Puntland: A situational assessment of the farole
administration Part(I)
By Dr. Qasim Gashaan
Farole came to power on the back of the need for major
reforms in Puntland that was way overdue at the time.
Puntland was run-down by his predecessors Add Muse and
Abdullahi Yusuf. As a Puntlander it pains me to see how the
State has once again been dilapidated by the policies of the
Farole Administration. Farole has even surpassed the
maladministration of his predecessors by wholesale
destroying the Economy, Security, and Justice systems at
once in Puntland.
Recently, the United Nations Monitoring group published a
damning report on Farole and some of his Ministers notably
‘Ilkajiir’ and even has termed them as being part of the
Piracy menace swiping the Horn of Africa[1].
Puntland elders are also very dissatisfied with the Farole
Administration and even the Security Agency the Puntland
Intelligence Services (PIS) is on a collision cause with the
Farole administration on the illegal appointment and
possible replacement of its head. The US is also not pleased
with how Puntland is being run and recently over three weeks
Farole was in a sort of house arrest at ‘Safari Park Hotel’
in Nairobi together with some of his Ministers. The US
government has given them three month probation on a wait
and see situation of how the Farole administration behaves
on – Piracy and collusion with fundamentalists. This is the
situation Puntland is facing today.
In a three part series we shall find out what has happened
in Puntland objectively. We shall first look at the economic
destruction under the watch of Farole.
Economic destruction
The economy of Puntland was the envy of most countries in
the region and even the respected Economist[2]
talked of Bossasso port as being more efficiently run and
managed than Djibouti or Dar-esalaam and other African ports
that was in the year 2000.
Initially, when the administration of Farole came into
office on the back of a major support from Diaspora
Puntlanders on 9th January 2009 many people
thought the economy would improve but that was only to
become a mirage. Taxes were increased across the board on
all Imports, Exports and local taxes on small traders who
could hardly afford those Taxes. Small traders who are
mostly women with many dependants became the biggest
casualty. These people earn less than fifty dollars a month
yet this administration had the audacity of taxing them
through the nose a fiasco and shame of the Farole
Administration that should be exposed in plain language.
Secondly, amid increases in taxes and a bloated Government
with almost hundred Ministers, we thought services will
improve but the opposite happened and mismanagement and
wastage of state resources became endemic. Huge sums of
money were dished to Ministers as a bribe to secure their
clan support and government services started deteriorating.
Investors started voting with their wallets. Traders, UN
organizations, NGOs and companies who used to use the port
of Bossasso shifted to Berbera and Djibouti who offered
better services, less red-tape and less Taxation.
Berbera Port Takes over Trade from Bossasso
Though the economy of Somaliland is much smaller than that
of Puntland, the Riyale Administration however corrupt and
incompetent froze increases on Taxation culminating in many
Puntlanders and other Somalis at shifting to Berbera port
for their main Imports and Exports.
Another issue that has led to a shift in port operations
from Bossasso to Berbera has mostly to do with the
maltreatment of Ogadenis and other Somalis in Puntland. A
particular case in point is the detention and surrender of
Somalis who were from the Ogaden Clan to Ethiopian
Authorities. The Ethiopians latter released the so called
‘suspects’ after they were found to be innocent business
people- an embarrassment to the Legal and Justice System of
Puntland if that exists.
Unemployment is also very rife in Puntland yet the Farole
Administration did nothing about job creation and
employment- the unemployment rate is touching north of
45%.Higher Insurance costs incurred due to Piracy in the
region by shipping companies have also been pushed to the
Puntland consumer who mostly rely on remittances from the
Diaspora. Most commodities have doubled or tripled in prices
and if that is not checked properly it might soon lead to
massive insecurity in Puntland.
On International Law and Treaties the Farole administration
even went further into signing dubious deals with the same
petroleum companies that confused, cheated, and bribed his
predecessors. It is claimed that Farole and his henchmen
were given a mere $1million dollars for his signature by
Africa Oil and his ‘boys’ who run the cabinet have stashed
those funds in Dubai, Malaysia and even Australia.
In Australia, they were not that lucky and AUSTRAC[3]
followed the money trail when they wanted to buy a house in
Melbourne, for a staggering $1.2 Million Australia dollars.
They had to abandon that transaction when they could not
answer questions from AUSTRAC – a question begs whose money
is this? And were did it come from? A year ago these chaps
were on the unemployment queues in Australia and the US.
The injustice, corruption, and bad management has even
affected the goodwill the Diaspora had for Puntland who
wanted to invest, and resettle back into Puntland. A missed
chance that could have created more jobs and employment for
the desperate youth who are now finding themselves into
Piracy as a form of career.
On the issue of Oil and Gas in Puntland, Amsas Consulting a
company that is run by a Somali Stateman and a Puntlander,
Dr.Ali Abdullahi from Melbourne, Australia challenged the
legality of concessions that were signed by the Adde
Administration in December 2007[4]at
the Puntland High court. But the court system in Puntland
seems to be non-existent and non-functionary possibly what
we might term as a Kangaroo Court of sorts. No cases are
heard, and no cases of substance has ever been handled by
the court systems in Puntland. The case of Amsas Consulting
Vs Consort Pty.Ltd, Range Resources and Africa Oil has only
received the approval of the elders court but is still mired
on the corridors of injustice in Puntland. The issue of
illegal oil deals led to the demise of the Adde
Administration and even then Farole a defunct Minister of
Adde criticised the deal when he commented[5]
in an interview he gave in 2007.
Amazingly, what has changed the script of Farole from a
critic of the Oil deals in 2006-2008 when he was thrown out
of his Ministry by Adde Muse. Now, he seems to be dancing
to the tunes of Consort Pty.Ltd, Range Resources, and Africa
Oil all are minnow oil companies with no revenues? No track
record of Oil Discovery and Production. Why is the Puntland
administration hell-bent on dealing with companies that have
dubious background?
Finally, if Farole and some of his Ministers are found
guilty of involvement in Piracy and related clandestine
activities what should be their fate? should they be
impeached for high treason against the state of Puntland and
possibly of Somalia. Should they be taken to The Hague for
Justice?or should we have a small Kangaroo court in Puntland
for that? How should Justice be delivered to them? And who
should be the judge? I will leave that to you our readers
who can by now make a wise decision on the way forward for
Puntland!
On the stalemate between the PIS and Farole and its
political and security implications will be discussed in our
Part II article.
Dr.Qasim Qurac Gashaan is a Somali Analyst and a Puntlander
and can be contacted from
QGashaan@gmail.com.
References
[5]
www.somalitalk.com
Listen to the interview in
Somali below
Translated from Somali:
Abdirahman Mohamud Farole who was once the Minister
of International Relations in Puntland gave an
interview to the BBC indicating his rejection of the
deals Adde Muse signed with companies that had no
motive of exploring for oil and gas in Puntland and
who do not deserve to be negotiated with as a
company of any substance.
‘Cabdiraxmaan Maxamed
Maxamuud Faroole, oo Puntland ka ahaan jirey
Wasiirka Xiriirka Caalamiga iyo Qorshaynta, oo Dec
29, 2007 waraysi siiyey Idaacadda wararka u faafisa
dalka Ingriiska ee "British Broadcasting
Corporation" ayaa mar kale caddeeyey sababtii uu
uga baxay maamulka DGPL in ay ahayd khilaaf ka
dhashay heshiisyo uu Gen. Cadde Muuse u saxiixay
shirkado dadka 'Ku maaweelinaya in ay khayraad soo
saarayaan" kuwaas oo "aan u qalmin" in heshiiyo lala
galo’
