His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud “Siilaanyo’, Saturday, honored a graduation ceremony held for 214 civil servants who successfully completed degree and diploma courses at the Somaliland Civil Service Institute (CSI) here in Hargeisa, the capital.
The President, addressing the graduates at the ceremony held at the Green Plaza, cordially congratulated the graduates on the effort they put in reaching at a stage where they were to be conferred accreditation for their determination.
The President, speaking of how the government he led contributed to the qualitative development of public servants said that the Kulmiye administration he headed now foots the CSI yearly budget 100% where the government they took over from only contributed 19% of the Institute’s academic and administrative expenditure.
“My government took over the reins with only 6,959 civil servants on government payroll for the past 19 years that preceded our takeover. We have increased that number by 9346 and not only in numbers but in quality, too”, the President said.
The president was, perhaps, modest enough not to mention that his government raised government pay more than 100% since he came to the Presidency.
President Siilaanyo urged public servants to triple and quadruple their service to the nation, and to avoid misappropriation of meager public funds and waste of temporal and physical resources.
The president, also, strongly cautioned civil servants to meddle in partisan politics sacrificing national duties and obligations for political affiliations and party rallies, campaigns.
“Anybody found actively involved in party politics will face the consequences,” he admonished.
President Siilaanyo prayed that Somaliland livestock herders and pastoralists in the eastern regions of the country be saved by the almighty with his bountiful rains before the situation went out of hand. He also called on all Somalilanders, international agencies and friends of the people of Somaliland far and near to sit up and take stock of the alarming drought situations unraveling before us all.
Minister of Labor, Omar Sheikh Mohamad Farah, who spoke at the ceremony before the President, promised that no jobs that Somalilanders can adequately perform would go to outsourced foreign professionals effective from now.
Faisal Ali Hussein, Leader of UCID national opposition Party advised graduates to optimize efforts, using the skills they acquired, to develop their motherland at all stages, at all times.
Chairman of the National Civil Service Commission, Sharmake Ahmed Muhumed, spoke warm words at the ceremony, offering both his felicitations and wise words to the graduating fifth batch.
CSI Director, Guleid Suleiman Hagog, and Deputy Director, Hersi Abdullahi Ismail, summing up the Institute’s performance, revealed that 3,487 students, most of whom from the public service, graduated from the academic hub since it was upgraded to a full, tertiary level institution.
