Somaliland Election: A choice between a Continuation of ineffective Government and a Beginning of an Era of Hope and Opportunity by Mohamed F. Yabarag

Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of Somaliland people stuck in economic doldrums, lack of progress and wastage. Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of bad news for Awdal – yes Awdal because he divided them into warring clans where there were harmony and peace between the brotherly communities before his arrival in the political aren… As Somaliland electorate prepare to cast their vote to choose the next president on the 26th June  – the same day the old Somaliland gained its independence from Britain  fifty years ago – the choice the electorate has to make this time around has never been easier. The choice is between hanging on with a government that has proven time and again as the most corrupted, most ineffective and most divisive ever in Somaliland and a new beginning of hope, opportunity, fairness and justice. Rayaale's government has been in power for the best part of the last decade. UDUB led government has promised the earth and delivered none. Yes none. They may say we keep the peace, but peace was always kept by the people who tired of fighting and civil wars. For most Somaliland people, it was indeed eight long years of wasted opportunity. The country was largely peaceful during this period and as such it was indeed a great opportunity for any government to take full advantage of the situation by embarking on development projects and improving the living standards of its poor people.  Instead, the leadership of this government has concentrated on all their efforts and energy to amass a fortune and left the majority of its impoverished citizens in abject poverty. They also made one thing certain, and that is when the inevitability comes and they are voted out of office in three week's time, they will not be out of pocket. Sure they did that. Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of misery and underdevelopment.  Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of Somaliland youth dying in the high seas in search of better lives as often been the case during the last eight years of Rayaale's rule.  Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of Somaliland people stuck in economic doldrums, lack of progress and wastage. Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of bad news for Awdal – yes Awdal because he divided them into warring clans where there were harmony and peace between the brotherly communities before his arrival in the political arena – and even more bad news for the other regions he expanded last time to divide Somaliland people between clans competing for meager or non-existent resources. The hometowns of presidents have normally the feel-good-factor when their sons are in power. Even that is not evident in Quljeed, Rayaale's hometown. Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of international isolation as the world community has lost faith in this government and reiterated on more than one occasion that they cannot do business with this lot. Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of greed and emptying the coffers of Somaliland government.  Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of intimidating the press, the opposition and freedom-loving people of Somaliland. According to local sources, many opposition activities are lurking in Somaliland jails, particularly Borama. Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of the president himself touring the world for his own business sake and acting as a broker between the competing Somaliland businesses on contracts as he recently demonstrated in Dubai where a big handshake was given to him after favouring one firm against the other. Here we have a president doing the job of Ministry of Trade and all other governmental duties you can think of. Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of Somaliland people and its brotherly neighbours fighting in meaningless and useless wars along tribal lines as recently happened in Sool region. Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of government officials enriching themselves at the expense of taxpayers' money while hardworking men and women are becoming poorer.  In Somaliland, if you don't pay your property tax, the doors of your house will be taken apart by local officials. Five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of Ethiopian hegemony and domination on Somaliland affairs. The last but not the least, five more years for Rayaale and his government mean five more years of Somaliland people of all persuasions and ages – young and old, men and women, the frail and elderly –  staring in the eye of hopelessness and despair.  This government was given an ample time to treat the social ills and economic woes of Somaliland people. Time and again it has failed it duties and obligations to its citizenry in spectacular fashion, big time.  They say lunacy is doing the same thing again and again with the same outcome.  With all these evidence available to everyone, voting for this government one more time is a complete lunacy, particularly when we know very well that it will do no different next time.  It is a normal practice for governments all around the world to do well in office in the first years of their tenure. Western and other progressive governments do well in office in the first term. Once they entrenched their power and become familiar with the settings, they become complacent and do little even by their high standards.  This is why people vote them out of office even if they are doing things right. In Somaliland, people got stuck with a government that did little or nothing for nearly a decade. A decade is too long a time to waste. People cannot afford another half a decade to waste. There is no sound reason for Somaliland people to stick with this government. All they need to do is to have a hard and long look at their lives if any improvements were made under Rayaale and his government. It is time for change. It is time to give a chance the opposition. It is time to give Ahmed Mohamed Silaanyo and his party the benefit of the doubt. It is time to kick Rayaale's government in the teeth. I urge Somaliland people not waste their valuable votes in vain. Mohamed F Yabarag myabarag@yahoo.co.uk

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