IN THE NAME OF GOD THE MOST GRACIOUS THE MOST MERCIFUL

 

As a Somalilander and an African I would like to discuss a matter which has become extremely important for many countries especially African countries, and that is the menace of corruption. We are all aware that many people in the Republic of Somaliland lost their confidence in the Judiciary and other bransches of government due to widespread corruption. But now things seem to be changing with the ascendance to power of president Dahir Rayaale Kahin who has taken important steps to fight this disease which according to many is so pervasive that it risks destroying the fundamental structures of society. The eradication of corruption in Somaliland will only be successful if and only the citizens of the country take their responsible part and contribute to the fight against corruption. No one man or woman can cure the ills of society. It is the duty of society as a whole to take steps to both prevent and cure its ills.

 

Corruption is the major factor that impedes development and progress of a country. It destroys the moral fabric of society and at the end exerts a deadly blow to both the political-security and economic-social stability of a nation. It thwarts a nations opportunity to economic growth and development and as a result prevents a country to be an integral part of the world economy where trade and capital flows are crucial in globalization.

 

Many African countries are suffering from diseases, economic collapse and civilwars largely due to corruption. Corruption leads to the miss-allocation and miss-appropriation of resources and denies a country to invest its resources on important projects which are essential to the development and progress of a country. These projects can be investments in Health, Education and Poverty eradication measures. The most important resource a nation possesses is it´s human resource. And the human resource can be exploited effectively by prioritizing education and research. There is an english saying " Knowledge is Power".

 

Emphasizing the importance of education is what differentiates well advanced nations from the less advanced nations. Corruption and economic mismanagement has become a serious impediment to Africas participation in the world economy. It has resulted in African countries becoming even more poorer than they were forty years ago. The foreign investment in Africa is less or equal to one percent of world trade! This is due to the fact that corruption is so pervasive in almost all African countries that both foreign and domestic investors lack the impetus to invest. This lack of investment has had serious implications for Africa where economic growth is non-existent and good governance and sound economic management is foreign to the ruling elite. It can never be denied that there is a strong correlation between good governance and sound economic management versus development and prosperity for a nation. As evidence to this fact can be the Far Eastern countries of Singapore and Malaysia which are counted as Newly Industrialized Countries (NEC). These countries gained indepedence at the same time as most african countries and today its citizens enjoy economic prosperity and better quality of life most africans can dream of.

 

Corruption poses a great threat to national security whereby the have-nots will and have taken to arms and try through the use of force to have a share of the national cake. This is the main reason why many countries in Africa are ravaged by civilwars and perpetual political instability. The suffering and neverending misery of Africans is not due to lack of resources, but rather due to lack of leaders who are working for the best interests of their citizens. The African continent is endowed with natural resources and its richness in these resources is second to none. But without altruistic leaders with vision no amount of natural resources can salvage the majority of nations´citizens from eternal poverty! Japan possesses fewer or even none of natural resources, but it is the second most powerful economy in the world! Its successes resides in its human resources. 

 

If the leadership of a country forego with bad example and corruption becomes the order of the day, then that nation is doomed to irreversible damage and collapse. But the lion share of the blame is on the citizens who do fail to control and curtail the excesses of their socalled leaders who squander and plunder their poor countries resources and sentence their citizens to unending circle of poverty and human misery. These leaders have received huge loans from the IMF, World Bank and foreign governments and wasted it and entangled their nations in an evil circle of aid dependency and ultimately lost their sovereignty and act at the whim of aid donors, who even nowadays dictate the kind of legislations and day-to-day doings of these nations! The criminal behaviour of african leaders is now haunting the lives of millions of Africans who are enmeshed in a devastating kind of poverty that they don´t see light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

In regard to the horrible and long-term effects corruption has on a society I call upon Somalilands president Dahir Rayaale to declare war and fight this menace to the end. For so long Somalilanders have vented their anger at the level of corruption permeating the Somaliland governmental organs. The major areas Somalilanders have complained about are the Judiciary and the local governments. The Judiciary is accused of selling "justice" to the highest bidder and some local government officials are engaged in activities which are in clear contravention of their duties. Landgrabbing and asking for bribes have become so common that the public is so close to losing confidence in these bodies. These matters if not handled expediently will lead to instability and turmoil in Somaliland. 

 

The Somaliland president should be applauded and encouraged to continue his jihad against corruption and mismanagement at all levels of government. The recent firing of the Justices of the Supreme Court and almost fifty other judges throughout the country demonstrates the seriousness the president is taking these issues. The president should not rest and leave no stone unturned and persue this goal of justice for all Somalilanders and get rid of corruption, otherwise the ramifications of complacency will be deadly for Somaliland both in the short- and long term. Corruption should be suppressed as quickly as possible before it becomes a norm in the society.

 

The Somaliland parliament should legislate bills to combat as well as minimize corruption in the society. Laws should be passed forbidding:

 

a. Public officials of running their own companies while serving public office as this would result in conflict of interest.

 

b. All those running for public office should be required to declare their wealth and their source.

 

c. Government accounts be made public for the citizens and other interested parties to scrutinize.

 

d. Stiff penalties for any person involved in corruption activities. Both the official and the private citizen should be punished for the act since they are colluding to receive unmerited benefits at the expense of a third party, namely the state.

 

e. The establishment of an Anti-Corruption Unit which is independent and hopefully consist of people of different professions like legal experts, economists and financial experts etc. Enormous powers should be vested on this body and have the power to investigate every serious allegation levelled at any government organ, be it the president or a clerk at the local government.

 

f. Tenders made by SL government agencies should be made public and advertised in the massmedia and different competitors should be given enough time to put forward their offers. Strict procedures should be put in place so as to guarentee consistency and fair play.

 

The above measures can play positively in the surpressing of corruption. The menace of corruption should be taken seriously by all concerned since it is a major factor that hinders a nations opportunity to economic growth and prosperity. The Republic of Somaliland should learn from the experiences of African countries and avoid the same misstakes. There is a dictum which says; Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it.  The greatest responsibility rests on the shoulders of Somalilanders. They have to hold their public officials accountable and protest in the strongest manner whenever and wherever the ugly face of corruption surfaces. They have to ingrain in the consciousness of the public officials that they are always under the watchful eyes of the public and every move they make is scrutinized. This will to a greater extent contribute to responsible and accountable officials who will neither take the risk to be corrupted nor mismanage their responsibilities. As they say you get the leaders you deserve and deserve the leaders you get! So please let us not deserve leaders who will ruin our motherland - Somaliland! 

 

GOD BLESS SOMALILAND, THE LAND OF THE WISE AND INDUSTRIOUS! AMIN!