and IGAD efforts to hold that National Reconciliation Congress in Bosaso. One would recall the failed Somali Peace Conference in Cairo in 1997, resulting in the demise of both the Sodare Group and “Salbalaar Government” of Hussein Farah Aideed.

While in Mogadishu, we held non-stop private and public discussions with many groups, representing all walks of life. These people had two nagging questions for us to answer:

  1. “How do we participate in the planned National Reconciliation Congress in Bosaso”?
  2. “Why don’t you construct a Gara’ad Port? Bosaso Port is too far from us”.

At the time, Mogadishu Port was un-operational and closed to business. Still residents of Central Somalia thought a Gara’ad port would be very convenient for them even if Mogadishu Port were functional. At that time they were using land transport to and from Bosaso Port.

In Addis Ababa, residents from Eastern Ethiopia are land-locked as it is in the rest of the country. They were very much interested in the construction of a nearby seaport as Gara’ad.

The commercial potential of the Gara’ad Port for Somalia and Ethiopia is huge. The economic and security importance of the port in the entire region is, without doubt, very high. I strongly believe that a Gara’ad seaport would be the most convenient outlet to the Indian Ocean for the peoples of Central Somalia and Eastern Ethiopia for quick movement of goods and services along stable and secure corridor.

By Ismail Warsame

Ismailwarsame@gmail.com

BLOG EDITORIAL

Garowe, April 26, 2019 – Puntland State of Somalia is not concerned about or doing anything state-like towards the regulation of transport and passenger industry. As a result, heavily populated urban cities of Puntland like Galkayo, Garowe and Bosaso are becoming dangerous and threat to life in driving a car along their poorly maintained city roads.

First of all, hundreds of stray goats, whose owners intentionally and carelessly release to the streets of the cities rampage along the roads, creating long daily traffic jams. Since Traffic Police is almost non-existent, no traffic regulations or enforcement is talked about here. Every driver is on his/her own to drive every way or direction they wish. Drivers turn and twist their cars dangerously in the middle of the narrow roads, some driving head-on on the wrong driving lanes. One often sees a long line of cars caught in heavy traffic jam because of one driver ahead stopping right in the middle of the road to answer a call on mobile phone, not even appreciating that there are hundreds of cars being held up behind him or her. It is also a common occurance to see two drivers going to different directions stopping in the middle of the narrow road engaged in animated conversation side by side, holding up all auto-traffic movement to all directions. This is nuts. Nobody is doing anything about it.
Nobody is advising city taxi drivers to stop aside or give room for cars behind to pass over when they are dropping off or picking up a passengers along the road. Because a taxi is blocking the road with passengers getting in or off, drivers behind it are forced to stop and wait for the taxi to move, thus creating preventable auto-traffic jam in this driving violation.This is another nuisance for drivers. Auto-insurance is unheard of here. A driver is on his/her own with regards to accident liabilities.
Public safety is among the core responsibilities of a government at all levels and all branches of a government, including the House of Representatives and Judiciary. It is about time, in fact, long overdue, I would say, for Puntland State to act like a government, and start handling this public safety priority to save lives.