by
Salah
Fatah**
Bosaso
City,
the
financial
capital
of
Puntland,
used to
be one
of the
safest
places
in all
of
Somalia
until
recently,
when a
rash of
murders,
rapes,
robberies
and
kidnapping
of
children
for
ransom
became
all too
common.
What is
even
more
alarming
about
this
crime
spree is
the fact
that
many
people
are
convinced
that
some of
the
perpetrators
are the
very
people
tasked
to
maintain
law and
order.
It is no
secret
that the
Police
department
is
largely
disgruntled
due to
lack of
payments
of their
salaries,
sometimes
months
on end,
among
other
reasons.
While
the
current
escalation
is
causing
a great
deal of
anguish
and
uncertainty
amongst
the
citizens,
it was
predictable
and
directly
attributable
to an
ongoing
rampant
corruption,
negligence
and
misplaced
priorities.
The
blame
for the
deteriorating
security
situation
is
squarely
on Cade
Muse and
his
administration.
It is
their
responsibility
to
safeguard
the
wellbeing
of all
of
Puntland's
communities
so long
as they
choose
to
remain
part of
his
administration.
On the
other
hand,
the
stakeholders
are not
entirely
blameless
as long
as some
of them
remain
silent
and
continue
to offer
tacit
support -
perhaps
out of
consideration
for a
senior
clan
member
deeply
embedded
with the
administration
(a case
of
strange
bed
fellows).
With
that
said,
the
question
remains:
Is
Puntland
today as
important
to all
of its
member
communities
as it
was a
decade
ago? I
believe
the time
has come
to
reassess
this
partnership.
The
status
quo is
not
acceptable
and may
even be
to the
determent
of some
communities
given
their
legitimate
grievances
including
lack of
developmental
support
as well
as
unfair
distribution
of
resources
amongst
the
partners.
Additionally,
conflicts
in the
recent
past
drove
home the
point to
certain
communities,
that
Puntland
can not
be
considered
a
reliable
partner
where
matters
of
security
are
concerned.
It
seemed
like a
good
idea at
the
time!
Absent
any
representative
national
government,
creating
Puntland
as a
regional
administration
that
protects
and
serves
the
interests
of its
constituents
was and
remains
to this
day, the
next
best
thing.
The
hopes
and
aspirations
of the
people
were
riding
on this
new
administration
for a
peaceful
and
prosperous
region
that
plays a
lead
role in
quelling
the
deadly
internecine
conflicts
throughout
the
country,
as well
as
contributing
to the
restoration
of the
Somali
nation.
These
were
indeed
lofty
goals
and an
ambitious
undertaking,
towards
which
Puntland's
previous
administrations
made
tangible
progress.
They
were
successful
in
providing
stability
throughout
the
region
and at
the same
time
created
a
business
friendly
environment
that
attracted
merchants
from as
far as
the
northwestern
states
of
Somalia
and
Ethiopia.
These
are
significant
achievements
by any
standard
and the
key
ingredients
for
building
a viable
society.
It was
entirely
unexpected
that
rather
than
building
on the
successes
of their
predecessors,
the
painful,
slow
process
of
unraveling
the hard
earned
progress
began
soon
after
the
current
administration
took the
reigns.
They
have
shown a
propensity
for
entering
into
questionable
contracts
with
obscure
companies
at a
tremendous
disadvantage
to
Puntland.
These
deals
raise
some
troubling
questions
regarding
their
failure
to seek
appropriate
input
from
experts
and
ignoring
professional
and
legal
advice
when
offered.
Therefore,
one can
only
surmise
that
there
must be
more to
these
contracts
than
meets
the eye!
The
selling
out
process,
and
there is
no
politically
correct
way to
characterize
this,
covers
the most
important
national
resources,
i.e.,
fisheries,
minerals,
hydrocarbon
assets
and the
mother
of all
giveaways,
a
contract
signing
away
exclusive
rights
to all
life
stock
exports
from
Puntland
to a
foreign
merchant
at the
expense
of the
people
of
Puntland.
I was
able to
obtain a
copy of
this
contract,
which I
would
like to
share
publicly;
it
illustrates
the
handy
work of
unrestrained
greed
and a
glaring
lack of
accountability
(see
attached
pdf).
Finally,
the
haste in
which
these
damaging
deals
were
made
leads
one to
believe
that a
looting
scheme
is
afoot,
designed
to line
the
pockets
of
individuals
before a
national
government
with
enforcement
capabilities
is in
place.
It is
evident
that
crime,
corruption,
cronyism
and
incompetence
have
taken
their
toll -
perhaps
causing
the
Puntland
administration
to
crumble
under
their
cumulative
weight.
Whether
or not
it can
survive
the
current
downward
spiral
is
anybody's
guess.
**The
writer
can be
reached
at:
sfatah2@yahoo.com
