His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud ‘Silanyo’, asked the UN Secretary General’s UN Deputy Special Representative & Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia?Somaliland & UNDP Somalia/Somaliland Resident Representative, Mr. Peter de Clercq, heading a delegation that the President received at his office, Monday. to quickly address the disparity of assistance the UN allocates for Somalia and Somaliland.
“There is a significant disparity between the allocations of humanitarian assistance that the international community gives out to Somaliland and Somalia. We will not accept a situation where Somaliland’s share passes through the Somalia Federal government, rendering us dependent on what they pass down to Somaliland,” the President said.
Mr. de Clercq was flanked by Mr. Richard Trenchard, the Resident Coordinator for FAO, and other officers, during the working visit to the President, where the two sides discussed, at length, a number of issues revolving around the UN’s possible response to the combat of the prolonged drought in Somaliland and its after effects on citizens.
“Our people need assistance in food, decent shelter and other amenities of life to recuperate from the devastating effects of a protracted drought,” the President stated.
The President added that drought drastically turned an estimated 200 000 families’ lives upside down in Somaliland.
The President, towards the conclusion of the meeting, also touched upon how the Republic of Somaliland was sincere about the meaningful continuation of the Somaliland-Somalia talks but were becoming more and more sceptical of how Somalia was sabotaging every turn of the process in order to thwart a mutually acceptable resolution of areas of monumental importance to the two erstwhile partners in the now defunct Somali Republic.
“The latest twist to Somalia’s plot to derail the talks came in the form of an inclusion of Somaliland in their political scenarios at the Somalia Way Ahead for 2016 conference that was recently held and concluded in Mogadishu. That was preposterous and a blatant act of calculated aggression against Somaliland on the Somalia part,” President Silanyo underlined.
Mr. de Clercq, speaking to the press at the end of the meeting, solemnly undertook to speed up all forthcoming assistance to the country immediately, expressing his delight on how the Somaliland government and its public quickly responded to the calamitous natural disaster on their own steam.
“We have written to the international community regarding a timely response to the drought in Somaliland and Somalia, and the head of pledges made had reached us now,” he said, adding that the UN response to the calamity and its effect on the ground will be addressed as best as possible – and in double time.
Mr. Trenchard also echoed the delegation head’s pleasant impression of Somaliland reporting on first-hand visits that he made to many parts of the country to assess the humanitarian situation resulting from a drought that decimated large parts of livestock and threatened the lives of tens of thousands of erstwhile herders and their families.
“We will spare no effort to properly and expediently address the prevailing humanitarian situation on the ground,” he said.
Present at the meeting on the Republic of Somaliland side were the honourable ministers for Planning, Ali Hussein Ismail – who later briefed the media along with Mr. de Clercq, Information, Osman Abdullahi Sahardid “Addani”, Animal Husbandry, Abdullahi Mohamed Dahir “Ukusse’, Commerce, Hussein Deyr, Minister of State for Presidency, Mohamed Abess, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Keisse, the Executive Secretay to the President, Ali A Ali, and the Presidency’s Press Officer and Spokesman, Abdirahman Sheikh Elmi Fahiye.
