The yet
to be recognized de-facto state of Somaliland has been in existence for the
last two decades. In the span of this period, Somaliland took great strides in
establishing all required institutions including democratically elected
governing bodies. During all this time Somaliland as a government independent
from their former union counterpart in the south has managed to survive on
meager handouts from the international communities through the UN and other
NGO’s.
Against all odds Somaliland people by all means survived
on their traditional lifeline, which is shipments of livestock exports to their
neighboring Middle Eastern oil rich countries, across the sea, and without
overlooking supplementary income in the form of remittance from the Diaspora
Somaliland administration due to its unrecognized state and the volatile nature
of land ownership have for the most part gave a blind eye to addressing the need for a significant land reform through administrative and traditional
channels in line with the with their
government structural systems. At the moment there are no land laws in
place except for the statutes that existed during the union era and which are
limited to the urban areas.
In this case just like any other Somali inhabited regions
in the rural areas the livestock are grazed
in the communal lands and each clan have set of traditionally recognized
boundaries; As a matter of cultural
rules the border recognition are informally enforced and can only be
violated in case of dire droughts.
Therefore the rules stands as informally enforced mutual cultural practice
adjudicating for temporary permission for one clan to reside and graze on other
clans’ territory and when the droughts are over clans are confined to their
respective territories. These codes or informal statutes and are promulgated
from the traditional cultural precedence known as” XEER”. Well this system
existed for centuries and since then worked well for the peaceful co-existence
and in line to the nomadic communal lifestyle. As archaic as they seems to be
they fully provided for the Middle Eastern oil rich nations a source for
organic fresh lambs, goat and camel meat a favorite for those in the upper and
middle class of these oil rich nations.. The existence of this kind of traditional way life which also benefited the
middle eastern meat market have of late been under tremendous stress from severe droughts probably as a result of global warming effects.
As if the
aforementioned natural hazards were not
enough of a burden, Genel a Turkish based multibillion oil and gas
corporation in cahoots with a gang of brokers in Somaliland have been
crafting a clandestine oil exploration deal which has left the
Somaliland within and those in Diaspora
with lots of questions and suspicion than satisfying answers. The one
major question people are asking is who is the real signatory to this deal with
Genel is it a private company, The weak Somali federal, or Somaliland
government? If it’s the administration then shouldn’t it be public information?
In my curiosity here and there I found this link which highlights some sort of
percentage interest, and the landmass to be explored.
http://www.genelenergy.com/operations/somaliland.aspx#
Reading from this source we all are aware of Genel as the
main contender but we still don’t know who owns the East Africa resource groups
and who are it’s the shareholders? What about Petrosoma who owns it and who are
its shareholders? And if the percentage
has been fully assumed by these groups what remains for the public and
government. Did the government only
settled for the taxes. I believe that Somaliland public deserves to know more
about this
If this is the case what is the role of the government on
this? Are the Somaliland parliaments and
house elders aware of this issue? If so
do they have oversights and regulations, governing the exploration and drilling
if at all oil is found what is the fate of the communities that regards these
lands as their ancestral land and the only economic lifeline as communal
grazing lands. This and many other valid questions are being asked yet there is
no clear answer forthcoming from their elected government. An administration
that prior to assuming powers promised transparency and accountability.
There some reports from reliable sources stating that the
East African Resource Group is owned by the main broker for Genel and in share
with numerous top government official including the minister for water and
natural resources, Mr. Hussein Duale a US naturalized citizen living in Los
Angeles until three years ago when he was tapped by the current administration
after it came to power in the historic democratic election of 2010.
So far the first
contracts for the initial expeditions has already been granted and have been
awarded to individuals from the Diaspora who have close tribal and family ties
to the Energy Minister and other top government figures. The information also
highlights that the Petrosoma just like the East African Resources Group is the
broker SL-6, SL-7 and SL-10A blocks on the Oodweyne sprawls. In this deals the interest have been shared
as follows, Petrosoma takes 20% after
Genel took 50% and Jacka Resources of Australia taking 30% , According to the reliable sources the owner of Petrosoma is solely responsible
for the Oodweyne block and is totally free from any government directives and
oversights.
Well if this comes to pass, then it’s clear that there is
some bigger conspiracy here. A big hand has been dealt to this unrecognized
enclave for which would not only affect the specific lands of drilling and the
unsuspecting nomadic locals, but would also corrupt the fundamental essence
that created and upheld Somaliland for the last two decades. This unjust
contract would undoubtedly jeopardize the tranquility and the governance system
of this de-facto republic. In this sense Somaliland unrecognized de-facto
territory is about to be turned into a “Banana Republic” .In order to
understand the meaning of Banana republic please go to this link
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-banana-republic.htm
One thing seems to be common here the owners of both East
African Resource group and Petrosoma are all from the Diaspora with their
families far from this forsaken lands .For them is to rip from these resources
and stash the proceedings into their adopted nation’s bank accounts, which are
more than not of the industrialized western nation. For them the environmental
degradation and the impacts facing the communities that settles these lands is
a secondary one if not lesser. As ethics dictates this individual cannot
represent the communities that settle this lands regardless of their masquerade
as hailing from the clans that occupy this lands.
It’s therefore a
duty upon the patriotic nationals of Somaliland both within and in the Diaspora
to demand for an immediate release and publicizing of all the petroleum deals
that went between the Somaliland administration and all the involved parties.
If need be, to be reviewed and amended. The communities settling these lands
would not go down without a fight for their rights. They will pursue all
peaceful means to have these contracts amended and ratified by the Somaliland
legislature. I hope that the current administration headed by Ahmed Siilanyo
would take measures to correct the wrongs and would create an environment that
will exempt Somaliland from some African oil rich nations where the oil
revenues turned to be a curse than a blessing to the masses. It’s the duty of
the government to appropriate a portion of the proceedings for the sake of all
Somaliland citizens regardless of their geographic locations.
I also would like
call on the executives and the shareholders of Genel to suspend the expedition
until the ongoing scuffles within Somaliland settles. I hope that Genel would
take a lesson from the disasters in the Niger Delta and not far from
Somaliland, the Ethiopian disaster where the separatist Ogaden National
Liberation Front (ONLF) in April 2007 killed 74 workers at a drill site during
a raid on the Abole oil field in the Ogaden region. Somaliland too despite of
its stability for the last 20years it can potentially turn volatile given that
the nomads are still armed and can easily resort to violence if their demands
are not appropriately addressed.
The Somaliland
people are one uniquely united people. I am sure that they will not allow for a
clique of individual with all grandiosity to divide them along clan line at the
expense of plundering and polluting their God given lands and resources. In
lieu of all this there is a well documented report by a consulting company
known as control risks titled; A new Frontier, Oil and Gas in East Africa. This
report extensively covers all areas that need to be exhausted before engaging
in the production of oil and gases. I
will suggest for both the contending corporations’ and the administration in
place to engage with the communities settling
on this lands and making sure that all the information pertaining to
this project becomes public information, and for the sake of all that comes
under the fold of the Somaliland republic.
Abdirahman Dhunjoog
Minnesota, USA
