His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, today, jumpstarted a program in which the government reimburses traders and vendors who lost their lives work at the Waaheen market blaze of 1st April, 2022.
President Bihi personally handed allocated sums to the first 30 on the list, and the rest were sent their shares electronically.
The reimbursements come from donated funds collected since the inferno which turned the biggest commercial market in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, into ashes within hours.
The President handed out varying sizes of cash totaling US$1,872,511 to 988 beneficiaries – the first batch of thousands of vendors and small traders who eked their living from the market.
The Committee responsible for the supervision, organization, and distribution of donations allocated US$ 500 to vendors whose business totaled US$100 or less. Others’ were evaluated in line with their licenses up to US$5000.
Assessors put the loss to businesses and buildings as a result of the fire at US$ 2 billion.
The United Kingdom and the EU, the United Nations, Gulf states, Taiwan, and the United States all sent teams to Hargeisa to get a first-hand impression of the extent of the devastating fire.
The last to arrive at the scene was Qatar which dispatched its Mogadishu, Hassan Bin Hamza Hashem, and a delegation he led.
