HARGEISA (SLpost)- Today, the Somaliland Government concluded its sixth High Level Aid Coordination Forum (HLACF), a two-day event which brought together Somaliland government officials, civil society and their development partners to discuss ways to make the New Deal cooperation plan a reality on the ground.
The meeting comes at a pivotal moment for Somaliland and the region. With Somaliland’s 2015 latest round of presidential and parliamentary elections only a year away, and with terrorist attacks and threats increasing in neighboring countries, there is a need to ensure that Somaliland gets the support it needs to continue contributing to internal and international efforts to promote democracy, security and stability.
The HLACF was first established in 2011 as a means for ensuring harmonization and complementarity between donors and the government in implementing Somaliland’s National Development Plan.It has since been integrated into the aid management and coordination structures of Somaliland’s separate and distinct New Deal partnership framework, the Somaliland Special Arrangement (SSA), as its platform for facilitating policy dialogue and sequencing the implementation of priority projects towards the achievement of the SSA’s Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goal (PSG) milestones.
Those who made the trip to Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, for the event included key policymakers from ten foreign governments, as well as representatives from the EU, African Development Bank, UN agencies, international NGOs and private sector development actors.On behalf of the donor community, Head of DfID Phil Evans used the occasion to note the vast potential of Somaliland’s economy, particularly in the context of government’s sweeping investment climate reforms and progressing trade talks with Ethiopia, and congratulated the government for its strong political commitment to the New Deal principles of ownership, leadership and use of country systems.
In his keynote address,Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyoshined the spotlight on Somaliland’s unique stage of development, and the two decades of bottom-up peacebuilding, statebuilding and democratization that enabled Somaliland to reach that point. Noting that the institutional foundations are already in place for the Somaliland government to effectively administer social service provision and development in a secure, efficient and results-oriented manner, the President announced that the focus is now on ramping up reform across key sectors and themes, such as justice, security, elections, public financial management and civil service.
With a clear commitment and division of responsibilities among Somaliland’s international partners, the government was confident that it could develop the transparency, accountability, institutional capacity and popular responsiveness to undertake even the largest of tasks. For a government seeking to continue providing peace dividends for its people while also acting as a responsible actor in strengthening regional stability, such tasks include continuing to successfully combat the growing threat of terrorism, ensuring transparent and inclusive natural resource management, fostering more equitable development across Somaliland’s regions and guaranteeing access justice, human security and economic opportunity for all.
In addition to highlighting the current state of affairs, the HLACF provided the space for the Somaliland government and development partners to discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by Somaliland in meeting its Peacebuildingand Statebuilding Goal targets; converge upon potential areas of cooperation for concrete project implementation; explore the various funding mechanisms deemed acceptable for ensuring Somaliland ownership over its developmental decision-making; and discuss a proposed monitoring and evaluation framework based on the unique aspirations of the Somaliland people.
The Somaliland Government reiterated its position that the Somaliland Development fund was its preferred financing mechanism for implementing the Somaliland Special Arrangement, as it is fully aligned with the New Deal principles. This fund, established and funded by the UK and Danish Governments, and which the Norwegian Government recently joined, is currently operational and implementing its first batch of projects.
Reflecting upon the outcomes of the event, Somaliland’s Minister of National Planning and Development, who coordinated the event noted, “This was a highly successful meeting. Our development partners, which have shown Somaliland tremendous support over the years, provided us with great insight into where they see our partnership going in the future. In return, Somaliland made clear what an acceptable arrangement looks like for us, in the spirit of arrivingat a shared commitment to a common vision.”
He went on to add, “The goal of all these events and plans is ultimately to provide development support, economic opportunity and dignified livelihoods to the Somaliland people in a way that empowers them. With every high-level discussion, we hopefully move closer to this goal.”
Omar A Omar
MOP&D -Communication and Mass Media
