Among the notable Somaliland governments is the recent upgrade of Hargeisa water systems by boosting the supply of water through new water pumps and added infrastructure to the system.
The old water system which was donated by the Chinese in the early seventies could merely supply enough water for the capital before the recent upgrade.
Another progress is the expansion of Hargeisa airport and the introduction of a boundary between the airport and the surrounding grazing lands . This enhanced the airport security and the prevents dangers of animals wandering into the airport runways. The airport can now handle large passenger planes.
The opening of a new building for the National Election Commission (NEC) was also a boost to Somaliland democratisation process with the elections expected to be held in mid 2005 .
This is in addition to the progress made by the private sector due the security environment abled by the trained Somaliland security forces.
Other areas worth mentioning as a result of SLD government’s efforts include the rehabilitation and the upgrade of Hargeisa livestock market , the removal of illegal street vendors from the high streets of the capital as well as the completion of resurfacing of Halaya road leading to Berbera , as well as the ring-road around the capital to ease traffic from Berbera port.
Pilots and staff enjoy new improvements at Egal Airport
But among the most celebrated achievements of all time in the country is the initiation of the construction of the road that links Burao to Erigavo . The 249 Kilometre road could cost hundreds of millions of dollars and has been avoided by all the previous governments. The construction commenced from Erigavo early this year partially funded by donations from public , followed by road paving from Eil Afweyne , and Garadag in Sanaag and from Ina- Af-Madoobe from Burao.
The banking system is thriving while the main port – Berbera – is expected to start handling almost 30% of all of the imports of neighbouring land locked Ethiopia with over 90 millions inhabitants. These are only few of the achievements of the current administration. Much more had been accomplished in other sectors including education , health and minerals exploration .
Despite difficult relations with the press and lack of freedom of speech , Somailand has achieved what many of its neighbours couldn’t in the past 2 decades.
Somaliland ( Former British Protectorate ) , led by the Somali National Movement (SNM), declared independence from the rest of Somalia on May 18 , 1991. Since then , Somaliland has held two presidential elections with smooth transition of power , one parliamentary election and two local government elections.
(Medeshi)
