All Somalis, without variation, heaved a sigh of relief following the lifting of suspension off Somali remittance companies closed down in Kenya since April 7 this year.
Business people, students, and ordinary citizens – senders and beneficiaries alike, all received the news with a mixture of gratitude, relief and pleasure.
The UN and International NGOs have equally expressed their delight in the new, welcome development.
A number of Somali television stations put the question to Somalis across the board. The answer was one:”the re-opening wouldn’t have come a better time!”
The Holy month of Ramadan is for Muslims a month of giving and support to the needy.
Respondents in Hargeisa, Nairobi, Mogadishu and Bossasso all echoed the same sentiment as if they had orchestrated responses – which they did not.
Most respondents were equally grateful to the efforts the remittance companies put on the re-opening initiative showing that they were more than willing to allay all fears and misgivings any lawmaker could possibly come up with, and to President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya for taking this bold step to trust and support the law of his country as was administered and supervised by the Kenya Central Bank.
The most indefatigable among the remittance companies was, clearly, the largest, African, homegrown company – Dahabshiil.
Dahabshiil operates in over 126 countries and has access to a network of over 24 000 functioning send/receive points around the globe.
Of late, international organizations, US Congressmen, US Mayors, Somali governments, regional blocs, such as IGAD, and remittance organizations have all been maintaining the pressure on US and Kenya to not pull the lifeline rug from under beneficiaries but instead come up with a workable solution that both keeps the law and leaves the remittance companies open for business.
