blood resources in puntland article

Blood Resources in the Land of Punt
27 Feb 27, 2007 - 10:32:09 PM




By Abdisahal Jama “Urufeey”**

The starting point of this topic is intertwined with the newly intensifying campaign in Africa to rid itself of the conflicts of natural resources. As we all know, Africa is indeed in crisis whether its scarcity of resources, crime, tribalism, disease, or the lack of effective centralized governments. The exploration of Africa for natural resources, such as oil, natural gas and diamonds, has added to that curse, and for most people in oil and diamond producing countries across the continent, this is just another example of the domination of Western powers. The curse of the distribution of natural resources is now spreading, and is increasingly accompanied by competition for political and economic gain between the West and China.

Countries like Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and now Somalia, are suffering from this epidemic. Although for most of the West African nations, this has been a century long conflict that is finally getting some long deprived media attention, with Hollywood releases such as the “Blood Diamond” film starring Leonardo De Caprio.



In the case of the Horn of Africa, this epidemic is now adding more problems on top of already existing dire situations there, such as prolonged conflict, draught and human trafficking. Earlier this month, Ethiopia licensed Sweden-based Lundin Petroleum to explore for oil in the Ogaden basin [1] –a region traditionally inhabited by ethnic Somalis, some of whom have been waging a low-level insurgency against Addis Ababa for decades. Before the eruption of the Somali civil war in 1991, four major American oil companies signed an agreement with the then-ruling military dictator Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre, for exclusive concession rights to explore and exploit Somalia, primarily present-day Puntland regions (nearly one third of Somalia). [2]

It is widely believed that the first George Bush’s decision to send 28,000 American peacekeeping troops to Somalia in the ‘90s was largely influenced by these major oil tycoans’ perpetual dreams of finding oil and natural gas. In the eyes of these tycoans, this was their only way of securing the royal benefits given to them by the former Barre regime. If the U.S.-led United Nations peacekeeping mission succeeded, the oil tycoans could have continued fetching for Somalia’s undisurbed wealth with the aim of collecting massive profits. Well, thanks to Gen. Mohamed Farah Aideed’s struggle against foreign troops immortalized in the movie “Black Hawk Down,” that idea never materialized and President Bill Clinton, after a failed mission, withdrew American forces.



Now lets go forward in time to the current situation in the Puntland region of Somalia. Puntland declared autonomy in 1998 and is now run by a former general of the Barre regime, Mr. Mohamud “Adde” Muse Hirsi, who resided in the West for the most part of the civil war. Echoing the footsteps of his godfather Barre, Mr. Muse signed a controversial deal with a small Australian explorer known as Range Resources, Ltd. Range’s intentions is exactly the same as the ones before them. They managed to land a deal with Mr. Muse, hence without the authorization of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Somali people, in which he gave Range exclusive exploration rights to all hydrocarbons and minerals of the State of Puntland. The deal created political friction between Puntland and the TFG from the onset, while within the Puntland government, some officials expressed their opposition and were subjected to Mr. Muse’s wrath.

We all know that our leaders have failed us in one way or another, but how could this possibly happen? What could motivate Mr. Muse to jeopardize our natural resources at a time when we are facing the greatest challenge ever to our country? To add insult to injury, Mr. Muse first failed to consult with the inhabitants of the region, and secondly, with the greater Somali nation who if, in fact, oil is found have a say in the distribution of this wealth.

In observing Somali politics, one shouldn’t be surprised by the unilateral behavior on the part of Mr. Muse, because as the typical failed state, Somalia has been run by warlords who divided the country into clan fiefdoms and executed autocratic dictations upon the population. What is mind-boggling, however, is that Mr. Muse who spent decades living in the West and observing the day-to-day endeavors of orderly civilization where notions of universal liberty, justice and equality before the law, and accountable government is the norm, would practice such one-dimensional policies that fail to take into account the people’s hunger for their lawfully deserved share in the homeland’s natural treasure.

For most Somalis, its also diffucult to miss the irony whereby one side to Puntland politics is promoting a federal government in Mogadishu (former Puntland president Abdullahi Yusuf is the current TFG President), while another side is implementing unilateral policies in a field (natural resources) constitutionally deemed under the federal government’s jurisdiction. [3]

There is the common view that “inventions supposedly arise when a society has an unfulfilled need.” This need could be new technology or when existing technology is no longer satisfactory to the consumers. That is when inventors or would-be inventors, motivated by prospects of money or recognition, perceive the people’s need and try to meet it. However, the society the inventor belongs to can only adapt to the solution if it is compatible with the society’s values, practices and morals. We already know where majority of the Somali people stand on this issue, and in a culture founded on consultation, it is unethical for only one person to make such a bold decision, especially when holding a public position like Mr. Muse. This could not have come at a worse time, when Somalis are divided along clan and religious lines, and our so-called leaders have made their oath to fatten their pockets and sign off the country’s resources to power-and-wealth-hungry multinational corporations, while one in five of our children die of hunger and diseases that could be prevented if the proper government that is accountable to the people is put in place.

In early 2006, the media documented battles between Puntland security forces, working on the orders of Mr. Muse, and local clan militias who had the support of the inhabitants of the region. The militias opposed the exploration of the region without approval from area clans and challenged the Puntland government to first consult with them. The strong resistance from clan militias ultimately forced the government and its foreign partners to rethink their plans. But the violence cost dozens of lives and brought about unwanted conflict to peaceful villagers, who were already suffering from draught, war and the effects of the tsunami.

The division among area clans is even more prominent today, and this has tremendously shaken the administration of Mr. Muse. There is more corruption than ever before and those who have a say in the way our natural resources are governed and shared are quickly silenced by the powers of Mr. Muse and company. The guy who promised unity, a responsible government and a brighter future for Puntland during his campaign is also the same guy that is responsible for bringing new division amongst our people.

Although the situation in Puntland is far from that of Sierra Leone and Nigeria, its certainly headed in a similar direction if the current policy is continued. If this situation is not given greater attention and resolved now, the level of violence could potentially surpass that of Nigeria and Sierra Leone and bring more conflict to the troublesome Horn of Africa region. And as global demand for energy continues to rise, major players like the United States, the European Union and China are competing in the struggle for resources, making Africa their focal point. These powers know they can easily manipulate corrupt African officials who are trigger-happy in their quest to fulfill investors’ demands.

One of the ways this is being done is through the so-called political and economic aid in exchange for Africa’s raw materials. Such aid deal is exactly why the situation has been slowly getting out of hand. You got countries like China whose need to find resources is the driving component of their foreign policy. For example, the sales of weapons to Africa by China alone amounted to 10% of all conventional arms transfers to the continent between 1996 and 2003. They include the Sudan ($US 100 million worth of fighter planes) and Ethiopia and Eritrea (combined for about $US1 billion worth of arsenal). [4] By the way, who are these East African nations arming for? Still, imagine what this money could have done for the people if it was appropriated equally to fund vital health and social programs.

The key to mounting successful exploration in Africa is first by building the foundations to an accountable government that is responsible to the greater population’s general interests. That is to say, promoting a government that respects democratic principles, such as the checks and balances system which ensures no branch of government has unilateral authority. The controversial Puntland-Range agreement is the exact opposite of building grassroots consensus between the inhabitants and the governing authority, for the mutual benefit of citizen, government and investor. And unless this is duly noted and corrected, the long-term consequences could be devastating to the entire eastern seaboard of Africa.

CITED:

[1] “ Ethiopia licenses Swedish firm to explore.” The East African, Feb 2007.

[2] Fineman, Mark. “The Oil Factor in Somalia.” Los Angeles Times, January 1993.

[3] Article 67, Clause 1. Somali Transitional Federal Charter, (signed) February 2004.

[4] “ China, Africa and Oil.” Council on Foreign Relations, Jan 2006.





** By Abdisahal Jama “Urufeey” pursued anthropology and enviromental science during his undergrad. He is now preparing his Master’s and is an immigration consultant based in Seattle, Washington. He can be reached at: [email protected].