Editorial: Transparency and Accountability Remains Foreign to Silanyo Administration

By: Horn Newspaper

There have been several dealings between multinational corporations, whether in the oil industry or companies hoping to sign the lease to national ports, and yet this administration refuses to divulge public information on such dealings.

It’s the continued closed-door, alleyway, hidden in the dark style that this administration is adamant on establishing as an environment for major deals and agreements with foreign institutions.

Oil blocks are being sold like never before at any time in Somaliland’s history; and, parliament is still in the dark. The Minister of Minerals and Energy, Hussein Abdi Duale, refused to inform a Bloomberg.com reporter on the nature of any agreements made with new oil interests.

 Isn’t that kind of saddening?

When asked by a local reporter, the Minister responded with- “I’m just a Minister, I do what I need to do and I’m not aware nor was I informed of any mandatory duty to inform parliament of oil deals”.

Genelle Energy, DNO, some Arab oil companies, Petrosom and some others that are not even on the public radar. The unfortunate situation is that we can obtain more information from the websites of oil companies than from our own Ministry of Minerals and Energy. It’s almost as if Parliament refuses to explore the shady and very-much sketchy closed-door oil dealings.

Is our nation being sold right before our very own two eyes?

Perhaps so; there’s also the port issue. This administration hopes to confuse the public by claiming to bring in foreign investment when that’s not the case at all. It takes transparency and accountability for governments to be trusted. Nonetheless, this government is blind to both. Hence, the need and utmost urgency of the thinking-man; the tuned individual; the awake and alert to take action and speak on the countless monetary atrocities taking place.

This is not foreign investment. This is strongly rooted in greed and corruption and unless serious changes are made to the landscape whereby only a few are desperately attempting to control the public interests resulting in avenues of private gain- unless, the government and this administration chooses to deal with foreign companies in a legitimate and respectable manner- the public opinion and support will undoubtedly sway away from this President and ultimately this Government.