What kind of legacy Siilaanyo will leave behind for Somaliland

[Deeq A.]

What happens when leaders fail to serve the people that elected them to the position of trust? The answer is simple:Leaders fail to lead.

There is a quote that says,”The measure of man is what he does with power.” Another one says, “We are made wise not because of the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.”

Such quotes are substantiated by the thought like history judges leaders on their handling of the national interests, not on their passion for power and privileges.

The credibility of any leader is revealed by what legacy he leaves behind for his country at the end of his term. This brings us to the question of :What kind of legacy President Siilaanyo would leave behind?

It is not a surprise to us that many leaders don’t spend enough time thinking about their legacy _ what they will leave behind for the country and the people they serve and lead.

A leader’s credibility is the result of two aspects:What he or she does (competency) and who he or she is (character). A discrepancy between these two aspects creates an integrity problem.

The highest principle of leadership is integrity. When integrity ceases to be a leader’s top priority —that is the moment when a leader steps onto the slippery slop of failure.

Question: Has Kulmiye government served as an example of integrity and loyalty to S/land country and the people?

A lack of focus and its resulting disorientation typically lead to poor communication. The staff can’t possibly understand a leader’s intent when the leader isn’t sure what it is! And when leaders are unclear about their own purpose, they often hide their confusion and uncertainty in ambiguous communication. An underlying clarity of purpose is the starting point for all effective communication. A leader is to be absolutely clear about his or her plans and purposes.

Question:Did the executive head of S/land state have close communication with his own administration and the people that elelected him? Was it poor or good?

A leader creates a vision and then develops a plan to achieve it. He ensures how his vision become a reality. A Leader makes sure that the work needed to deliver the vision is properly done by himself or either by high ranking officer to whom he delegates the task.

Question:How Kulmiye government envisioned S/land future? Have we ever seen any creative ideas within Kulmiye?

A leader must have courage to choose the right people to the right positions at the right time. He must make good decisions and delegate tasks to his staff and hold them accountable for their actions.

Question: How could it be possible to happen that no one among Kulmiye administration is held accountable for his/her actions? Does this mean that all government officials are infallible of mistakes when we all know that there is unrestrained political corruption?

Leadership roles are many. The power to make politics and policies is the main role for which a leader is elected. This power, and the need to control it define the basic principles between those who govern and those who are governed.

The need to control leadership power arised when government officials operated outside of basic common rules that promote order, integrity and honesty. The more public officials rationalize cheating and violating moral values, the more it becomes a culture of dishonesty and betrayal.

In order to stop this vicious, downward cycle, citizens demand government to explain and justify publicly the way it exercises its powers, and to take prompt corrective action when things go wrong.

Political and social responsibility is measured in terms of improving human conditions and environment. But moral responsibility goes further, reflecting the need to address fundamental ethical aspects and issues such as integrity, inclusion, dignity and equality.

The need to control political power is used as a means of holding public officials accountable and fighting corruption and abuse of power. The question is why?

Since citizens grant sweeping powers to governments to spend, and make and enforce policies and laws, the function of accountability and transparency has become the key essential ingredients in democracy.

Accountability is answerability and serves two purposes. It’s political purpose is to check the might of the government. It’s mechanism is to control the abuse of power. It’s operational purpose is to help ensure that government operates effectively and efficiently.

Transparency, in a government context, is honesty and openness. It is a mechanism to know how government utilizes national resources and how much money it spends on enterprising projects.

There is no argument that countries that grow by reflection are those that have good governance, and good governance comes from good leadership. It comes from ending corruption, from eliminating nepotism, and from a society that has the courage to say: this politician is corrupt, this administrator, or this public official is a crook.

The image of Somaliland as a state is somewhat weird. This country is misgoverned by corrupt politicians elected by ignorant people. It’s social structure is divided by tribalism. Its economy is weakened by unrestrained political corruption. Its politics has become a business, somthing that puts money into one’s pocket.

The investigation of truth is in one way hard and in another easy. It is hard when we take things as they are imagined rather than as they are in real truth. It is easy when we tell what we know.

Assumptions are what wears our minds out. The truth is that Somaliland has become a country where it is easy to corrupt power, easy to violate the laws, easy to abuse authority, easy to get rich and amass opulent wealth through illegal procedures, easy to cheat weak people out of what is rightfully theirs and easy to loot public properties.

Somaliland is, to call the spade a spade, a country of unrestrained political corruption, and is now locally and internationally known as a Kleptocracy, literally meaning “Rule by thieves.”

In conclusion, Siilaanyo and his Kulmiye administration will leave behind a bleeding polity, a bleak house, a broken country, and a bunch of scared people that never know exactly what they share in common and where they are heading to.

By: Jama Falaag
Harris’s, Somaliland