Ali H. Warsame: Puntland Must Lead by Example on Decentralisation

[Deeq A.]

Garowe (PP News Desk) — Former Puntland State Education Minister and now the Director of Hiil Institute, a think tank, Ali Haji Warsame, has described recent calls for a confederal system in Somalia as a proposal from “loonies”. “Those in Puntland who are calling for a confederation are advocating the break-up of Somalia. The federal system has not failed. It is contradictory to oppose centralisation in Mogadishu while all powers remain concentrated in Garowe. Puntland should lead by example by decentralising governance to districts throughout Puntland State of Somalia,” said Warsame.

The suggestion of a confederal model was first floated by Interior Minister Abdi Farah Said (Juha), who tweeted last year that such a system might be more suitable for Somalia, two decades after the adoption of federalism.

Ali Haji Warsame: “Those in Puntland who are calling for a confederation are advocating the break-up of Somalia. The federal system has not failed. It is contradictory to oppose centralisation in Mogadishu while all powers remain concentrated in Garowe. Puntland should lead by example by decentralising governance to districts throughout Puntland State of Somalia.”

At a recent conference in Garowe on Reviewing Regional and District Administrative Laws, Saida Qacle, a senior legal adviser to Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni, voiced concern over elements of the Puntland constitution that conflict with Somalia’s sovereignty. “I am disturbed by the claim that we are discussing what is described as a Puntland citizenship law. Puntland is a Federal Member State of Somalia,” said Saida.

Pressure is mounting on the Puntland State Government to engage with the Federal Government of Somalia and commit to decentralisation. Puntland’s leadership has neither endorsed nor distanced itself from Minister Juha’s confederalist remarks, described by critics as “outbursts”.

© Puntland Post, 2025

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