Somalia signs natural resources sharing deal with regional admins
1. Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden SouthWest President 2. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali–Puntland President 3. Sheikh Ahmed Madobe — Jubbaland State President
Mogadishu – Amid long-standing controversies related to the country’s natural resources, Somalia’s government has signed a deal with the regional administrations that would see all sides sharing the country’s untapped reserves and numerous resources.
The development comes as the battle for Somalia’s oil now threatens the troubled nation’s government at least as much as the Islamic militants, Al Shabaab.
Regional authorities, with their own armies, have begun to deal directly with foreign prospectors cutting out the internationally recognised government in Mogadishu, the war-torn capital.
Desperate to make equilibrium, Somalia’s government has convened a meeting with regional leaders in Mogadishu, striking a deal stipulating sharing the natural resources.
The deal by Somali government, Puntland, Galmudug, Jubbaland and South-western State was signed after hours of discussions on Thursday.
However, observers pointed out early vagueness in the deal, with the central’s government’s authority in the management of the natural resources hasn’t been specified in the new pact.
Somalia’s petroleum minister Mohamed Mukhtar told reporters after the deal that all sides agreed to create a taskforce that would weigh up how the government and regional administrations would share the natural resources.
Due to its proximity to the oil-rich Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Somalia is believed to contain substantial unexploited reserves of oil.
A survey of Northeast Africa by the World Bank and U.N. ranked Somalia second only to Sudan as the top prospective producer.
Competing for the resources, Somali government and regional administrations including Puntland and the breakaway Somaliland have granted licenses to foreign companies for finding petroleum and other natural resources in the country.
According to the Central Bank of Somalia, as the nation embarks on the path of reconstruction, the economy is expected to not only match its pre-civil war levels, but also to accelerate in growth and development due to the Somalia’s untapped natural resources.