Mogadishu (PP Comment) —The dispute between the Federal Government of Somalia and Puntland State of Somalia over the tendering process for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Galkayo-Xarfo Road (67 KM) brings to light the absence of political agreements on infrastructure projects. The African Development Bank funds the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Galkayo-Xarfo Road. The press release from AFD dated 1 August instructs potential bidders to send their bids to the Federal Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Housing. This policy grants Mogadishu powers to oversee the tendering process. It is a policy that excludes Puntland State institutions such as the Puntland Auditor General and Puntland Housing and Public Works Ministry from discharging their duties over the project.
The Federal Government of Somalia has an obligation to look into the political dimensions of the projects — the absence of clear rules on awarding the project to a company based outside Puntland State of Somalia. Puntland is a pre-federal state (it was founded before Somalia adopted the federal system). The African Development Bank channelled the grant through the Federal Government of Somalia, which has strained relations with Puntland State of Somalia. Although the federal system in Somalia turns 20 in October, institutionally it is in its infancy. It is more centralised than pre-1991 Somali governments in the sense that it tends to use its privileges to represent Somalia as an opportunity to marginalise Puntland State of Somalia.
By its very nature, development is inseparable from politics in Lasswell’s definition of “who gets what, when and how.” In a country that underwent a state collapse precipitated by dictatorial and statist policies that treated parts of Somalia as a periphery, the federal system is supposed to empower federal member states by letting them play an important role in development projects being carried out in an area under the jurisdiction of a federal member state. In the rudimentary stage of the federal system, the application of a non-competition clause specific to the federal member state that is a beneficiary of a development project such as the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Galkayo-Xarfo Road is crucial. The tendering process for development projects should reflect the spirit of the federal system. The role of the federal government is to secure development funds for the benefit of citizens, not to use the privilege as an opportunity to assert political power or settle political scores.
© Puntland Post, 2024
