Category: revenue generation

PRESIDENT DENI OF PUNTLAND STATE MAKES FIRST BOLD MOVES

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July 8, 2019
Congratulations to President Said Abdullahi Deni for making first encouraging steps towards taking the ownership of PUNTLAND STATE multifaced problems, some of which are chronic and intractable. However, these are only first steps in overalling a stagnant socioeconomic and administrative/political malfeasance that had crippled the State so long since its foundation in 1998.
The President is right to start reforming the State’s Acheel’s Heels: Security and Finance Sectors. Flashing out aging and corrupt bureaucrats from Puntland finance sector is a much welcome effort by the President.
Appointment of good people in position of authorities is not enough, though. Transparent standards and legal instruments must accompany with these official appointments. To fight corruption and mal-administration in public affairs, autonomous agencies and departments such as the Auditor-General and Accountant-General must be empowered with independent powers, financial and legal means to discharge their responsibilities. If that doesn’t happen immediately, there is nothing much to celebrate for the President’s seemingly bold official appointments last night.

It is equally important to appoint bureaucrats on merit and qualifications through competitive interviews and exams, including their through vetting and background checks, while taking into account the necessary employees diversity at ministries and agencies. President Deni seems not bringing in new qualitative ideas and innovative system of personnel recruitment. He has immediately embarked upon doing business as usual.

It is also the right time for the President to make an appropriate Cabinet Reshuffle as six months is more than enough to evaluate the performance of individual ministers. There is no point in keeping on a non-performing Cabinet Member.

PUNTLAND STATE has been held back for much of its existence by two major crippling factors:
  1. Epidemic corruption with impunity
  2. Weak and equally corrupt House of Representatives.
Puntland House of Representatives were solely responsible for all that went wrong in Puntland, I can ascertain this with authority. They were the reason why we have “Madax-ka-Nool” government here. It is a sham Parliament in both its election (in fact, selection process) and legislative operations. Until this House and its leadership behavior change, a goodwill of the Executive and its compliance with laws and regulations of the land can’t be expected, not to talk about checks and balance of power.
To sign off, I must share my personal experience with you that the people of Puntland love their government as they equally admire competent, transparent and honest leaders. They will definitely fall in love with President Deni, only if he earns that public trust.
@ismailwarsame

Postscript:

Puntlanders might have been a bit disappointed with the current setup of the Ministry of Energy, Water and Mineral Resources in the terms of lack of employees diversity. Based on the historical background of these agencies now coming under a ministry, the President couldn’t do it better otherwise without risking a political capital for the time being because of known sub-clan considerations and contradictions. These agencies are now also better off, being attached to a ministry for funding and more public transparency.

In tribal politics, no politician can assert his paramount leadership role, however, without first securing his last word command on his immediate sub-clan power-base.

EDITORIAL: WHY PUNTLAND STATE HAS FALLEN BACK

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July 3, 2019
Successive leaders and administrations of Puntland have been losing vision and strategic planning for both Puntland and Somalia. In the absence of think tank, thought leaders and any attempts to study Puntland core systemic problems, had led to a situation of political pararlysis.
Over the years, existing local research centres, international and local Non-state Actors, NSA or NGOs as well as the civil society groups here and throughout Somalia, had been taught into and are all bent on engaging in international donor-friendly programs and projects. They don’t want to rock the boat, while at State level, amid corruption, lack of capacity for resources mobilization, expansion of revenue generation and having chronic bottle-neck budgeting issues of merely meeting the minimum State obligations, this political paralysis had been taking over the entire mandates of all Puntland Administrations – Administrations that even couldn’t figure out introducing pay-parking city regulations that can pay off the entire monthly salaries of all city and state employees comfortably, thus to be able to ear-mark and re-allocate the rest of the state revenue to socio-economic sectors and infrastructure projects. This is just an example of how to expand revenue generation. There are many other ways to fill up the government coffers by providing much needed services to the residents, in exchange.
In Puntland, like the rest of Somalia, there is no much planning for what to do next next day. It is hard to complete a long journey without pre-planning. It is equally impossible to reach at destination you don’t know, trouble-free.
This is why the State of Puntland has lost its way during its historic journey as the main Pillar of creating The New Somalia.