That Freedom Shall not Perish

All 17 Council members present unanimously elected Ur-Adde, who will replace on Abdihakim Mohamoud. He will be the third person to be elected for the post.

The first 2 deputy Mayors were removed from their posts-by the council after they were accused of abuse of power, embezzlement and mismanagement of land.

Thousands were standing along the road form the Airport to Sheikh Madar's tom, to pay their last respect as a procession of hundreds of cars passed along the road.

President Dahir Rayale Kahin, Vice President Ahmed Yusuf Yasin, leaders of both House of Parliament, traditional and religious leaders, members of the 3 state councils, chairman and many senior members of the 3 parties and hundreds of citizens prayed at the tomb.

Sheikh Ibrahim was buried with the honour that he deserved. As all mortals, he died and was buried, but his memory will remain in the minds of the people of Somaliland, for a very long time.

Sheikh Ibrahim Sheikh Yusuf Sheikh Madar, chairman of the House of Elders since 1993, and chairman of the elders since 1988, when he was elected at Adorosh had shared the good and the bad, the sweet and the bitter in peace and war, at times of plenty and adversity, in politics and public life said a lot of tribute to the great son of Somaliland and the pillar of peace. Here some of the tributes.

President Dahir Rayale Kahin said; "Shekhi iIbrahim was a strong pillar, whom the nation lost. We are all mortals and we pray that God may repay for all the good he did for this nation."

Vice President Ahmed Yusuf Yasin, said; "He was out spoken and a man with great resolution. In 1993, while in Djibouti to get support for the Borama Conference, he flew alone to Borama and announced that the conference will open tomorrow. Delegation from the east and west began travelling to Borama. Each delegate through that they were the only absentees. Sheikh Ibrahim was one of the main pillars of Somaliland."

Chairman of the House of Representatives Ahmed Mohamed Aden (Qaybe) said; "Sheikh Ibrahim was the patron of both houses of parliament. He was the solver of internal conflicts. His death has left a gap, but we hope to cross that. We were together in the House of Parliament, when we heard the death of the late president Egal. He was the force that helped us overcome that obstacle."

Chairman of the opposition KULMIYE party .Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo, said, "He was an important personality, that will take a prominent place, in the history of Somaliland. He was an advocate for the people's cause and not a puppet, before the struggle. He joined SNM at the frontline in 1988 and became leader of SNM elders. He remained, a leader of elders, until he passed away. He played a major role in peace and development. He was patient and showed great perseverance.

Chairman of the opposition Justice and Welfare party (UCID) said; "He was a man of the great resolution. He was the leading the elders, who saved SNM from crumbling and revived its struggle. He will be remembered for what he contributed to the struggle."

Hagi Abdi Hussein (Abdi-Warabe) one of the closest friends and colleagues of Sheikh Ibrahim said, "He was a great leader. We will remember him for his contribution to the peace in this country. He was the torchbearer of the freedom of this country. He was the first man to organize the people, when they were forced to flee, from the barbarity of the late regime. He continued the struggle he began, when we elected him at Adarosh until his death".

.John Drysdale, a British citizen who is a good friend of Somaliland speaking about Sheikh Ibrahim said; "He was a great man and a real Somaliland, who always worked for the peace of his country."

The Secretary General of UDUB (Governments party) .Mohamed Ismail Bullale said, "Death have not left, those who were a barrier against humillation. He was not only patient but consolation to all."

.Musa Bihi Abdi a senior SNM veteran said; "May God rest his soul in peace. He was a great personality and had many traits, which are never seen in one person. He was decent, sober, quite and courageous. At Adorosh, when enemy planes attacked us, Sheikh Ibrahim and 2 other men had the courage to stay, when all run for cover."

President of Djibouti Parliament .Idiris Arnaoud Ali in his condolence message said; "Sheikh Ibrahim was an important personality who played a great role in Somaliland's peace reconciliation. May God rest his soul in peace."

.Jirde ho is studying Conflict Resolution in the United Kingdom told Hadhwanag Website, that Somaliland's conflict resolution is unique and tht it is being scientifically studied.

The Deputy Chair an who announced that he will return August stated that he has good contact with Chairman of the House of Representatives and that his joining the president's delegation in London, was pre-planned.

Speaking about the electoral law, he said the main article, that was put a side ws the article of the division of House of Representative seats in the region. The forthcoming election might be based on the 1960 election or the local and the presidential elections held. All other elections after that will be on census of population.

In answer to parliamentary elections in Sool and Eastern Sanag he said; "This is to be decided by the National Electoral commission."

.Jirde reiterated that the Imbigati conference does not differ form that of ARTA. It is trying to establish a government for Somalia (Ex-Italian colony). If interested groups in the region or abroad try to form a government for the former Somalia Democratic Republic, it will mean war. We oppose giving failed state as a gift to anyone. If this is done, we will find in defence of Somaliland and will do everything towards this.

He conluded saying, "It is advisable not to wait, but take appropriate measures to stop the appearance of another Abdikasim"

The demonstration were protesting were protesting against the plan of the conference, which is trying to include Somaliland, which is not attending the conference and had repeatedly informed the international community that it has nothing to do with the conference and that will not be bound by its results.

The demonstrators were shouting `Death to Somaliland Enemies `Long live Somaliland' IGAD states are creating New Confrontation in the Horn'.

SNM veterans who addressed the demonstrators reminded them of the armed struggle for reclamation of sovereignty. And urged them to unite, for the defence of Somaliland independence and its people.

The speakers reminded the demonstrators that the people of Somaliland are nature today, that the prevailing situation in the country in different from that of 1960 and that they will not leave their destiny to be decided by anyone.

The speaker urged all Somalilander's to respect democracy and the individual right of expression, reminding them that any violation of these rights will have adverse affects on the impression of the country abroad.

Spokesman of BICSD, Dr. Abdikadir Hagi Muse in a signed declaration stated that the aim of the July 18 conference was to exchange views and discuss the situation of the country and the Nairobi conference. He said; "The vice president, political parties and traditional leaders were among those who were invited. It was unfortunate for the government to misinterpret our intentions, think that it was sabotage and as such stopped the conference. As we work for peace, we had no intention of taking arms."

The declaration stressed that thousands have died, thousands handicapped, thousands have become orphans, while thousands become orphans in the war for liberation.

The declaration warned the government to avoid taking any steps, similar to those who brought the SNM struggle, such as denying people the freedom of expression and assembly; threatening the people with the security forces, violation of the constitution and ruling the country by illegal decrees.

The declaration emphasised that the Nairobi conference with have negative affects on the country and that the government seems to be doing nothing and as such appealed to nationals in the country and abroad, to discuss issues that concern the people and the sovereignty of Somaliland.

The declaration described that Sool and East Saag issue to be obstacle to Somaliland's unity, sovereignty and recognition. It accused lacking a policy to solve this problem. It also urged the people to solve their internal misunderstanding peacefully and have a common stand.

The Burao intellectuals' conference for security and Development urged the people to strengthen peace and stability and tighten their belts for the development of the country.

The declaration proposed the need for a large delegation-similar to that of 2002-to be sent to Sool and East Sanag, to solve grievances and as such realize and strengthen unity and sovereignty of Somaliland.

.Abdillahi Dirie, Secretary General of the chamber of commerce in a press conference held on Thursday stated that the aim of the national trade fair is (a) to give opportunity to citizens who take part in farming, livestock, industry to show their production to the public. (b) To assess the developments achieved since the last trade fair, in the different sectors of local production and the growth of trade (c) To encourage and assist local productions and their marketing (d) To provide and opportunity for participants, through the international media, that will be invited, the determination of the people of Somaliland to reconstruct and develop their country.

The fair will also provide tangible proof to Somalilanders in the Diaspora, not only to partake in the development of their country, but also to convince societies they live with, that Somaliland provides good opportunity for foreign investment.

The national trade fair attracted foreigners and nationals, since they were first held in May 1999.

Participants of the fairs got free international advertisements from the international media such as CNN, AL-JAZEERA, BBC, REUTERS, AFP, MBC SABC, THE FINANCIAL TIMES, THE GUARDIAN and the Christian Science Monitor who were invited by the chamber of commerce to cover the trade fairs.

Therefore, I say kudos to the Burcaawi for their determination to initiate a number of badly needed infrastructural projects in our beloved city such as bridges, water wells, primary schools, and secondary schools, etc. Most importantly, your worthwhile decision to designate land for an institution of higher education and for expeditiously laying down the foundation stone of the first university in Burao city is a huge accomplishment and something for us all to be proud of. Consequently, it is encouraging that your very action and accomplishment has now spread like wild fires around the country and have influenced the Berberaawi and the Cerigabaawi and possibly the Laas Caanaawi to contemplate the same achievements you have made in their respective cities. Truly, your accomplishment in this regard is shattering and to the envy of the selfish Hargeysaawi and the Boramaawi who have for so long taken advantage of the rest of Somaliland and taken for granted their status by having the only two universities of the country at their respective cities! Above all, I would like to appeal to the Burcaawi citizens to take another bold, courageous, and shattering move to again designate land for another institution of higher education and to promptly lay down the foundation stone of the first: SOMALILAND ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY in Burao city. The construction of an Islamic university in Burao city, the birthplace of Somaliland nationalism and freedom fighters would be a monumental achievement for all Somalilanders and for all Muslims in the region.

Furthermore, I think it is a bit easier to raise funds for the construction of the first Islamic University in the country since the government, private sector, and most Muslim countries would probably contribute greatly towards this great THAWAAB or HASANAAD.

Overall, the construction of an Islamic University in Somaliland would probably be the first of its kind in Africa and it is long overdue therefore it is time that the Muslim people of Somaliland to take the lead and make this idea a reality. It is also the time that the Muslim people and country of Somaliland with the TAWHEED of Allah and the prophet on their flag to remember Allah and to construct this Islamic Uninversity in the country. This project must be implemented as soon as possible if we want Allah (SWT) to be pleased with us and to earn His precious Baraaka.

Finally, let us also take advantage of the current business boom in the Eastern Regions of Somaliland and turn Burao city into the commercial hub of Somaliland and the region. And there is no doubt that if think wisely think and implement these two important ideas (Somaliland Islamic University, and making Burao a commercial hub) immediately, it would certainly bring prosperity and develop the city and region much faster to the benefit of the people and country of Somaliland. Also, this action will certainly curtail the excesses or minimize the unfair treatment or shatter the selfish domination of Hargeysa for ever.

Victory and Liberty,
Farah Ali Jama, Ottawa, Canada.

Note : Burcaawi = residents of Burco city. Likewise, Hargeysaawi, Boramaawi, Cerigabaawi, Laas Caanaawi, and Berberaawi = residents of Hargeysa, Borama, Cerigabo, Laas Canood, and Berbera cities.

Nagaad Address
Badacas, Koodbur, Hargeisa
C/O DAHABSHIIL HARGEISA P.O.BOX 4630 Dubai
Phone: 252 213 4692/252 2 427496/252 2 527317 Fax: 252 213 4501/4416
Email: nagaad@telesom.net/nagaad_u@hotmail.com
Wepsite:www.nagaad.org

I. BACKGROUND

Nagaad works for empowering women to realize sustainable development. It strives to address two key goals that are of concern to its members. (1) Advancing the economic, social and political status of women in Somaliland. (2) Strengthening the capacity of its members to implement effective projects that facilitate the realization of the first goal.

Women's rights are human rights and since all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependant and inter-related, their full and equal enjoyment by women and girls is a priority and is essential for the advancement of women.

Somaliland women obviously share many problems with their male fellow citizens especially in this post-war era, but they also differ on a number of issues.

Women's specific concerns are shaped by their social roles as daughters, wives and mothers, by the economic positions and obligations which they have within the family and the community and by prevailing cultural conceptualization of gender roles.

The issue of women's rights in Somaliland is however deeply rooted in the realms of culture and religion. Gender discrimination is part and parcel of culture. Cultural beliefs in male superiority and greater ability to lead socialize, females to accept subordinate positions. From earlier age, boy, children are socialized into roles, which prepare them to exercise power in the family over women, younger children and productive resources.

Girls on the other hand, are socialized into roles, which do not prepare them for power and decision-making over other people or resources in either the public or private spheres. Women rights are one of the areas of concern of Nagaad that has been in fact difficult to implement because of the cultural barriers.

Nevertheless, Nagaad has since its establishment been campaigning to create an awareness on women's rights on issues such as their participation in the decision-making process of the country.

The participation of women in the decision-making at all levels of public and private life is important as an issue of human rights as well as for the strengthening of the democratic process of this post-war period.

Women's wish to be included in decision-making is more than a simple demand for numerical representation proportional to their presence in the society. It is a demand based on the fact that institutions governed by men are unlikely to reflect the specific interest and views of the female population, instead, they would reinforce the marginalized position of women in the society.

In this post war situation however women are the majority of the population. Meanwhile women have been preparing themselves for this event. Nagaad has been implementing the last three-year a programme on the empowerment of women in the decision-making process of the country.

Nagaad with the help of its partners namely the HBF, NOVIB and NED are working on a national political agenda for women consisting of: capacity building initiatives for political empowerment of women (negotiation, lobbying and management of electoral campaigns techniques); meeting with political parties for the investiture of women as heads of the electoral lists and to promote their access to the decision-making positions within the political parties; strategic alliance with associations involved in the promotion of the status of women (business community and pressure groups).

II. ABOUT NAGAAD UMBRELLA OGANIZTION

Nagaad umbrella organization is a non-profit making, non-sectarian and voluntary local umbrella organization embraced by 32 women organizations in 1997, in Hargeisa. Vision Statement: Nagaad umbrella organization strives for a world based on gender quality and equity, which ensures equal treatment, participation of women, and equitable access to control benefits and resources at all levels. The focus of Nagaad is to make one voice for women.

Mission Statement: Nagaad umbrella organization is a local umbrella oriented towards the development of women. Ever since it was founded in 1997, Nagaad has its objectives to empower women socially, economically and politically at all levels.

Goals: in realizing its vision and mission, Nagaad strives to address 2 key goals that are of concern to its members, other women NGOs in all the regions and districts as well as the whole women community in Somaliland: (a) Empowering and advancing of women's economical, social and political status in Somaliland. (b) To create and establish good effective communication and networking both internally and externally with other women NGOs, groups and the whole women community. (c) To enhance the knowledge and the capacity of the women NGOs through providing of capacity building for women organizations and organize them their efforts.

Structure

Nagaad has an organizational structure, which consists of the following:- (1) General Assembly (2) Board of Directors (3) Hired Staff composed of Executive Director, Program Officer, Women in Decision making Officer, Coordinator of Environment Network, Administrator/Accountant, Cashier, Driver and Subordinates staff.

III. ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN DURING 2003

Upon the establishment of Nagaad Umbrella, long and short-term objectives have been set out for the organization as well as annual operational plan that encompassing the activities that need to be carried out for achieving the organizational objectives.

In depth, Nagaad activities are directed to the provision of the capacity building for its 32 member organizations to carry out and implement effective projects for the Somaliland community.

Nagaad also advocates for the promotion of women's rights politically, economically and socially in Somaliland through public awareness raising by using publications, brochures, posters, newspaper articles, radio and TV programs, Press conferences, networking conferences, workshops, trainings and Seminars.

Nagaad umbrella is actively involved on supporting the peace building and stability of the country. Therefore, in this year 2003 Nagaad has carried out and implemented the following activities:
A) CAPACITY BUILDING FOR THE 32 MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS OF NAGAAD

In the year 2003, Nagaad Umbrella carried out 4 training workshops for capacity building of the member organizations and 3 training workshops for Nagaad's staff as capacity building include:
(1) Capacity Building for Nagaad and its 32 members: (1) Resources Mobilization and management (2) Gender Development and Analysis (3) Strategic Planning (4) Rights Based Programming (5) Training of Trainers for the Capacity Building of the LNGOs

2. Establishing Strong Co-operation Linkages Among the Development Players in Somaliland (1) Nagaad Umbrella organized a 4 Development Dialogue Workshop for the development players in Somaliland (INGOs, UN, Government Ministries, and LNGOs/CBOs) to improve relationships, coordination and collaborations linkages.

B) HUMAN RIGHTS/WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

In the year 2003, Nagaad Umbrella carried out training workshops in enhancing women's skills and knowledge concerned on the women's campaigns in the participation of the decision making process of the country: (1) Political literacy and Voter Education and Election Procedures (2) Women's political participation for the eastern regions. (3) Women's political participation for the western regions (4) Human rights follow-up (5) Workshop on convention of elimination of all forms discrimination against women (CEDAW)

6. Women office workers involving politics

i. Nagaad's National Political Forum For Women In Somaliland

In the year 2003, Nagaad umbrella organization supported strengthening and running national political forum for women in Somaliland to advocate women's rights for political participation. (a) Three quarterly Meetings of the Women's Political Forum Committee. (b) Mobilization awareness campaign. (c) Conference meeting on possibilities for women to participate the next coming parliament. (d) Political campaigning and advocacy workshop.

i. Advocacy of Women's Rights

(a) Radio program throughout the year for women's rights, roles and responsibilities in the society. (b) Newspaper Articles for women's rights, roles and responsibilities in the society. (c) Violence Against Women (Identification types of violence against women in Somaliland) (d) 8th March Celebrations

C) PEACE BUILDING

During the year 2003, Nagaad has organized and implemented activities for supporting and strengthening sustainable peace in Somaliland.

i. Small arms control awareness raising by producing brochures, stickers and leaflets.

D) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK PROGRAM WORKSHOPS 1. Building Vibrant and Effective Environmental Organizations Workshop 2. Building and Promoting Sustainable livelihoods part 1 3. Building and Promoting Sustainable livelihoods part 2 4. Building and Promoting Sustainable livelihoods part 3 5. Environmental Research and Monitoring and evaluation.

IV. SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS, CONFERENCES PARTICIPATED BY NAGAAD. i. International/Regional.

(1) Strategic Initiative for women in of Horn of Africa (SIHA) Board of Directors Meeting held by in Khartum, Sudan (2) African Democracy Forum held in South Africa. (3) Leadership Workshop held in Ethiopia organized by Oxfam Canada. (4) Conceptual Gender Training Workshop held in Nairobi Organized by NOVIB. (5) Gender Encounter Workshop held in Sudan organized by Oxfam Canada. (6) Training of Trauma Counseler held in Merca/Somalia. (7) Programme Management and financial training held in Nairobi organized by HBF. (8) Human Rights defenders workshop held in Bosaso/Somalia sponsored by NOVIB.

ii. Inside the country

(1) Financial Management and reporting guidelines by Care int. (2) Rights based programming. (3) Youth unemployment (4) Proposal design and development (5) CPC monthly meetings (6) Fundraising workshop (PENHA)

V. OTHER ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY NAGAAD

i. Advocacy for the Local Government Elections of Somaliland (1) Civic education workshop on the election process, which was held at the Regional/Districts Officers and Regional/Districts Electoral Officers. (2) Pre-election mobilization of the community for registration in the polling stations. (3) Identification and trainings for domestic observers for the presidential elections (4) Observation of the polling stations on behalf of civil society in the presidential election day of Somaliland. (5) Monitoring of the polling stations in the Presidential Election Day throughout the regions.

ii. Establishment of Sectoral Networks

Nagaad has recently established internal networks within its member organizations according to the Sectoral activities that they focused on, such as; (a) Education Network which is composed of 16 member organizations of Nagaad (those NGOs are actively involved in Informal Education Sector). (b) Food Security Network, which is composed of 5member organizations of Nagaad (those NGOs are actively involved in Agriculture Sector). (c) Environmental Conservation Network, which is composed of 16 member organizations of Nagaad (those NGOs, are actively involved in Environmental Conservation/Protection Sector). (d) Human Rights Network, which is composed of 22 member organizations of Nagaad (those NGOs, are actively involved in Human Rights Sector). (e) Income/employment Generation Network, which is composed of 24 member organizations of Nagaad (those NGOs, who actively involved in Income/employment generation Sector). (f) Health Network, which is composed of 12 member organizations of Nagaad (those

NGOs, are actively involved in Health Sector). (a) Research Network, which is composed of 2 member organizations of Nagaad (those NGOs, are actively involved in Research Sector).

VI. INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS FOR NAGAAD UMBRELLA

Nagaad implements different project, which are supported by deferent donors, such as: - (a) NOVIB Three- years project on women empowerment and capacity building (b) HBF-Three years Project on Gender Development (c) HBF- Three years Project on Environmental Conservation and Protection (d) NED-One-year political participation for women (e) Care International six months pilot project on capacity building for 25 member organization (f) ISF - Political participation for women especially Nagaad Political Forum for women. (g) UNIFEM (h) UNDP (i) ICD (k) UNICEF

VII. NETWORKING

a) Local Networking

Nagaad has networks with many local umbrella in Somaliland as the following Regions Umbrellas (Kulmis Togdher Region, Kulmiye Awdal Region, Hooyo Sanaag region, PPP Sahil Region, AAIN Awdal Region, COSONGO Galbed Region, and Deeqa Galbed Region).

b) External (Regional Network) Nagaad is a member of SIHA (Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa) composed of seven countries Eritrea, Djibouti, South Sudan, North Sudan Somalia, Ethiopia, and Somaliland

The conference, sponsored by Dahabshiil, one of the largest cash transfer firms in Somalia, will "discuss the best ways to combat illegal money transaction that could help underground world -- terrorism and drug trafficking," Dahabshiil's director Abdirashid Duale told AFP.

Delegates include law enforcement agencies, businessmen and the media, he explained.

"The aim of the conference is to increase awareness of anti-money laundering compliance requirements," Duale told AFP reached by phone in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991.

Somalia has been regarded as an haven for extremist groups since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991, thereby plunging the whole country into lawlessness and anarchy.

Shortly after terrorists attacked New York and Washington in September 2001, United States froze assets of Al-Barakat -- the largest cash transfer facility in Somalia, and its associate companies -- on a belief that it was being used to channel money to extremists.

Spokesman of BICSD, Dr Abdiqadir Hagi Muse in a signed declaration stated that the aim of the July 18 conference was to exchange views and discuss the situation of the country and the Nairobi conference. He said, "The vice president, political parties and traditional leaders were among those who were invited. It was unfortunate for the government to misinterpret our intentions, think that it was sabotage and as such stopped the conference. As we work for peace, we had no intention of taking arms."

The declaration stressed that thousands have died, thousands handicapped, thousands have become orphans, while thousands become orphans in the war for liberation. The declaration warned the government to avoid taking any steps, similar to those who brought the SNM struggle, such as denying people the freedom of expression and assembly; threatening the people with the security forces, violation of the constitution and ruling the country by illegal decrees.

The declaration emphasized that the Nairobi conference will have negative affects on the country and that the government seems to be doing nothing and as such appealed to nationals in the country and abroad, to discuss issues that concern the people and the sovereignty of Somaliland.

The declaration described that Sool and East Sanaag issue to be obstacle to Somaliland's unity, sovereignty and recognition. It accused lacking a policy to solve this problem. It also urged the people to solve their internal misunderstanding peacefully and have a common stand.

The Burco Intellectuals' Conference for Security and Development urged the people to strengthen peace and stability and tighten their belts for the development of the country. The declaration proposed the need for a large delegation similar to that of 2002 to be sent to Sool and east Sanaag to solve grievances and as such realize and strengthen unity and sovereignty of Somaliland.

The chairman stressed the need for everyone to be involved in preparations for the elections in order to ensure that it was successful just like the last two elections including the presidential one. He said this would be a demonstration of the progress in our motherland and the democratic process. The news conference was attended by representatives from the country's political parties.

Finally, the Somaliland Electoral Commission and representatives from the national political parties reached a decision that the elections will be held on 29 March 2005.

Voters will go to polling stations on this day which will be on a Tuesday to elect members of the House of Representatives. This would be a major achievement for the country.

Abdi Hassan, a farmer in the Gabiley district of Somaliland, proudly holds out a laminated ID card to a visiting extension worker. The card is a land ownership certificate issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, and includes a headshot of Hassan, his name and a 10- digit code. `This code represents the exact location of my farm', Hassan explains. `Every farmer in the area now has one. For generations, our farm land had not been formally surveyed, so there were no officially recognized boundaries. The authorities would not issue any land title deeds. The situation has been worse since the end of the civil war. When the farmers returned there were many disputes over land, which sometimes became violent. No more - our land boundaries are now indisputable'.

This transformation has been achieved through a major UNDP-supported initiative, implemented by a local NGO, Cadastral Surveys, in collaboration with a Canadian company, NAC Geographic Products Inc. (NACGEO). Together they have helped to bring peace to this troubled region by surveying, delineating and registering land boundaries on the basis of the Natural Area Coding System.

Natural area codes (NACs) are basically a simpler, more compact form of geographical coordinates than those used by other mapping methods such as the global positioning system (GPS). NACGEO has developed a computer algorithm that shortens the long strings of longitude-latitude coordinates and replaces them with NACs, or digital addresses, that are as easy to remember as telephone numbers. A NAC consists of a string of up to ten alphanumeric characters - the longer the string, the smaller the area, and thus the greater the detail. Thus, a twocharacter NAC specifies an area of about 1000 square kilometres, six characters 1 square kilometre, and ten characters one square metre. In Somaliland, it was decided to use ten-character NACs, providing unique identifiers for every farm plot, building or even tree.

The NAC system

NACGEO has so far assigned NACs for 17 countries, of which Somaliland is the only one in the developing world. There were no existing map databases that could be converted to the NAC system - Cadastral Surveys therefore had to start the mapping process from scratch. The NAC mapping process is a rather complex undertaking. Cadastral Surveys sends a team into the field equipped with a theodolite to survey, record and map the exact locations of fixed objects such as houses or physical landmarks, and farm boundaries. Since neighbouring farmers must agree on the location of their shared boundaries before the surveying work can begin, they tend to resolve their disputes relatively quickly. Later, concrete blocks are embedded in the ground at various points to mark the agreed boundaries.

The surveyors' measurements are recorded, and copies are sent to the Cadastral Surveys head office in Gabiley. There, the raw data are examined to correct any obvious errors and are entered into ArcView, a geographic information system (GIS) software package, to create a preliminary schematic map showing the location and area of each parcel of land. This basic map, or `ground layer', is then emailed to NACGEO in Toronto, where cartographers superimpose onto it a rectangular grid of NAC coordinates. Any point on the map can now be identified with a unique NAC.

The new two-layer map is emailed back to Cadastral Surveys, where it is fed into the GIS database. Further layers can then be added to indicate other relevant details such as the location of wells and rain gauges. The finished product is a wall map of the area showing all the surveyed property boundaries and their coordinates, which is displayed in government and UN agency offices for all to see.

The surveyors then return to the field and paint the NACs onto the concrete `boundary blocks' embedded in the ground. The NACs are stored in a `master' database maintained by Cadastral Surveys, and at the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry uses the database to update land sale and inheritance records and, crucially, to issue laminated land registration certificates and freehold title deeds to individual farmers. The Ministry may also decide to use the database to manage the tax records for each farm.

Cadastral Surveys has so far surveyed and assigned natural area codes to 3500 farms in Somaliland. Although Cadastral Surveys has been using GIS and the NAC system for less than a year, it has already seen a massive increase in its mapping productivity as the skills of local staff have improved. In the near future a new Institute of Land, Soil and Water Surveying will be established at the University of Hargeisa, where Somalis will be able to further develop their surveying and mapping skills. The current GIS maps will also be enhanced with additional topographical data and soil and water information, which will undoubtedly be of value in the future development of the region.

The NAC system has benefited the farmers of Somaliland in many ways, not least in resolving conflicts over land and helping rebuild communities. With the boundaries clearly indicated on a map, on ID cards and in concrete in the ground, their land is now a valuable legal asset that they can use as collateral for loans and may pass on to their children.

Somaliland's NAC mapping process begins with land surveys (top) and culminates in land ownership certificates (below). Photos: Cadastral Surveys

John Drysdale (email: john_drysdale@yahoo.com) is director of Somaliland Cadastral Surveys. For further information, visit www.nacgeo.com/nacsite

John Drysdale describes how natural area codes and a geographic information system (GIS) database are enabling farmers in Somaliland to gain legal title to their land.

(Barduro) The UK diplomat told HornAfrik correspondent in London that Somaliland had made progress on peace and stability - a fact recognized by Somalis in South and the international community - although there is no single government that had granted recognition to the self-declared republic.

Bell, explaining the aim of the meeting between the two Somali sides said the objective was not to discuss about secession or unity but to make everlasting peace between both sides.

Bell, who had recently returned from Nairobi said in the coming weeks the process of nominating new members of parliament at the peace talks will be concluded, adding that his government will support the new Somali government and all efforts of reconciliation in Somalia.

The UN and the regional body IGAD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development) have previously said they do not recognize the self-proclaimed Somaliland and explained that peace talks in Nairobi is for all Somali clans.

Executive Summary

The report contains a case study of Somaliland, prepared in the framework of WDR program. The report maps the development of ICT in Somaliland and gives an analysis of potentials and barriers related to ICT development and investment.

Somaliland located in the north part of Somalia in East Africa is a small country with an area of 109,000 km2 and a population estimated to around 3 million. Fifty-five percent of the population is either nomadic or semi-nomadic, while 45% live in urban centers or rural towns. The ICT market in Somaliland is dominated by 5 telecom operators and a number of VSAT operators.

There is no telecom regulatory institution in Somaliland. There is, however, a weak political pressure for regulation; and there is a consensus among actors that it is desirable. The Somaliland telecom market can be characterized as a market with open competition, where there is no exclusive regulation and licensing procedures; only acceptance by ruling political forces is needed to enter the market.

Telecom operators in Somaliland have not agreed on rules for interconnection. Among the reasons for not interconnecting the problem of `trust' is seen as a dominant factor; the companies simply do not trust each other. The competition in the telecom market is `a negotiated competition'. All telecom operators cooperate in Somaliland Telecom Operators Association where they agree on prices and give information on this to the Ministry. Prices are uniform and adjusted according to inflation and the exchange rate to the US-dollar. The low prices for international calls may be seen as a combined result of real `competition'; low economic level/ development and no public intervention, i.e., no contribution to telecom development as in other developed countries.

As indicated in the report the economy of Somaliland is based mainly on export of livestock. ICT projects with the aim of implementing more efficient processes in the production, transport and export of livestock will have vital effects on the economy. Also the fishing industry that is under development will gain efficiency by implementing ICT solutions. Somaliland is one of the least developed countries in the world and the development of ICT, e.g., in the governmental institutions need that the international donor organizations give ICT development a high priority.

Without a substantial surplus in traditional sectors as agriculture and fishery it seems unlikely that the economy can develop to support a modern state. Further this seems to require the introduction of an ICT infrastructure and massive investment in development of education. These investments seem justified by the potentials, but Somaliland's indeterminate international status is a severe threat to realization of the potentials.

The President called on the Iraqi officials and tribal leaders to do their utmost to release his country man and other hostages.

Group calling itself the Tawhid and Jihad group said it seized Ali Ahmad Musa. In a video aired by Aljazeera, the group threatened to behead Musa within 48 hours unless the company withdrew from Iraq. It did not name the Kuwaiti company.

Thursday's warning comes a day after another Iraqi group killed two Pakistani captives who also worked for a Kuwaiti company.

Dozens of foreigners have been captured in Iraq. At least six have been executed while others have been released. Armed groups have increasingly targeted drivers and employees of foreign companies working in the country, accusing them of supporting the war.

Sources told PANA Thursday the Somaliland authorities took the decision after ECHO refused to pay an undisclosed amount of United States dollars for its planes to land at Hargeisa airport.

Consequently, for two week the relief agency has not shuttled humanitarian aid workers, relief items and pouches to Somaliland, the sources said.

For several years, ECHO has been operating five daily flights to and from Somaliland, ferrying relief workers free of charge, mainly to and from the Kenya capital Nairobi to Hargeisa, capital of Somaliland, and others towns within Somaliland where aid agencies engage in humanitarian activities.

It also operated a twice-weekly cargo aircraft.

An official at the ECHO liaison office in Hargeisa, who requested anonymity, said the agency refused to heed the demands because the rules governing relief bodies forbids them from paying fees and taxes of such nature. "The fact is that we are not engaged in commercial activities, instead we are offering free flights to only humanitarian workers operating in Somaliland, who are helping the people," he said.

The official said the decision has left some aid workers stranded in Nairobi and field offices that are only accessible by planes.

Figures obtained from the Ministry of Planning shows 53 international aid agencies operate in Somaliland at various locations.

When contacted, the Director General of the Somaliland civil aviation department, Ahmed Mohammed Gulled, said discussions with representative of ECHO were underway to resolve the current stand-off.

Meanwhile, opposition figures in Somaliland have demanded the government to withdrew its demands and allow the resumption of the relief flights unconditionally.

In April this year, humanitarian activities were suspended for two months in Somaliland after unknown gunmen killed four aid workers within six months.

The foreign aid workers resumed work only after the government convinced the Somali Aid Co-ordination Board (SACB), a body in charge of aid workers operating in Somalia, that it would ensure

The European Union has been playing an important and useful role in Somalia's peacemaking process that began in Kenya in October 2002. As the major contributor of funds required for running Somalia's reconciliation conference under way at Mbagathi, Nairobi, for the last one year and eight months, the EU's help has been instrumental in keeping the talks alive.

On many occasions when bitter wrangling had put the talks in jeopardy, the EU came forward to help the IGAD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development) mediators resolve disagreements by engaging Somali parties in dialogue with the aim of reaching consensus. And with the Kenyan hosted talks on Somalia already in the final stage, the EU is said to be seriously thinking of providing substantial support for the government to emerge from the process. EU recognition of the new government to be installed for Somalia is also most likely to happen once the talks are brought to a successful end.

If the past reconciliation conferences are any guide, the person who is selected as president of Somalia will then start claiming jurisdiction over Somaliland. Arab governments, such as Egypt, Libya and Saudi Arabia, are likely to provide money and arms to the former Italian colony of Somalia. Somaliland will most probably react by first retaking Laascaanood, then engaging in a military build-up along the border with Somalia to get ready for an inevitable showdown with Italian Somalia. Such a dreadful scenario can only be avoided if the EU and IGAD address Somaliland's security concerns by inserting safeguards in the peace process that ensure Somaliland's sovereignty.

The EU as the only major external power player in the Mbagathi talks should publicly indicate its opposition to any claims of jurisdiction by any future government in Somalia over Somaliland. The EU and IGAD countries should also bear in mind that granting an immediate diplomatic recognition to the government anticipated to emerge from Mbagathi while withholding the same from Somaliland, would destroy any possibility for negotiations between the two countries on the status of their future relations.

It will be tragic indeed, if the EU, while trying to help resolve the conflicts in Somalia, actually ended up sowing the seeds of another deadlier conflict. The current Mbagathi talks provide a chance for the EU and IGAD to take a clear stand that recognizes Somaliland and Somalia as two separate sovereign countries. By recognizing Somalia and Somaliland as two sovereign nations, the international community would have helped in solving the current conflicts in Somalia and laid the basis for a peaceful future in the region.

The protracted and often acrimonious proceedings of the 14th Somali peace and reconciliation conference at Embagathi, Kenya, is finally winding down to its eventual fait accompli. Twenty months into the making, the stark reality facing Walaweynian Somalis is another failed attempt at peace- making - not any different than the thirteen previous conferences. The international community and the regional governments provided both the moral and material support to bring back some semblance of human civility to the chaos of Walaweynian Somalia. Unfortunately, the parties to the conflict do not have the ethical and moral integrity and/or the credibility to engage themselves in a genuine and sincere dialogue to settle their dispute at the negotiating table. The failure of all these never-ending conferences are basically the culture of the society. It is a culture that rejects any sense of responsibility for its behaviour. The irony is this: The architects who engineered the demise of the old Somalia are negotiating to resurrect a new nation from the ashes of the old one!

The Aftermath of Arta Fiasco

The undeclared agenda of the Arta peace conference of 2000 was based on a rather erroneous political gamble based on the premise that if the Hawiye, according to Salad Qassim's contention, are granted the position of life-time presidency, the rest of the Somali clans will immediately fall in line and the Somali conflict will be over within months. Of course, that was a very naive and short-sighted miscalculation by the new elder statesman of the region. Four years later, Salad Qassim has proven himself to be a character of no credibility with his own Hawiye clan.

The rest of Southern community withheld their support and collaboration with Qassim's made in Djibouti transitional national government. That is why Qassim's administration is confined to mere 1km by 1.235km area in north Mogadiscio. This boils down to the fact that the man lacks the basic credentials to run a modern nation state.

The Prelude to the 15th Peace Convention

To shore up the sagging fortunes of the Embagathi convention, Abdulrezak Haji Hussein and his sidekick offered the former of the Somali National Movement the presidency of upcoming Somali state. The objective was to create suspicion, uncertainty, and chaos in Somaliland.Once that attempt has backfired, the former Prime Minister has set his real intentions in motion. In a recent article, Abdulrezak wrote, " The Darood and the Hawiye clans should relinquish the position of the presidency and the office of the prime minister in favour of other clans." On the surface, it is a categorical admission that the root cause of the current quagmire in Southern Somalia, as well as the ultimate failure of the Somali state, has been mainly due to the irreconcilable and always antagonistic political ambitions of the said two communities. A coronation of sorts, shall we say, for some at the twilight of his political dreams and a point for political pundits and historians to ponder for years to come.

However, the flipside of the ex-prime minister's statement is a carefully well-timed prelude to a much sinister and a farreaching hidden agenda. The corollary to Abdulrezak's article is this: Tthe rivalary between our two communities has failed to accomodate each other; let us entice the Isaq group to act as bulwark between us; let us explore this option for the last time."

This article has definitely refocused the disarrayed and hapless Somali pseudo-politicians. It surely has revitalised the moribund quasi-intellectual communities with an unprecedented sense of duty and responsibility to the suffering of the Somali people. This new-found dose of latent energy is reawakening the hypernating Greater Somalia dream. The hordes of people heading for Mogadiscio these days is a direct response to this bold new intitiative from the former prime minister. The message has really struck a raw nerve.

To evade and avoid the suspicion and wrath of the regional neighpors, this new masquerade is camouflaged and billed as the beginning of a new construtive dialogue initially between Somaliland and Somalia. This process will be eventually expanded delegates from the Northern Frontier District of Kenya, the Eastern Hararghe region of Ethiopia, and Djibouti. The Arab League ( via the Egyptian government) is the financial backer of this new radical initiative. This idea has been circulating around for a while. Now, it is gaining urgency as well as momentum simultaneously and it is intended to break the cycle of missed opportunities.

The aim and the sole objective of this new dispensation is to short-circuit Somaliland's rendezvous with its manifest destiny: the destiny to chart our own course regardless of the wishfull dreams of our southern neighbours.Walaweynian Somalis will go to any extreme to blame their incompetence on the absence of Somaliland from the negotiating table. To our walaweynian neighbours to the south i shall say: the drumbeat of the sanctity of somali unity is resonating periodically across the landscape. for those of you who are still looking for the holy grail or king solomon's ring,the search is gradually winding down to empty handedness on both counts. this is what you have to reckon with:

Why did the Somali state fail in the first place? Who is responsible for this failure? Siad Barre alone is not the culprit. Those who promoted him to become the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and later encouraged him to overthrow the civilian government, are equally responsible as well. Copyright c 2004 Addis Tribune. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

Consequently, the government ordered hundreds of policemen on Wednesday to forcibly cancel public meetings in two towns in Somaliland.

Osman used a press conference to bar the two planned rallies and banned all future rallies, meetings and political debates by international and local NGOs related to the ongoing Somali peace talks in Nairobi.

But civil society organizations, intellectuals and leaders of opposition party in Somaliland have bitterly criticised the government action.

Somaliland President Rayyale Kahin approved the ban in an official press release issued here Wednesday.

In the recent past, several civil society organisations in Somaliland have actively discussed the on-going Somali peace talks in Nairobi and the likely effect the formation of a Somali Government could have on Somaliland.

The peace talks which has been organised by IGAD and sponsored by the international community has entered its final phase with most people expecting the formation of a central government by the end of this July.

The Authority in Somaliland has never participated in the two- year-old peace talks or accorded it the attention it deserves.

Initially, organizations dealing with civil society activities in Somaliland were mostly engaged in issues of advocacy, awareness creation on child and women rights, voters' education and anti- female genital mutilation activities (FGM), among others.

But, for the past month-and-a-half, most organizations have dedicated a big portion of their time to the ongoing peace talks expected to end this month.

The Director of the local NGO Center for Creative Solutions, Hussein Mohamed Bulhan has described the move as "autocratic, high-handed and exploitative".

"In our role as civil society organizations, we are duty bound to make sure the people of Somaliland are aware of what would happen to them if a decision against them is taken. And we want to prepare them for any eventuality that will come from the talks" Bulhan told PANA Thursday.

The officials of civil society organisations share the sentiments of Bulhan, saying recognition for Somaliland were slim going by the current indicators from the international community.

Opposition leaders described the move as "denying the citizens their basic human rights".

The Center for Creative Solutions has been holding night sessions and debates in Hargeisa dubbed Aawa Akli Ken (tonight bring a solution) to sensitise and prepare the citizens as well as solicit their views about their country.

(Warabe) The other issue that I want to comment on concerns the BBC Somali Service. Yusuf Garad (head of the Somali Service) has abandoned rules and regulations of journalism. I do not want Yusuf Garad to use British facilities and power to destroy Somaliland. If he wants to side with his cousin Abdiqasim (Salad Hasan, interim government president) while at the BBC, he has already created a different station for himself funded with British money.

We (Somaliland) have people, a government and friends. We are saying Yusuf Garad has clearly showed an inclination to use British funds to destroy our people by denying a platform to anyone with positive views on Somaliland. We have spoken to the BBC and the government (presumably British government) over the issue. We have told the people to boycott Yusuf Garad's station and to put off their radios whenever it starts airing its programmes.

We also know that Somaliland people working in the BBC were fired and fined for holding views consistent with Somaliland. We are aware of a project being implemented in Somaliland in which residents have collaborated with Yusuf Garad. We are saying this project through which Garad is soliciting lots of funds, is illegal and has to stop. He is using individuals in Somaliland as puppets. (Passage omitted)

(Isma'il) A statement issued last night by Kulmiye opposition party said that all Somaliland nationals were requested to express their opposition to the scheduled Somali peace talks in Nairobi, and to oppose any results which may come from the talks, adding that the outcome of the meeting concerns the southern part of Somalia only.

The opposition Kulmiye party statement comes after the UN envoy to Somalia, Winston Tubman, said that the third phase of Somali peace talks was for all Somali clans including those in Somaliland, adding that UN does not recognize any current administrative set up in any part of Somalia.

The secretary-general of the party, Daud Muhammad Gelleh, signed the statement on behalf of the party.

The statement further added that Kulmiye party has several times warned against Somali peace talks in Nairobi saying that the outcome of the talks was likely to affect the unity and the existence of Somaliland Republic.

The party has appealed to the international community and Somali delegates in Nairobi to understand that the peace talks in Nairobi cannot decide the future of Somaliland Republic.

One of the many projects through which EC supports the Somali people is the Strengthening Quality of the Somali Education System (SQOSES) Intervention. UNICEF and UNESCO are the implementing partners in this project.

An update on SQOSES project activities

Activities are gaining momentum following logistical difficulties and an increase in insecurity throughout Somalia over the last six months.

The UNESCO component of SQOSES provides the new textbooks for Grade 5 and 6 and supplementary readers to schools in Somalia. It further provides for the in service training of teachers in the use of the new textbooks, the conducting of Grade 8 examinations, and strengthening of services to the Somaliland Teacher Education College (STEC).

Distribution of Grade 5 textbooks

The Grade 5 textbooks of Somalia/Somaliland have been distributed and teachers and pupils have access to better learning resources at the Grade 5 level.

In-service teacher training

In order to ensure that the new learning materials for Grades 5 and 6 are better utilized in the teaching process, workshops for the Training of Trainers (TOT) in preparation for the teacher in service training in Grade 5 and 6 subjects were successfully conducted. The Bossaso TOT was conducted in March and in Hargeisa in April and May 2004. In addition, a series of further in-service workshops are scheduled during the school holidays (June-August 04) targeting over 3000 upper primary teachers.

Supplementary readers

A total of 6 readers were printed by UNESCO and have been freighted to Hargeisa, Garoe and Mogadishu from where they will be distributed along with the Grade 6 textbooks in July 2004 and integrated into the in-servicing workshops.

Grade 8 examinations

UNESCO provided financial support and technical assistance in the form of training workshops and capacity building for the preparation of the Grade 8 examinations in Somaliland, Puntland and Central-South Somalia to be held in June 2004.

UNESCO supported the Ministries of Education on the advertisements to campaign for a more general participation of Grade 8 leavers in the national Grade 8 examinations. The adverts would be announced through the mass media in Somaliland and Puntland. SACB members were also asked to encourage Grade 8 students in the schools they support to register for the common Somalia Certificate of Primary Education Examinations.

The Ministries of Education of Puntland and Somaliland each allocated premises for examination centres. Contractors were identified for their rehabilitation which will be supported by UNESCO.

The Somaliland Teacher Education College (STEC) UNESCO supplied library resources and laboratory equipment to the Somaliland Teacher Education College and continued to support the administration and management of the college.

The Grade 6 - 8 textbooks

The pre-press work on the Grade 6 textbooks was completed and the texts are now with the printers. Meanwhile, with DFID (UK's Department for International Development) funding, preparations are made for the finalisation of the Grade 7 and 8 textbooks in two editions.

Strengthening Quality of the Somali Education System (SQOSES) April 2004, No. 3

Textbook Provision Policy

Data gathering has concluded for a study designed to provide the basis for the evolution of a Textbook Provision Policy for Somalia. The study, conducted by International Book Development (IBD), sampled a broad range of stakeholders in education including the local education authorities, parents, booksellers, printers and publishers. The output will be a textbook provision policy for Somalia which will help in identifying roles, responsibilities and capacities of different stakeholders in the sustainable production and distribution of textbooks for teaching and learning.

A stakeholder workshop on the outcome of the study is planned for July. Key decisions on the way forward for textbook and other learning material production will follow the workshop. Revamping Education Management Information System (EMIS) During the second quarter of the year, UNICEF completed a revision of EMIS tools.

The modified tools contain information relevant at the school level and have been made so that they are easier to use. For instance, the revised tools have simpler methods of tracking pupil movement and gauging enrollment, daily attendance, retention and pass rates to higher grades. They also contain a section on teacher data which will assist in knowing the number, qualification, location and movement of teachers. The revised tools and accompanying mock-ups have been presented to all partners and authorities for their suggestions and comments and are now ready for printing.

Annual School Survey

UNICEF also conducted the annual school survey during the quarter which involved a number of phases involving training of the enumerators, support to data collection in the field, and collation and analysis of the collected data in Nairobi. Data analysis has been completed that the survey report is being prepared for distribution. This year, for the first time, information on teachers' names, qualifications, level of experience and location was collected in the Northwest and Northeast Zones. This information will form the basis of a Teacher Registration system in these areas.

The survey was completed in all operational schools in the Northeast and Northwest Zones. In the Central and Southern Zone, data collection was completed in all operational schools except in Lower Juba and Jillib, where data collection activities were hindered by insecurity. The annual survey is instrumental in allowing education agencies to gather and maintain reliable education data to ensure appropriate planning and implementation. In addition, the preparatory processes leading to the conduct of the survey provided opportunities to build the data gathering and management capacities of educational functionaries throughout Somalia.

Support to Educational Development Centres (EDCs) in Hargeisa and Bossaso

Educational Development Centres serve as resource centres for both teachers and learners and play a major role in improving the overall quality of education. During the quarter, the EDCs in the Northeast and Northwest Zones were provided with basic support items in order to improve their capacity in vital teaching-learning support functions. Items supplied to the two centres in Bossaso and Hargeisa included furniture, shelves, photocopiers, toners, drums and stationery. Toilets were also constructed for the EDC in Hargeisa. With these in place, the EDCs are now more equipped to support educational functionaries, particularly, the school mentors, who will then in turn provide support and guidance to classroom teachers. The EDCs are now also more able to serve as venues for meetings and training workshops in their respective zones.

Mentoring support to teachers

Twenty school mentors from the Northwest Zone, 12 from the Northeast and 28 from the Central and Southern Zone continued working in 212 pilot schools with 1751 teachers during the reporting period. Reports have been positive from monitoring visits by the zonal SQOSES in-service co-coordinators and UNICEF Project Officers using monitoring tools specifically developed for the pilot schools. Among the positive feedback, reporting indicate that teachers are increasingly adopting more participatory methodologies in their classrooms. These reports also indicate that textbooks distributed through the SQOSES project are being productively used in classroom interactions and that learners are adopting more process oriented approaches in solving problems. (See attached story) "It all adds up well - report from a visit to a SQOSES project" I took the opportunity of visits to Horsed and Kulmis schools in Johwar which I monitored during this month of February to take some photographs of actual classroom interactions.

I was excited to see a female pupil concretely explaining subtraction of a one-digit number from two digit numbers using the take away method. She subtracted 5 from 12 without "carrying" from the ones. The girl skillfully did the subtraction using a bundle of 10 sticks and two separate sticks to represent the number 12. First, she put away the two sticks and then untied the bundle of ten and further took away three sticks and placed these together with the two sticks. She then counted the remaining sticks in her hand and then shouted "seven stick are in my hand". The photograph captures the girl as she solves this problem.

The girl is in grade one at Horsed Primary School in Jowhar. In the other attachment, the teacher has set a task to the pupils and is walking round the class as the pupils are doing the exercise and providing guidance to pupils. Pupils are clearly learning, and the different SQOSES project activities are thus adding up well.

According to Hargeisa's mayor, Engineer Hussein Mohamud Jiir, the objective of the exercise is to introduce a master plan for the town, the first of its kind in the breakaway former region of Somalia.

Hargeisa municipal council and a local NGO will implement the project jointly funded by the Nairobi-based UN-Habitat and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Jiir explained.

Satellite pictures and a research conducted in November last year will be used to improve efficiency in the said registration process, he added.

The target of the exercise is to obtain a precise data on each household, buildings and undeveloped lands in the township with an 75,000 residents.

It will enable Hergeisa municipal officials to know the number of households with electricity, telephones and running water among others.

At the end of the registration in January 2005, each household and buildings will get official registration certificates and while roads will also be named. It is also expected to improve Hargeisa municipal's revenue collection and streamline its services to cope with increasing demand.

For the past 15 years, half major towns in Somaliland including Hargeisa never received any kind of support or a facelift from external organisations.

Their infrastructure was completely ruining during the clan-based civil war that erupted in Somalia during the late 1980s when virtually all records and documentation were either looted or destroyed.

Killings related to land disputes are increasing in the unrecognised Somaliland because some people are forced to use violence to protect their rights or getting them back.

A policeman was killed recently in Hargeisa as he mediated between two families over a disputed piece of land.

(Ismail) Somaliland Rural Development Minister Fuad Adan Ade has told Shabeelle Radio that the period to keep silent is over and from now onwards Somaliland will attack Puntland.

He said Somaliland forces are ready to seize the disputed Sool and Sanaag regions, which the two sides, Puntland and Somaliland, are disputing over its ownership.

(Fuad Adan): No more silence, Puntland must be attacked. We spoke to them in all ways, but there is nothing else remaining except bullets.

Puntland authority has not yet responded to Somaliland's threat. Puntland is now faced with rift between its top officials.

Awdal and Northwest

Northwest and Awdal Regions received sufficient Gu rains and the situation is generally normal there. June rainfall amounts were good and livestock body condition is considered normal. Significant number of Somali families newly arrived from Europe, North America, and the Gulf countries in Hargeisa, Borama, and Gabiley towns. Positive spillover effects on the local economies through increased expenditures.

Sool Plateau

Poor Gu' rains have adversely affected livestock production and reproduction rates. Field reports indicate that herders are migrating to the Hawd pastoral areas for pasture and water. Deteriorating terms of trade for pastoralists due to a combination of factors, including: excess supply of small stock to the market; rising demand for cereals due to declining animal production; and seasonal closure of ports, such as Bossaso, because of difficulties associated with high tides Abnormal influx of livestock from Garissa District of Kenya to Badhadhe is increasing pressure on local communities and depleting available resources. Pasture conditions in Badhadhe are relatively better than in Garissa.

The two ministers said it was the right time to resolve the problem of the disputed region through military action.

Somaliland's state minister for resettlement, Yasin Mahmud, who spoke to the independent Somaliland newspaper, Jamhuuriya on 11 July said the time was ripe to resolve the Sool problem through direct military intervention.

The minister urged the Somaliland government to seize the opportunity for military intervention occasioned by what he described as the current political disorder that is prevailing in within the Puntland administration.

Somaliland's minister for livestock development, Fuad Adan Ade, who also spoke to Jamhuuriya newspaper today, said he could not understand why the Sool Region could not be liberated once and for all.

The minister called on the Somaliland government to take action in Sool Region.

Inhabitants of Somaliland have expressed mixed views about the statements of the two ministers. Some Somaliland citizens are against the two ministers' call for military action in Sool Region, while others are fully supporting the call.

The plateau stretches across the Sool, Sanaag and Bari regions of Northern Somalia. The Sool Plateau of Sool and Sanaag regions form the largest part of the plateau with a population estimate of 69,550 (WHO population estimates, revised in June 2004 by survey team). Pastoral livelihood is practiced with shoats and camels being the dominant animal species. The plateau has experienced more than four years of a chronic drought that led to severe pasture depletion, cumulative degradation of rangeland with little potential for recovery and regeneration and water scarcity. All these culminated in massive livestock deaths including pack camels towards the end of the year 2003. This negatively affected the migration options for poor and middle pastoral groups. Overall it is estimated that the pastoralists have lost large herds of livestock, about 50% of the shoats and 60-70% camels.1 Nutrition and food security data from the area have persistently shown a poor situation in well being of the population.

A nutrition survey and an inter-agency assessment were conducted in May/June 20032 and in October 2003 respectively. This led to commencement of various interventions3 in December 2003 (January 2004, February 2004 and April 2004 Nutrition Updates, summary of interventions within Sool Plateau). During these interventions, nutritional screening of children has been undertaken using weight for height, revealing high levels of malnutrition. Since December 2003 FSAU has undertaken three rounds of sentinel sites data collection in the Sool Plateau of Sool and Sanaag regions which has revealed a gradual improvement in the under fives nutritional status from around 19% to 15% of those screened. In contrast, the nutrition status for mothers was seen to deteriorate (May 2004 Nutrition Update).

Between 29th May and 8th June 2004 a nutrition survey was conducted by FSAU, UNICEF, MOHL and SRCS to determine changes in nutritional status and establish the influencing factors since the last survey in May 2003. Using a two-stage (30x30) cluster sampling methodology, a total of 901 children aged 6-59 months and measuring 65-110 cm in height/ length were surveyed. The children came from 457 randomly selected households. A high proportion (about 32%) of the households was female headed while the rest were male headed. Preliminary results indicate a global acute malnutrition rate (W/ H <-2 Z score or oedema) of 13.7 % compared to 12.5 % recorded in May 2003 survey. Severe acute malnutrition was 3.1% compared to 1.8 % in 2003 with oedema cases having increased from 5 to 12 cases.

The under five mortality rate also increased from 1.9 deaths/10,000/day in 2003 to 2.89 deaths/10,000/day. Crude mortality rate was 0.88 deaths/10,000/day compared to 0.86 deaths/ 10,000/day in 2003. A total of 11.2% of the mothers were malnourished (MUAC <21 cm). This indicates a poor nutrition situation among mothers though not directly comparable to past sentinel sites data. The summary of the results is as detailed in the table.

The difference in the levels of global acute malnutrition in both surveys is not statistically significant although the rates remain higher than those seen in similar communities in the country. The increase in under five mortality rate to the alert level further reveals a poor situation in the plateau. The malnutrition rates by sex were statistically significant with more girls (18.1%) being malnourished than boys (p<0.05); a factor that will require further investigation. Measles and diarrhoea incidences were relatively high, 8 % and 17.8% respectively. The results indicate a strong relationship between malnutrition and malaria and diarrhoeal diseases.

Though relatively low, there was an improvement in the coverage of Vitamin A supplementation and measles vaccination.

Child feeding practices were found to be sub-optimal among children aged 6-24 months. Among children of breast feeding age, the proportion still breastfeeding reduced from 61% in the previous survey to 31%. This can be attributed to the high demand of women's time, leaving children for long hours as they engage in casual employment and search for loans to buy food. Additionally, mothers are opting not to breastfeed their children due to lack of enough foods to feed themselves too as was noted in the focus group discussions.

A high proportion (93.1%) of the children aged between 6 and 24 months were introduced to foods other than breast milk very early in life between 0-3 months. The results further indicate reduction on frequency of feeding of children. The proportion of children feeding few times per day between 1-2 times increased by more than half from about 17% in 2003 to 42%. At the same time the proportion of children feeding more than 4 times reduced, only about 7% of the children were feeding more than 4 times per day compared to 27% in 2003. About two thirds of the people were obtaining water from unprotected wells/spring. Qualitative information from focus group discussions, key informant interviews and food security information indicate that the household level coping mechanisms have been overstretched and people are resulting in extreme coping strategies; for example significantly reducing the amount of food consumed and frequency of meals.

Further analysis of the results is currently underway.

Addis Ababa: Eleven food trucks have been attacked and burnt in the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia over the past two months, officials told IRIN on Tuesday. Aid workers operating in the area said the latest incident took place 12 days ago.

"The region is walking on a knife edge," Abdul Karim, who heads the charity Hope for the Horn, told IRIN. He said drought coupled with security issues could be devastating. "There is a very severe drought," he explained, adding that four areas - Warder, Gashamo, Aware and Geladi - had been particularly hard hit. "There was sporadic rainfall, and people came from all around, but that rain had little impact because the area was overgrazed. The water was also used very quickly. There are fodder shortages and cattle dying like flies. It is a very serious situation in that area," he added.

Concern is mounting that if attacks continue, relief efforts in the region might be obstructed. Ibrahim Isma'il of the 29-member elders' council, an advisory group to the regional state government in Jijiga, told IRIN that tensions were high. The 53-year-old Ibrahim, who comes from Gashamo District, sits in the regional parliament and advises the federal affairs ministry in the capital, Addis Ababa, said the situation was deteriorating. The elders' council, representing all the clan groups and districts in the Somali National Regional State, was set up five years ago. Councillors' salaries are paid by the government.

"There is tension over pasture and access rights," Ibrahim told IRIN by phone from Jijiga, 700 km east of Addis Ababa. "It is very tense. The people from my district are facing severe drought, but in the neighbouring district there has been rain. But armed men are turning them [people from his district] back."

The truck burnings were blamed on bitter rivalry between the Isaq and Ogaden clans, he added.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has expressed concern over the situation in the Somali region. He told parliament on 9 July that he would "take whatever measures are necessary under the law" to resolve any instability that emerged there.

"There have been a whole spate of burnings of Somaliland trucks," one aid official working in the area told IRIN. [Somaliland is a self-declared republic in northern Somalia.] "It is a very serious issue here, because people are badly affected by the drought and need support."

The Somali region has also been ravaged by conflict. Its dust-bowl conditions [annual rainfall is one of the lowest in Ethiopia] have wreaked havoc on the population. Its porous 1,600-km border with war-ravaged Somalia has seen tens of thousands of refugees flood into Ethiopia to escape the decade-long fighting. About 85 percent of the region's 3.4 million people [official figure] are nomadic pastoralists whose livelihood depends entirely on their livestock, much of which was lost during a 2000 drought, in which an estimated 50,000 lives were lost.

According to the US government-funded Famine Early Warning System (FEWS), the region, one of Ethiopia's largest, is suffering from "large, long-term moisture deficits". FEWS says drought is expected to persist since the next rains are not expected until October.

President Rayale appealed to the international community not to lend support to what he termed as the quest by southern warlords for the resurrection of the 1960 Union between Somaliland and Somalia. Instead, Rayale proposed a two state solution according to which both Somaliland and Somalia would be recognized as two separate sovereign countries.

President Rayale's comments came in a press statement released on Tuesday. A full text of the press release is as follows:

"Of late, different segments of the Somaliland society, the political parties, the traditional leaders and the people at large, have shown concern of varying degrees, with regard to the outcome of the IGAD sponsored Somali Peace and Reconciliation Conference, currently being held at Embagathi, Nairobi.

Somaliland has been successful in establishing peace, security and political democratization. Nevertheless the international community, has all along been on parallel footing, busy holding peace and reconciliation conferences, for the Somalis, in neighboring countries, with the sole aim and intention of forming a central government for the defunct Somali Republic. All these conferences held for the warlords and their followers, had the same fate. They ended in failure.

Though invited by the international community, Somaliland has always refused to participate in those peace and reconciliation conferences, held for the warring factions in the South or Somalia.

We have always enunciated our position to the international Community: "That Somaliland has re-proclaimed its sovereignty and independence, at the Burao Grand Conference, held in 18 May 1991. Through this grand conference, Somaliland withdrew from the 1960 union with Somalia (former Italian Somalia), a union that has always been a failure.

Somaliland, noted with satisfaction, numerous pronouncements from the international community, stating the current conference being held in Kenya, is solely to reconcile the southern warring factions to be followed by the formation of a government for Somalia, that would then enter into dialogue with Somaliland.

This stand taken by the international community came through strenuous and unremitting diplomatic efforts by Somaliland's government to convince IGAD, AU, UN, EU and the United States; that Somaliland and Somalia are two separate states, with internationally recognized boundaries, inherited form their British and Italian Colonial administrations.

Somaliland's independence is based on its right to self-determination, as enshrined in the AU and the United Nations Charter. The independence of Somaliland, was subsequently endorsed by its own people, through the referendum on the constitution, in which 97 % of the voters, voted YES for independence and the new constitution. International observers from Europe, the United States, and South Africa, have termed the referendum, fair and free.

We appeal to IGAD, AU, EU and the UN and the international Community at large, to refrain from extending any support to the warring factions attending the conference, in their quest to resurrect the former defunct union, which is beyond resurrection. The Union died a natural death in May 991.

The international community is to be fore-warned, that any attempt to resurrect the former Somali Union, would only trigger a new cycle of armed confrontation and civil war, that would engulf the entire Horn of Africa region.

The government and people of Somaliland believe that the outcome and resolution of this conference should be that we are two separate states, Somaliland and Somalia, that would live in peace and in good neighborliness with each other and with the other states in the region.

IGAD member states and the international community would bear full responsibility for any outcome, different from the separate two states solution, which might lead to future strife and conflict that could hurriedly turn into uncontrollable calamities.

Finally, Somaliland would only have dialogue with Somalia, when they put in place, a president and government elected by the people of Somalia. We would not enter into any dialogue, with re-cycled warlords and the likes of the TNG president that do not enjoy the goodwill, support and mandate of their own people.

According to inmates, the prison wards refused to allow Adnan seek medical help for his condition. "He kept saying I need some air but the place was too hot," said one inmate.

Temperatures reach as high as 49 degrees centigrade in Berbera during the month of June.

Adel Abdi Farah Jome, the elder brother of the deceased is very much upset with how the authorities handled the case.

"Can you imagine that no one has been held accountable for my brother's death while in prison custody," Adnan said.

Adel is blaming inhuman prison conditions and extra-legal practices by law enforcement agencies as the cause of his brother's death.

"Adnan's human rights have been violated and our family members will not rest until the authorities held somebody accountable for my brother's imprisonment in the first place as well as the ill-treatment he received while in custody," the beveared brother vowed.

Adnan was arrested by Berbera police in early June and then sent to jail. It was not known why he was detained as no charges were brought against him.

Adel criticized the government for encouraging lawlessness by subjecting citizens to rules dating back to previous repressive governments.

Two other men arrested with Adnan have now been transferred from Berbera to Hargeisa Central Prison. They haven't been charged yet. Adel suspects that they might have been tried by an arbitrary Security Court. "The government should dismantle the Security Commissions System that summarily tries people in breach of the constitution," Adel Abdi Farah Jome added.

Europe Intelligence Wire, July 6, 2004

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL WALTER BROWN, who has died aged 90, won an MC in the Italian campaign, and subsequently held an independent command covering a huge area of East Africa.

At the end of August 1944, after completing considerable engineering work on roads and bridges destroyed by the retreating Germans, the Eighth Army attacked the German positions. This assault carried them through the Gothic Line, and by early September it was fighting for Rimini on the Adriatic coast.

On September 21 1944, Brown, then a major commanding D Company 1st/6th Battalion the East Surrey Regiment, was ordered to capture a strategic feature near Rimini. When they reached the objective, the two leading platoons found themselves in a very exposed position. They came under heavy 88 mm and Spandau fire, and were taking casualties. The only other officer in the company was wounded, and Brown took command of these two companies and moved them under cover. He walked over to the tank commander and agreed a plan for dealing with a house from which the enemy was firing, and then led an attack which resulted in 20 of the enemy being taken prisoner and several being killed. After quickly reorganising the company, Brown completed the capture of the objective and a further 67 prisoners. He was given an immediate MC.

Walter Brind Ernest Brown was born on November 27 1913 and educated at Radley. He was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment and from 1934 to 1939 served with the 2nd Battalion in Palestine, Cyprus, Egypt and India.

Keen on sport, he represented his regiment at cricket, rugby, hockey and tennis, and won the shooting cup several times. Brown also liked giving parties. He once pawned a gold filling in his tooth to raise money for one, then was posted to Khartoum at such short notice that he could not greet his guests.

In 1939, Brown was seconded to the Sudan Defence Force. When Italy entered the war the following year, the Italian forces captured outposts on the borders of Kenya and Sudan, and in August 1940 they occupied British Somaliland.

In January 1941, the 4th and 5th Indian Divisions in the Sudan invaded Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia, where they met well-organised Italian resistance. Brown, serving with the SDF, part of 5th Indian Division, was on the receiving end of a fierce cavalry charge by native troops.

The Italians fell back, but it was the end of March before they yielded the key stronghold of Keren after bitter fighting, and May before their forces under their commander-in-chief, the Duke of Aosta, surrendered. Brown subsequently took part in the Eighth Army's campaign in the Western Desert as brigade major of 1 SDF Brigade. In 1944, he was posted to the 10th Battalion Royal Berkshires, but they had suffered such heavy losses at Anzio that they were disbanded, and he was seconded to 1/6th Battalion The East Surrey Regiment.

Brown served with this regiment in Italy and Greece as a company commander and, subsequently, second-in-command, until the end of the war. After Staff College, Camberley, and a posting as G2 to British Joint Services Mission in Washington, he served in Cyprus with the 1st Parachute Regiment, again as a company commander and later as second-in-command.

In 1951, he moved to Khartoum as AA & QMG of the Sudan Defence Force and the following year was given command of the Equatorial Corps. The Corps was some 1,600 strong and had its own Service Corps, Engineers and Signals. It covered an area of 250,000 square miles and the companies on the periphery were over 1,000 miles apart.

When Sudan became independent in 1956, Brown and his 10 officers were given six weeks' notice to hand over and leave. Southern Sudan was much less developed than the north and the replacement of the British by educated northern Sudanese caused dismay among the troops in the south. Only 10 years earlier the two had been fighting each other and Brown predicted, correctly, that there would be a rebellion in the south against the north within 12 months.

He was then given command of the Somaliland Scouts, but both his parents then died and, in 1958, he retired from the Army in order to take over the family estate in Berkshire.

Brown farmed for the next 25 years and was a director of two family companies that ranched cattle in Kenya and Brazil. In retirement, he continued to enjoy shooting and took a stalwart interest in local affairs.

Walter Brown died on May 10. He never married.

The regional and international sponsors of the so-called reconciliation talks on Somalia, being held at Mbagathi, Nairobi, are obliged to take the necessary measures for addressing the deep concerns expressed by the government and people of Somaliland over the consequences that the outcome of the Kenya-hosted process might have for their country's sovereignty, peace, security and democracy. Ignoring Somaliland's concerns would be a grave mistake by the international community. Somaliland wants international guarantees that the government expected to emerge out of Mbagathi would be a government for Somalia (the former Italian colony) and not for Somaliland (the ex-British protectorate).

The overwhelming majority of the people of Somaliland have already opted for staying independent and elected their own government, at both local and national levels, through the ballot box. Life under a decade of freedom, peace, demobilization of militias, repatriation of refugees and reconstruction is being celebrated in the country. This is a long way from the environment of death and destruction that prevailed in Somaliland for decades when it was subjugated by rulers from Italian Somalia.

Somaliland's proclamation of independence on May 18, 1991, was not just a result of the collapse of Siyad Barre's dictatorial regime earlier in that year. As Somaliland's voluntary merger with Somalia in 1960 turned immediately thereafter into a nightmare, Somalilanders have ever since been seeking to restore their independence. And when this failed to materialize through peaceful means, including a 1961 country-wide boycott of a referendum on a retro-active Act of Union and a failed coup de'tat by a group of Somaliland military officers in December of the same year, Somalilanders revolted as of 1981 in an armed rebellion against Barre's largely southern occupation forces. As government forces embarked on a policy of genocide against Somaliland's innocent civilian population, the international community was not only silent about the atrocities, but many of its members continued to provide direct military support and aid packages both in cash and kind to Somalia's military rulers. UN organizations and other aid agencies also collaborated with the tyrannical regime by feeding, sheltering and providing all types of social services for hundreds of thousands of so-called refugees who were encouraged by Siyad Barre's government to leave their homes in Ethiopia's Somali region and come instead to Somaliland in order to chase out the natives and replace them. The "refugee" camps were used by the government not only as a reliable source of food, transport vehicles and fuel for its army but also as inexhaustible recruitment centers until the last days before Somalia's forces were driven completely out of Somaliland soil. Had it not been for the huge external aid that they un-interruptedly enjoyed till the end, Somalia's rulers would have lost their grip on Somaliland at a much earlier stage to the SNM-led popular resistance. By prolonging the life of the dictatorship, the international community had contributed to the slaughter of over 100,000 innocent civilians and the total destruction of a whole country, not to mention the over one million people who fled their homes to seek refuge in eastern Ethiopia and elsewhere. It is just incredible that the international community would want to add to its ugly past in this region by trying to re-invent the old Somalia albeit one with a federal face.

Do the sponsors of the Mbagathi process realize the consequences of conferring legitimacy on a southern dominated government and forcing it on Somaliland? Until now, IGAD, the EU and UN officials attending the Mbagathi talks, have stressed that the Mbagathi talks concerned only the South's warring factions. The stand of these international bodies has been that once a government was established by the former Italian Somalia, then Somalia and Somaliland would negotiate about their future relations. But then none of the regional and international sponsors of the talks has been willing to state publicly that the post-Mbagathi government will have jurisdiction only over Somalia and not Somaliland. On the contrary, the IGAD mediators have since the launching of the final phase of the process, been acting as though the anticipated government will be for a Somalia that includes Somaliland. To the dismay of the people of this country, IGAD has suddenly started accrediting some people as representatives of Somaliland clans, while overtly inviting Somaliland's traditional leaders to come to Nairobi. Moreover, IGAD and its international partners are already busy mobilizing resources for the post-Mbagathi order.

The international community must understand that any attempt to eliminate Somaliland's independence is a form of aggression that the people of Somaliland are not going to tolerate. The backers of the Mbagathi conference seem to be interested in washing their hands off the process once a government has been inaugurated, while leaving Somaliland's position vis-.-vis Somalia pending as an internal Somali problem to be solved by Somalis themselves in the future. If IGAD, The EU and the UN really want to avoid leaving behind a messy situation, they should drop the idea of restoring the former Somalia. Instead, they should concentrate on forming a government for ex-Italian Somalia, a daunting challenge in itself. It should also be made clear to the delegates attending the Mbagathi talks that the legal status of the new government is to govern Somalia (the south). Kipligat and other IGAD arbiters need not waste time on soliciting Somaliland individuals to join the Mbagathi Parliament as this would only complicate things in the future.

It is no secret that many southern politicians are counting on the arrival of aid in order to use it for conquering Somaliland rather than using that aid for nation-building. Some of the people at Mbagathi, Bosaso and Mogadishu are already hatching plans for deceiving the international community into contributing substantial amounts of resources for the building of an army that would be used to commit aggression against Somaliland. Some of these schemes have innocent-sounding names such as the restoration of Somalia's police force and demobilization of armed militia. The international community must be very careful with the aid it intends to provide to the post-Mbagathi process. The process should have mechanisms in place that stand in the way of any efforts by the new government to use externally-provided support for undermining Somaliland.

The international community should also learn from the mistake it made when it gave the TNG quick, unearned and unjustified recognition. By conferring recognition on the government to emerge from Mbagathi before it begins talks with Somaliland, the international community would undermine any chance of such talks being held and enhance the probability of war and conflict. A sensible approach to the question of recognition would be either to recognize both Somaliland and Somalia or wait until the two have reached a settlement on the status of their future relations.

Preparing To Teach

The lesson plan

References, learning aid (s), lesson introduction, lesson development and conclusion

Reference: In this section are listed the reference books, textbooks or any other sources of information used for preparing and teaching a lesson.

Where information is obtained from the pupils' book and teacher's guide, the pages must be indicated.

Learning aid (s):
Any materials that are used to make learning more effective should be listed here. Learning aids can be real objects, models, charts, pictures, etc. It is important to remember the following points when using learning aids.

They must be adequate for the number of pupils in the class Real objects are the best learning aids.

Models, pictures, photographs and charts are used when real objects cannot be obtained.

These must be simple, clear and brief.

The next three sections form the main body of the lesson plan and outline the procedure of the lesson.

Lesson introduction:

Some prefer to put the introduction as step one of the lesson development section, others like to identify it as an aspect separate from the lesson development. Whatever the practice, a lesson introduction serves to gain the attention of the pupils at the beginning of the lesson.

If the teacher starts the lesson well, he should be able to maintain the pupil's interest throughout the lesson.

The following broad ideas might be used as introductions to lessons.

Ask questions about previous lessons that are related to the present one. A few examples of such questions must be indicated in the lesson plan.

Discuss a familiar situation with the pupils.

Display an interesting learning aid related to the lesson and discuss it with the pupils.

Lesson development

The development of the lesson is shown in steps, the number of which depends on the nature of the topic. The subject-matter will be presented in an orderly and logical sequence. It is important to start with what is known to the pupils, before the new information is introduced to them. The teacher must present the information at a simple level and move on gradually to the more difficult aspects of the subject.

This section is divided into two parts - teacher activities and pupil activities. In each step the teacher must be clear about what he or she intends to do and what the pupils must do. At no point should the pupils be wasting time in a lesson, not knowing what to do next. Some examples of teacher activities are explanation, asking questions, demonstration, providing the necessary materials, and giving instructions. Some examples of pupil activities are:- listening, answering questions, discussing, experimenting, looking the information on maps, drawing, modeling, and answering written questions or doing exercises.

In the step before conclusion, the teacher should prepare some kind of activity so that the pupils can apply their new knowledge or the skill which they have learned during the lesson. Some of the activities mentioned can be used. The emphasis here is on learning by doing.

Conclusion:

The conclusion is the rounding-off of the lesson satisfactorily, the way it is done depending on the nature of the lesson. A conclusion may involve:

Going over the main points of the lesson through oral or written questions;

Correcting some common mistakes made by the pupils while working, e.g. in a mathematics lessons;

Emphasizing again the main message of the lesson, e.g. that of a religious education lesson;

Summarizing the main points of the lesson.

Collecting books and tidying up at the end of a lesson are obvious duties and are not to be regarded as activities to round-off the lesson.

The challenges ahead are many but for convenience, I have classified roughly into four categories according to the scale of controllability and impact just to organize my thought and no one should interpret it as a theory: a) Permanent b) Temporary and c) External d) Politics

The permanent challenges are the on-going struggle to improve the fortune of the people by raising the standard of living. They exist because resources are limited and sometimes mismanaged and they are primarily related to the economy, the condition of the institutions and the level of competence of the government in place.

These problems would always be there at different degrees, no matter who is in power, but building institutions and adopting effective public policies designed to better the quality of life can manage them. With an articulated vision, proactive attitude, constant monitoring, re-evaluating the situation and re-directing resources as need be could in time ameliorate and curb the deterioration. This is a colossal effort that requires identifying the urgent problems, summoning up the know-how, drafting remedial measures and executing without fail.

The temporary problems are related to human foibles and could be ascribed to either a) poor management such as the Hargeysa water shortage or b) poor attitude in dealing with the problems at hand such as fending off criticism by engaging character assassinations and personal attacks or c) poor policies such as improper allocation of resources and d) pure incompetence. These create unnecessary crisis and are the most controllable and shouldn't be part of the problem but they are. Proper training, education and adequate experience could help.

Then there are external problems. Some are natural like disasters such as draught but others such as the assassinations of the foreign expatriates, the ban on livestock export and withholding political recognition are by design thrown into Somaliland's path to spike, agitate, distract, delay or sabotage Somaliland's goal. These are the least controllable but their impact could be softened by vigilance, negotiations and carefully crafted diplomatic maneuvers.

And then there is politics, the mother of all polarization and the art of polemics. Politics is part of life and that makes it akin to the permanent classification but because of its magnitude, it is best to deal with it separately. The decision either a bureaucrat or an elected official makes affects the life of its subjects one way or the other and that makes it a must to participate in order to impact on the political direction the country is heading to. Democracy without participation is an autocracy and contrary to what many belief elections, even though essential to democracy, don't complete democracy but rather complement. It accords the office holder the power to govern by legislating, and making policies but some seek the office for sinister motives such as enriching themselves or punishing the opposition but with checks and balances, abuse of power could be diminished.

Multi-political parties and fair and free elections are pivotal to the democratic process but in a country like Somaliland where the institutions are weak and the government powers; the legislative, the judiciary and the executive are all accumulated, rather than separated, under the executive branch fair and free elections can't be conducted. That is given. Despite of knowing that the playing field isn't level, the people of Somaliland are determined to accept a system that favors unfairly and greatly the governing party. But that has a limit. If rigging, injustice and misgovernance go beyond the tolerable level, it could unleash civil unrest.

And that is why preparing for the upcoming parliamentary election is paramount. In my view, the election of the parliament is a huge project that requires greater amount of planning, input, negotiations and logistics than the Presidential and Local government elections required. All necessary precautions should have been taken by now but in my assessment, it may be already too late. Somaliland can't afford to mess it up.

Presently, the atmosphere is charged with accusations and counter accusations. There is a lot of antagonism among the political parties and the government and the public has little or no faith in the system. Many feel alienated and the lack of transparency in the government dealings contributes to the high tension and the mistrust. The government is thin skinned, defensive and combative and the opposition is disorganized. Precisely, that is why such a conference is a necessary step to lower the tension and the mistrust and better yet clear the coast for elections.

Somalilanders, wherever they are, are working hard either individually or through organizations like the Somaliland Forum to contribute to the quest for a politically recognized Somaliland. Working hard but not working in synchronization and that enervates the synergy. Such a conference could have helped towards that goal too.

Who would attend the conference? Political parties, parliamentarians, elders (Salaadiin), religious leaders, Local NGO's, Prominent businessmen, local government officials and members of the diaspora. The conference shouldn't be a platform to indict the administration nor should it be a place to demand to share governance but it should be a platform to exchange ideas, to debate in earnest and in good faith, to set guidelines on contentious issues and advise how to improve governing and agree on a set of procedures and policies geared towards making the forthcoming elections palatable to all.

The government should initiate, invest and call on such a conference so as to move forward with fewer hiccups. At this juncture, Somaliland needs to show the skeptics that it is a solid ROCK. I have no illusion that it would be a panacea but even if such a conference doesn't accomplish a lot, it would send a positive message to all and across the globe. Can we talk? AAAAAMIIIN.

And we need to stop personalizing our relationships, relying on "our man" in this or that capital, allowing one person to embody the prospects of progress for millions. Instead of falling in and out of love with various heads of state or opposition leaders, we need much more serious thinking and engagement with the next generation of African leaders, whether they enter the private sector or the political arena, or become driving forces in civil society.

I believe that we need to think in very concrete terms about why Africa is so important and so indispensable to pursuing our most important foreign policy interests. Then we need to think about how to cultivate the right kinds of long-term relationships with African partners, and that means focusing on Africa's future. Finally, we need to acknowledge that today, we are not prepared, at the nuts-and-bolts level, to pursue the policies that are in our interest - and we need to make the necessary changes to get our posture right.

Africa and Our First Foreign Policy Priority

Since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, many Americans have come to understand that state sponsorship of terrorism is one kind of serious threat that must be addressed, but also that the absence of a functioning state is another. For several years now I have worked to call attention to some of the manifestations of states' weakness in various parts of Africa both in terms of humanitarian and economic collapse and in terms of such phenomenons as piracy, illicit air transport networks, and trafficking in arms, gemstones, and people. I believe that we must think more carefully about the relationship between criminal activity, corruption, and humanitarian crisis so as to help make these states less appealing to criminal opportunists, including terrorists.

Our first foreign policy priority is to combat the terrorist forces who would do us harm. Africa is unquestionably an important part of that effort. The 1998 embassy bombings, the 2002 bombings in Mombasa, and the consistent and credible reports of terrorist organizations operating in north, west, and southern Africa leave no room for doubt.

Short-term fixes to concerns about the terrorist presence in Africa - military strikes on terrorist training camps or freezing the assets of traders involved in laundering terrorist assets - may address some immediate threats, but they do little to ensure that our children will not face the same problems in the years to come. We must develop policies to help bring lasting stability to these terribly unstable places, to build solid relationships and gain access to solid information.

This seems an obvious point in many ways, but translating general agreement into action is no easy thing. Take the case of Somalia. I applaud the Administration's East African Counter-Terrorism Initiative, which recognizes that there are real threats in Somalia. We know that some of the most troubling actors on the international scene are the only ones involved in providing basic services to some people in parts of Somalia such that parents can send