By Ali Abdulle
The current communal fighting raging in the hinterland on the Sool and Nugal border regions between supposedly fellow Puntlanders is the final nail in the coffin of Puntland, as it was originally envisaged, consisting of 5 regions and the district of Buhodle. The sad thing however is the rate with which the whole thing is unravelling. Those responsible to keep the peace have failed miserably not even capable of offering any solution to a problem of such magnitude going right to the heart of what the region is all about.
But the challenge must not be seen as a bolt from the sky. This government’s failings were all too apparent; it comes as to no surprise that conditions in Puntland are hitting a new low. And here the failure of leadership can no longer be hidden from public glare especially that of the president.
Winning power with the narrowest of margins possible, president of Puntland Mr Gas was nevertheless welcomed with goodwill and high expectations. Replacing his stroppy predecessor and seeing off challenge from a resurgent Islamist competition, it was seen by many as the best possible outcome for that election process. The result was deemed as triumph of commons sense, promising change and continuity at the same time and a guaranteed steady progress. And that was not all. Here was also the added advantage of having an economist with impeccable academic credentials at the helm to sort out the intractable economic problems of the state.
The celebratory events, the optimism and hope of the early days have all but evaporated with stagnating economy and looming state bankruptcy. All the promises made came to nothing including the one that the IMF and other major donors will be stepping in to bankroll the wages of the security forces and streamlined and efficient civil service.
Today non-payment of wages of security personnel is a serious challenge leading to a mutiny of solders blockading key government installations and disrupting normal life of major cities in Puntland. Indeed rebellions staged by soldiers have become so frequent that they are no longer covered by the local media. The reason that led to empty government coffers when tax receipts from ports and Inland revenue streams are coming in at a faster rate than in the past is particularly puzzling. The jury is out however to substantiate widespread speculations that misappropriation of public funds and corruption at an industrial scale are to blame for the region’s economic woes.
Recently the Governor of the Somali Central Bank in Mogadishu issued a warning that Puntland is printing money to the detriment of the economy of the country as a whole. Criticism of such severity especially coming from a mild mannered figure hailing from Puntland could not be dismissed as a malicious propaganda perpetrated by its multiple enemies. Further probing has however uncovered even more bizarre phenomenon. Puntland is not printing money; they are producing double sided duplicates, all carrying the same serial number from a master copy of 1000 shilling banknote. This is adding insult to injury. Not remunerating workers for the services rendered to the public for months on end and then paying them with false money is a kick in the teeth for all those loyal personnel who endured unnecessary hardships.
It is not the only time Puntland was accused of printing money however. During the hapless General Adde Musse’s reign printing counterfeit money was a problem. People still remember him taking to the airwaves to vent his anger at those fussing about his limited operation of printing only small amounts of Somali shillings!
The problems facing Puntland are not only economic mismanagement and incompetence however, but there are even more serious challenges. Never has this state been so isolated with less and less friends to turn to for support and encouragement in the face of combined and determined hostilities not only from Mogadishu and the federal state but also from the north where the combined forces of Somaliland and khatumo are conniving to undermine Puntland’s position.
Khatumo is an organization established to wrest Sool Sanaag and Cayn (SSC) regions from the clutches of Somaliland occupation but have now concluded a complete volte face. They are, at least as far as the senior leadership is concerned, in cahoots with Somaliland and are intent on playing hard ball to realise their objectives.
The Machiavellian policy of inciting a tribal warfare between the neighbouring communities predominantly of nomadic pastoralists struggling with harsh environment, recurrent droughts and a non-existent health service is seen by Khautumites as price well worth paying to achieve the tantalizing prospect of uniting these regions with secessionist Somaliland.
The paramount leader of Khatumo, a man who built his political reputation as master strategist adept at the dark art of skulduggery and intrigue seems to have lost his magic touch. Creating visceral animosity between the two communities is counterproductive even to his grand scheme of things. The golden rule when going into tough negotiations is to have a trump card up your sleeve in order to strengthen your bargaining position. And that card in this instance could only be The Daarood Card.
Aside from the machinations and subterfuge concocted by Khatumo and Somaliland schemers, the responsibility is with the Puntland state, its leaders, traditional or otherwise and society as whole for they will be the biggest losers if this conspiracy succeeds. And the damage is not that of Puntland being reduced to two regions and a half, since it could still survive as a viable federal state in line with the federal constitution as it is stipulated in its present form.But the real problem is the loss of enduring and close kinship based relationship with the communities in SSC regions.
Those established links predated the creation of Puntland state itself and existed even before Somali tribes were placed under colonial rule and certainly before the sight of any independent Somali nation state. When everything else fails it is the blood ties that will be left to pick up the pieces and guarantee survival in the face of hostile forces from wherever they come as happened in the darkest days of the Somali civil war when the central government collapsed.
The last episode of bloodletting was particularly serious. Here a sleepy town, named Qoriley found itself on the receiving end of a barrage of bullets from guns mounted on technical battle wagons attacking from different positions with a view to confusing the enemy – an enemy that in this case consisted of unarmed civilians women and children included.
The result came as no surprise with over a dozen killed and scores wounded. It was dangerous escalation of a conflict that was simmering for many years, setting a dangerous precedent. Indeed the reaction from the other side was quick and deadly attacking a village on the main road towards the capital city of Puntland. On both sides, according to credible reports, demobilized soldiers scraping a living as nomadic pastoralists or hanging out in nearby villages were leading the operations putting their lethal skills into practice.
The problem needs solution fast. Half-hearted measures, business as usual attitude will not not address the core of the problem. What happened on that fateful morning was departure from the classical tribal disputes. Altercations taking place between nomads usually at water points often degenerate into firefights but casualties are by and large small in scale and are followed by protracted negotiations, payment of blood money concluding with exchange of brides as the icing on the cake to secure a peace deal.
What we are witnessing is potentially a large scale military confrontation. If not properly dealt with it will be a replay of the horrendous scenes witnessed in Southern Somalia during the era of the warlords transported to a region that stayed relatively peaceful for many years.
The onus is on Puntland leaders as a whole. Genuine reconciliation and a generous compensation of the damages caused is warranted to restore the relationship between the two communities and establish trust and cooperation. On a wider point the government must put their act together and get a grip on the deteriorating economic situation. As 2016 approaches and marathon negotiations, the president cannot afford to be looking over his shoulder as he engages other stakeholders to thrash out a route to save the country from uncertain future and a renewed unrest.
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