Despite not being recognized as an independent country Somaliland has achieved not only peace and reconciliation among its population but also made huge improvements in basic essential social services including health and education since 1991.
The Somaliland economy is driven by the private sector. Unlike most other economies in the world, the government footprint is limited, amounting to under 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This context is both a structural advantage and constraint to further economic growth and the capacity of the private sector to create the jobs demanded by a growing population, after a generation of hard work building a political system and economy from the remains of a destructive civil war. .
Small and micro enterprises (SMEs) provide the bulk of employment opportunities elsewhere in the most of developing world economies, but the case is different in Somaliland, many young University graduates are to dying the African Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea during illegal immigrations to Europe while seeking a jobs & better life. In Somaliland the tragedy of illegal immigrations is widely spreading day after day.
Most of these immigrating youth, wouldn’t migrate if they could have any form of support to unlock their potentialities to create small businesses and enterprises that would create employment for them and other young graduates, the World Bank, UKAID and other potential donors of Somaliland are doing their efforts to help the government deal with its responsibilities of its nationwide dilemma including funding as well supporting private sector development programs to create employment and better life for Somaliland citizens.
The World Bank through International Financial Corporation’s (IFC) has supported and funded the Small and Medium Enterprise Facilities (SMEF) which was established to develop the capacity, capabilities and competences of Somaliland existing SMEs while serving the potential entrepreneurs establish their start-up business ideas. This platform was established to provide both technical guidance and start-ups financial grants.
With the goal and intention of that the more businesses increase the more the employment opportunities will be generated and will be a key contribution to poverty reduction and economic growth.
In consideration of the impact and importance of poverty reduction, which have various indirect positive effects to the reduction of other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this report, we will discover the frauds, briberies, and corruptions than hindered SMEF’s expected performance comparing to the current. Its misfortune that funds given to Somaliland government and its people are both corrupted and system frauded by Kenyan citizens
There has been a considerable disappointment causing negative feeling among the business community in Somaliland as a result of that funds.
We have received a lot of complaints from people who have applied the grants and feeling that they have denied of the opportunities by corrupt financial analysts and World Bank staff who have mishandled the application process and the selection of the winners. The complaints ranged from the talk of an unfair and biased selection process to accusations of downright favoritism and regionalism from the part of the SMEF implementing agency and the supervising World Bank.
We Somaliland youth are no longer proud of World Bank contributions of supporting youth entrepreneurs startups for their own businesses which can generate employment opportunities to unlimited number of Somaliland youth and women entrepreneurs experienced one of the world’s most reputable organization World Bank and its implementing agency of SMEF who both have a failed grade F to develop transparent system to ensure grant fund is awarded fairly and impartial to the right suitable applicants across Somaliland regions. We have clear evidences of corruption, hoax, scam; fraud and intellectual property rights theft made by SMEF employees create this rigged system, Specifically the country program director Mr. GEORGE. But the motives force to violate program policy was due to lack of accountability and oversight.
Now the funds that World Bank intended to support the new and existing businesses is spent to vocational trainings which is another miss-leading and mismanagement that the program Kenyan head has made.
Article is Continuous check Part 2
Written By: Abdi Muhamed Jamac