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by Muuse Yuusuf
Saturday, November 01, 2008
The thrust of Mr Kipkorir’s argument in his recent article was that Somalis have ceased to exist as a functioning state, and this poses threat to the stability and security in the Horn of Africa. The author argues that Kenya and Ethiopia ought to invade Somalilands, and then annex them to their countries, because, in his opinion, Somalis have failed to govern themselves and therefore must be brought under a foreign rule; and if that is not done then the whole region will be dragged in the conflict with huge costs and human sufferings. In his opinion, once the annexation is done then the Somali problem will go away because Somalis will be governed by superior powers, which will sort them out!
I am not going to waste time to respond to the fallacies and fantasies in the lawyer’s article. This is because competent Somalis intellectuals have already said enough of all that is wrong with author’s reasoning and logic. However, I will take on one point that seems to be missed out of the debate, and that is when the author writes:
“Kenyans ought to know that although Somalia is a failed state, its positive statistics are impressive. Without a structured economy, its gross national income per capita is US$600 (Sh40,000), when ours is $550 (Sh36,800). Of its universities that operate without budgets and with armed militia guarding them, three are in Africa’s top 100.”
Although the author portrays Somalis as failures who should be brought under a foreign rule, in the above statement, he clearly acknowledges some positive achievements by Somalis without a formal state structure and despite long and bloody years of civil strive. In my view, the above is something that should be recognised, encouraged, and appreciated by all Somalis and their friends.
I will therefore attempt to add and highlight some impressive achievements that Somalis have accomplished during the conflict years despite limited resources, and little help from the international community, thanks to their diligence, hard-work, perseverance, and resilience. As my readers will see from the analysis, Somalis have done well in some sectors, e.g. education and telecommunication, and they are well ahead of those “stable” neighbouring states, including Kenya and Ethiopia etc.
I know I am undertaking the impossible task of finding some success stories out of the ruins of civil strive, a task which looks like searching a lost needle in the high seas like Somali pirates trying to salvage a Dollar dropped in the Indian Ocean!! But I think it is worth doing this because as they say “give credit where it is due”, and also it is a national duty to educate, and inform people like Mr Kipkorir, that things are not all that bad as he would like the word to think.
Powerful autonomous regional administrations
Here is a brief history for those readers who may wish to know how Somalis have got where they are right now.
In 1960, Somalis (the union of the South and North) inherited a post-colonial state with weak socio-political and economic systems and limited and inadequate infrastructure that were designed to serve the needs of the master and not the Somali people. The inherited state was, like many other developing nations, a city-state where the state mechanism and structure was confined to the metropolis (Mogadishu, Hargeysa etc), and public goods and services had hardly reached bare footed nomads and rural majority.
From 1960-69, the state went through a period of experimental pseudo-democracy and multi-party system, which collapsed in 1969 because of, among other things, corruption, tribalism, and favouritism.
The military regime tried to put it right by imposing a one party system and a centralised economy when they adopted the famous “Hantiwadaaga Cilmiga ku dhisan” “scientific socialism”, believing that the new system would eradicate old identities (clan), and would create new ones: i.e. a prosperous socialist society! That experiment again failed when the state went into dictatorship. This was ensued by the civil war, and most Somalis went back to their environs – i.e. their clans’ hinterland for survival.
However, during the civil war, despite the threat of dismemberment, and an uncertain future, Somalis have succeeded in creating some administrations e.g. “Puntland”, “Somaliland”, “TFG” etc. And some of them have good functioning public institutions, which provide diverse and varied levels of peace and security and some kind of basic social services. What Somalis have got now is strong and assertive regional administrations, under which they are exercising some kind of self-rule. Somalis are now more or less autonomous and independent from a centralised government or structure, which has arguably caused the failure of the state, and which Somalis have fought against it. It is really sad that it took 30-40 years and a lot of suffering before cities such as Baydhabo, Garawe and Hargeysa could try to taste regional autonomy and asserts their freedom from Mogadishu. Also one wonders whether some of these entities with a secession tendency are not really seeking total independence but merely are craving for, and expressing the desire for legitimate greater freedoms and autonomy, which have been denied by previous governments, particularly during the dictatorship in which the famous Villa Somalia was the power-house..
Somalis have now an emerging weaker federal structure embodied in the “TFG”, which could be utilised as a blue print for a looser federal structure. So what Somalis need right now is a negotiated federal structure that will hopefully lead to the rebirth of a stronger Somali state.
Good primary education enrolment
At the independence, Somalis had a Grade 1 primary enrolment of only 6,000 in 233 primary schools. During the 1960s the education system stagnated and this caused a decrease in primary education enrolment. This situation got better in early 1970s because of the successful literacy campaign, compulsory primary enrolment, and the adoption of the script of the Somali language. However, the education system deteriorated in 1977-78 due to, among other things, the Ogaden war. And a year before the collapse the central government the primary and secondary school enrolment dropped to 60,000 from 300,000 in the early years of 1980s.
Although Somalis have lost two generations who are without or with little education due to state failures in 1980s and the civil strife in 1990s, and this loss of human capital will negatively impact on future human development in the country, despite the fact that Somalis lag behind most countries in terms of primary education enrolment, they have however succeeded in creating and restoring old and new educational institutions and facilities, which now provide essential education services.
For example, the primary education enrolment though diverge and fluctuates between administration, has improved, and in 2003-04 enrolment shoot up to 300,000, a figure that is much higher than what it was few years prior the civil war. In addition, there are some secondary, vocational institutes, and adult education colleges, where students learn different subjects.
Before the civil war, higher education was more or less bankrupt (1980s), and its institutions, for instance the Somali National University, were bankrolled by donor countries. However, during the civil strive with their hard work and resilience Somalis have successfully created new institutions from scratch. For example, it is worth mentioning the success story of creating the Amoud University in which Borama residents, faced with 8,000 primary and secondary students, transformed the residential Amoud Higher School to a university. So if yesterday Somalis were proud of the Somali National University – the only and dominant institution - to serve the country today there are over 10 universities in the country, including among others Hargeysa University, Mogadishu University, and the East African University. And as Mr Kipkorir has admitted, three of them are in Africa’s top 100 universities.
Although ownership, management and financing of educational institutions vary from public-community-NGO to private sector, despite the fact that some of these institutions are rudimentary and operate through varied and different curriculum and standards, although accessibility is limited due to issues around affordability, it must be recognised that these institutions provide much needed education services to Somalis. And therefore Somalis should be commended for their hard work and tireless efforts.
A vibrant private sector
Telecommunication: Access to telecommunication before the civil strife was very expensive and not accessible to most Somalis. Telephone lines were limited to cities and to those lucky ones who could offer it. For example, in 1990 there were about 2 fixed telephone mainlines per 1,000 people. However, thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of Somalis and to new technologies today there are about 9 private operators that provide competitive telecommunication services to almost every province and to even towns and village, which did not have access to telephone prior the war. Today, there are around 25 mainlines per 1,000 persons, and availability of telephone lines (tele-density) in Somalia is higher than in neighbouring countries, three time higher than in Ethiopia. Access to international telephone calls is probably the most affordable and cheapest in whole of Africa. For example, in 2005 one minute phone-call from Mogadishu or Hargeysa cost $0.50-0.80, as the rate of one minute international phone call from a small town or a village in Somalia was cheaper than of that in Addis Ababa! In 2003, there were 63 mobile phones per 1,000 people and there are internet facilities.
Although in need of regulatory and structural framework, the sector provides much needed services, which improve the lives of thousands in terms of, among other things, job creation and income generation etc.
Small scale industries: Just few years before the civil war, the 53 or so state-owned large-medium and small manufacturing enterprises, like many public institutions, were breaking down and bankrupt. Then the civil war destroyed the rest, almost all infrastructure were looted. However thanks to investment by the Diaspora, the remittance sector, and some intervention by the international community Somalis have managed to re-start some old small scale plants, as they have created new ones. These include fish canning and meat processing plants in the north, some 25 factories in Mogadishu, which produce pasta, mineral water, sweets, plastic bags and sheets, hides and skins, detergent and soap, aluminium, foam mattresses and pillows, fishing boats, packaging, and stone processing etc.
The airline industry: Again thanks to their entrepreneurial spirit and lack of strict regulatory frameworks, there are about 14 private companies (e.g. Daallo) which run commercial flights from Somalia to abroad. These companies offer competitive flight tickets, for instance – Daallo air ticket from Djibouti to France costs 40% less than of what the Air France ticket costs. These carriers have been a life-line to Somalis’ booming trade, as they have been a helping hand in the delivery of crucial humanitarian assistance by the international community. So if yesterday Somalis were proud of the now bankrupt and defunct Somali Airline – the only national carrier that dominated the sky – today Somalis have successfully created 14 private companies that connect Somalis to the outside world. A big step towards a better future.
Road Infrastructure: in late 1970s there were 19,380 kilometres of road infrastructure which include all categories from paved, gravel, to tarmac. Despite the fact that these roads have been badly deteriorating in some parts of the country and in need of maintenance, the percentage of roads that have been paved and maintained by Somalis during the civil war period is the same as of that of Kenya and Ethiopia, and much higher than in Tanzania.
Remittance fuels booming trade:
Some 750,000 Somalis in the Diaspora sent US$825 million to $1billion in 2004 to Somalia. This is estimated to be around 60 percent of Gross National Product (GNP). This generosity offers much needed subsistence to relatives, and acts as a life-line not only for immediate families, but also to wider society as the money trickles down via domestic commerce to even remote rural communities. The money transfer helps much needed construction projects, small business, credit and loans schemes, as it assists in creating some job opportunities and incomes.
Also, the money transfer- handled by a network of roughly 8 remittance companies, facilitates international trade. Even though these companies face future challenges in terms of adopting structural and regulatory frameworks to get them integrated into the global financial system, and despite the current setbacks caused by the closure of some companies due to alleged terrorism financing, the sector has proven to be resilient, and it continues to help a booming trade in which exports (livestock etc) and imports reached a record high US$265 million and US$400 million respectively. The remittance sector also makes regional and international payment transactions from and to Somalia more efficient and smoother than pre-war system. $100 sent from Europe/USA takes 1-2 days to reach relatives in Somalia if compared to the pre-war era where because of, among other things, bureaucracy it was a cumbersome task to transfer money via banks. It would not be an exaggeration if I say that the Somali remittance network is more efficient and reliable than those “formal” banking systems in Kenya and Ethiopia where bureaucracy and cumbersome regulatory frameworks make business and banking transaction much harder.
Somalis have even tried to create banks, for example the attempt by a Somali group to open the Universal Bank of Somalia – an adventure between Somalis and others – is worth noting.
Furthermore, the vibrant and resilient private sector – sometimes in partnership with public/NGO sectors, continues to provide essential services e.g. water, electricity, education and health, which are sometime better and more efficient than the pre-war service provision. And towns and villages, which even did not have access to some of these services under the central government are benefiting from it.
And thanks to their resilience and hard-work and, as Mr Kipkorir has admitted, Somalis’ Gross National Income per capita is higher than Kenyans!!
Conclusion
No room for complacency
However, having highlighted some impressive achievements, I must say there is no room for complacency. This is because Somalis are amongst the poorest in the world and they owe the international community a massive debt of US$3.2 billion. Somalis lag behind in all human poverty indexes; and about 71% of population do not have access to sustainable water sources. In addition, they are far behind in meeting the UN’s millennium targets that, among other things, stipulate universal primary education to all children by 2015.
Even those stable regional administrations are now facing same old problems that existed during the central government, ranging from mismanagement of public funds; corruption; ineffective revenue collection mechanism; an imbalanced public budget in which higher percentage of the public purse is allocated to security and presidency sectors, while less is spent on social services and developmental projects. For example “Puntland” and “Somaliland” spend only 1% to 5% of their annual budget on education, which is the same as the pre-war expenditure. And obviously this would mean less education for children.
Global warming, and environmental degradation fuelled by uncontrolled tree-cutting is endangering the sustainability of the ecosystem, and this could destroy the agro-pastoral sector, the backbone of Somalis’ economy. Illegal fishing and dumping of toxic materials in the high seas by scrupulous multinationals will wipe out the huge unexploited marine life, which Somalis have yet to exploit.
As you read this article water borne contagious diseases are killing children for lack of flood prevention and defence systems, medical, and health services. Also, the clouds of war seem not to go far away from this neglected but beautiful country; regional and global powers are aggressively pursuing their opportunistic and misguided hidden agendas and policies thus upsetting the reconciliation, recovery, and reconstruction efforts that peaceable Somalis have painstakingly undertaken with entrepreneurial spirit, diligence, hard work, perseverance, and resilience.
In conclusion, Mr Kipkorir things are not that bad as you would like to think, and I believe it is just a matter of time before Somalis re-constitute a negotiated strong and united Somali state, which all Somalis will be proud of.
Muuse Yuusuf
[email protected]
Source:
- Somalia: A country Study, Nelson Harold D, American University, Washington, 1982 -
- Somalia: From Resilience Towards Recovery and Development, World Bank, Jan. 2006
- Somalia’s national education system and the visible educational progress in the absence of state:
Abdulkadir Abiikar – Sept. 2006, posted at www.biyokululonline.com
- SOWETAN DAILY NEWSPAPER, South Africa,
- www.bbc.co.uk/news
- Why Kenya and Ethiopia ought to annex and divide Somalia , Daily Nation, donalad Kipkorir, Friday, October 03, 2008
- Mr. Kipkorir: Annexing and dividing Somalia is a call for balkanization of Horn of Africa, Bashir God, October 5, 2008