The new president of Somaliland, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, unveiled the policies of his administration in his inaugural speech in Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland.The President's speech addressed the major challenges that are facing his administration and soon after offered the public the long awaited modern and lean cabinet that was marketed as an icon of efficiency. The small cabinet tabled by the president took the Somaliland people by surprise as its composition and distribution defied the long-established order and as such can safely be classed as a revolutionary one. The president appears determined to move the politics of Somaliland to a new realm which has its challenges and rewards – President Silanyo who is at the very end of his political shelf life is out there to make his own legacy but whether he ends up in the political wilderness of pre – Egal times ( SNM era) or becomes Nelson Mandella of Somalia remains to be seen.

One month ago Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) could fall in a year or a day and neither outcome would be surprising. al-Shabab had consolidated the southern and central regions, even launching raids into the north, and although it lacked the force to uproot 6,000 African Union (AU) troops from Mogadishu, the internal threat of government collapse meant that anything was possible. Kampala’s bombings prevented this mass from going critical, prompting new AU deployments and an offensive change in mindset.


Unfortunately the tipping point doesn’t appear to have been pushed back as well. Instead the conflict remains frozen on the edge, an influx of AU troops unlikely to decisively check al-Shabab’s operations. And as threatening as al-Shabab’s takeover would be to African and Western enemies, preservation of the status quo leaves al-Qaeda free to hide and train in Somalia’s southern region.Read More