Somaliland: New National Planning $ Development Minister takes office

HARGEISA-New Somaliland Minister for National Planning and Development, Ali Husein Ismael Jirde has today officially taken over office in a ceremony held at Mansour Hotel in Hargeisa.

Former Minister Sa’ad Ali Shire handed over to the new minister documents containing the recent developments achieved by the previous team of the ministry and pending plans.

The ceremony saw the attendance of cabinet ministers, members of parliament, International and Local organizations and staffers at the ministry of national planning and development.

First, outgoing minister of planning Dr. Sa’ad has talked about the stages that the ministry has gone through over the years.

He said that the ministry consisted of five departments and added that two other departments were later added.

The ministry has six regional ministerial coordinators and 127 employees are current working at the ministry.

The minister has reitarated that more than 564 agencies have been registered.

The ministry of national planning plays a crucial role in earmarking the funds contributed by Somaliland Development Fund.

The SDF is invested by Denmark, the UK, and the Netherlands.

The ministry has close working ties with DFID, Danida, World Bank, African Development Bank and many agencies around the world.

The outgoing minister has called on the new minister to be just and must refrain from tribalism.

He added that the new minister should be absorbed by the current poltics in Somaliland.

He stated that he should dedicate all his time in building rapport with ministerial employees.

The new minister has promised to continue the work left behind by his predecessor and thanked the outgoing minister.