Somaliland legislators fully approve MoU with DP World

The Republic of Somaliland legislators at the House of Representatives, today, overwhelmingly approved the memorandum of understanding that the government entered with DP World of the Emirates on Berbera port development.

To speed up the process,  5 MPs who were listed to speak on the floor withdrew their privilege favor of the voting procedure.

Consequently, the House Speaker called for a floor vote.

Out of 74 MPs present at today’s session, 69 voted in favor of the agreement reached with the UAE-based leader in port management, five voted ‘naye!’ and none abstained.Remarkably, out of the 7 opposing the development project, 5 hailed from the same clan – phylum, thus unveiling, some say, a hidden agenda that had nothing to do with safeguarding national interests: Saeed Elmi Rooble, Saeed Artan, Ahmed Waysa’addeh, Mohamed F Qabilleh and MP Hamud ‘Karasai’. Four were present in today’s decisive voting.

MP Qabilleh, one of the most vociferous opponents to the port proposition among the Sahel group, walked in late. It was never a secret how he would have been voting.

Together, however, above five did the greatest disservice imaginable to both their constituents and the nation by misrepresenting facts.

The 6th, Abdirahman Xoog, stormed out when, reports say, he judged the level of support for the MoU he so vehemently opposed. Together, these six did the greatest disservice imaginable to both their constituents by misrepresenting facts and the nation.

A seventh, Abdulkadir Jirdeh, for reasons not stated, did not enter the hall although present at the premises, only walking in when the other MPs were casting their vote. He did not. Instead, he made a turnabout and walked out again.

That was the complete line-up of all ‘Naye’ votes – cast and uncast.

Today’s vote of confidence for Somaliland’s primary seaport development scheme, which also entails side benefits that are of great import to the country, signals a new era in Somaliland thinking that greatly encourages national and international investment initiatives to take root.

The government of Somaliland submitted the draft MoU with DP World to the parliament on Sunday, this week, with a powerful argument in its favor.

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