| |
|
| Puntland: A Failed Leadership and Unfolding Catastrophe
|
 |
Puntland’s quasi administration is a total failure and the region is slithering into a dreadful destabilization. Poor leadership and incorrigible corruption are the major causes of the regression that has incapacitated the current administration. The government is dysfunctional, its institutions are just names that do not provide services to the public, and the taxes collected from the impoverished population and the natural resources are gravely mismanaged.
There is no fiscal responsibility and the level of fraud and embezzlement of the public goods is unprecedented. The revenues generated from taxes, natural resources and printed money that cause severe inflation are licentiously directed to the pockets of a few top-ranking officials. In addition to that, since its inception, the Transitional Federal Government has been intolerable burden (financially & militarily) on Puntland. The situation is extremely awful and keeps deteriorating. Large scale chaos and bloodshed by the angry and well-armed clans is quite eminent.
Puntland’s military and police forces, vital institutions for the security of the region were disbanded due to lack of budget to pay their meagre wages. The law enforcement unit that Puntland brags about for propaganda purpose is the personal security apparatus of its top officials. The President and his minions, each has a group of bodyguards from his clan, and their total number is not more than 500 untrained young boys.
Security and abject poverty are major concerns. Inflation has skyrocketed as the market is continuously inundated with counterfeit money and that printed heedlessly by the administration. Roadblocks controlled by thugs have emerged, homicides and organized assassinations are ubiquitous in major cities, and organized see pirates involved by some government officials have tormented the regions’ coastal areas and trade routes. Since the administration has failed to maintain the law and order, people have resorted to the clan system. Clan elders and religious clerics are the guardians of the fragile stability that can vanish at any minute.
Another disturbing issue is Puntland’s upcoming presidential election. It’s a bogus system initially manipulated by power hungry warlords. Free political parties are banned and the citizens are deprived of the right to vote and choose their leaders. The quasi election has never been without problems or bloodshed, and the upcoming one is more bloodcurdling due to lack of authority to secure law and order in the wake of searing contention between the heavily armed clans competing for the presidency. To stay in power, Africa’s corrupt leaders usually resort to force and manipulation. The political contention is partly due to the public perception that the current leader whose popularity has plummeted sharply will replicate his predecessor in trying to stay in power through political convulsions.
The local population has vented its anger and frustration over the alarming social crisis through public demonstrations and virulent criticisms, but that was not strong enough to vex the incompetent leadership nor to enforce reforms. The disease of tribalism that corrupts the unity of the masses and lack of comprehensive political system to challenge the failed system is what constitutes the weakness of the masses that are hungry for change and social justice.
Recently, a group of voluntary technocrats from the Diaspora communities have visited the region to meet with the President and his caucus about the current crisis and prospect for development. Unfortunately, the President felt their presence as a political threat against his reign and refused to meet with them let alone to take their advices. Some clan elders have refuted the President’s ill-advised action and that forced him to change his position just to pleas the elders, but the meeting was fruitless and the technocrats left with disappointment.
Puntland’s stability has been a lifeline for millions of Somalis in and out of the region and its destabilization will cause more humanitarian catastrophe that augments the ongoing national crisis. The voluntary initiative by the technocrats was a positive move, but it needs to be sustained, intensified, and connected with the local forces advocating for social justice. Diaspora communities have sufficient resources to contribute, but they need to demonstrate the leadership and moral conscience to help their people. Individuals claiming that they will be instruments for change if they are elected are not practical. What we need to see is a timely and comprehensive strategy capable to mobilize grassroots reforms.
In the past, we saw the atrocities committed by warlords as a result of a collapsed stability; Puntland is on the verge of disintegration paving the way for the emergency of a new mystery under the tutelage of see pirates. If the Diaspora fails Puntland, the other alternative that could save the region would be a non radical religious uprising to reverse the current dismal trend, and the latter seems to be more feasible.
Burhan Alas
Email: bnalas@yahoo.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We welcome the submission of all articles for possible publication on WardheerNews.com So please email your article today Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of WardheerNews
Maqaalkani wuxuu ka turjumayaa aragtida Qoraaga loomana fasiran karo tan WardheerNews
