Somaliland

Somaliland (Somali: Soomaaliland, Arabic: أرض الصومال‎ Arḍ aṣ-Ṣūmāl) is a territory located in the Horn of Africa. It is regarded internationally by all states as being an autonomous region of Somalia. Since 1991, however, it has been governed by a secessionist administration as the Republic of Somaliland, which is considered a de facto independent state.

The material that follows is taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland

The Republic, which declared its independence in May 1991,remains unrecognised by any state or international organisation. Though many governments maintain informal ties with the state, with an increasing number of foreign delegations and embassies having been established in the capital Hargeisa, it is still far from full diplomatic recognition.

Somaliland is bordered by Ethiopia in the south and west, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and by the Somalian region of Puntland in the east, covering most of the territory of the former British Somaliland protectorate.

The population is 3.5 million - which is a lot of people to be living in limbo. (Even if Taiwan has 23 million in such a situation.)

The capital is Hargeisa.

Somaliland's economy is in its developing stages, as is the region itself. The Somaliland shilling, while stable, is not an internationally recognized currency and currently has no official exchange rate. It is regulated by the Bank of Somaliland, the central bank, which was established constitutionally in 1994.

Remittances from the large Somali diaspora contribute immensely to Somaliland's economy. Remittances come to Somaliland through money transfer companies. The World Bank estimates that remittances worth around $1 billion a year reach Somalia from emigres in the US, Europe and the Gulf states.

In 2009, the Banque pour le Commerce et l'Industrie - Mer Rouge, based in Djibouti, opened a branch in Hargeisa, to become the first bank in the country since the collapse in 1990 of the Commercial and Savings Bank of Somalia.

The bulk of Somaliland's exports are livestock, which has been estimated at 24 million. In 1996, 3 million heads of livestock were exported to the Middle East. In February 1998, this export was badly affected by a Saudi Arabian ban on imports of beef. The ban was eventually lifted in December 2006, allowing the industry to recover. Other exports include hides, skins, myrrh, and frankincense. Agriculture is generally considered to be a potentially successful industry, especially in the production of cereals and horticulture. Mining also has potential, though simple quarrying represents the extent of current operations despite the presence of hugely diverse quantities of mineral deposits.[31]

The region is claimed to have large offshore and onshore oil and natural gas reserves. There are several wells that have been excavated over the past few years, but due to the region's unrecognised status, foreign oil companies and coal companies have not been able to benefit from this.

Recently, Somaliland has grown as a major export port for Ethiopia. Ethiopia signed an agreement with the region specifying that the port city of Berbera will export and import goods for Ethiopia, while the latter will pay for it

Somaliland has a budding tourist industry and is home to what is often considered to be one of the most interesting attractions in the Horn of Africa, the Laas Gaal cave paintings. Currently, a small number of tourists travel to the region to see this sight.

Most people in Somaliland speak the region's two official languages: Somali and Arabic. Article 6 of the Constitution of 2001 designates the official language of Somaliland to be Somali, though Arabic is a mandatory subject in school and is used in mosques around the region. English is also spoken and taught in schools.

With few exceptions, the Somalis are entirely Muslims,the majority belonging to the Sunni branch.

Education

(sourced from the Somaliland government country profile at http://www.somalilandgov.com/cprofile.htm)

Education in Somaliland is recognized as a fundamental tool that will not only facilitate long term economic gains, but build the necessary human resource to achieve this goal. The Ministry of Education in Somaliland has a National Education Policy that supports achievement of primary education for all children. Currently, Somaliland has over 450 primary schools with total enrollment of 108,995 students (36% girls and 64% boys). In the years 1996/1997 there were only 163 primary schools with a total enrollment of 33,000 students.

Higher Education

Somaliland has 5 universities and 3 colleges that provide higher education in different fields of specialization including medicine, in which the Amoud University provided the first ever Somaliland trained medical doctors in 2008. Though progress has been made in education the issues of access, equity and quality of education continue to be a key challenge to education in Somaliland, and the lack of International recognition contributes to inadequate international funding to support policy implementation. The UN and INGO’s have minimally continued to supplement government and communities in Education.

Amoud University

Amoud Universityis a university located in the city of Amoud, Borama in the Awdal region of Somaliland. The university was officially inaugurated on November 4th, 1998, and is the first post-war institution of higher learning to be established in Somaliland. The initiative of establishing a university in the famous Amoud valley was taken up by a group of Somali intellectuals living and working in the Gulf states. Amoud University is a community-owned, non-governmental national university that is open to all aspiring candidates who meet the admission requirements regardless of sex, ethnicity, creed, color or religion

Amoud university's student population now exceeds 1700, with high attendance by female pupils. Students come not only from the Somaliland region, but other areas of Somalia as well, including Bosaso in neighboring Puntland, and Beledweyne, Mogadishu and Kismayo in the south.

Its web site (in English) is at http://www.amouduniversity.net. On the page http://www.amouduniversity.net/it.html is a description of the Faculty of ICT:

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When Amoud University was created in 1998 it had only one computer and Information Technology (IT) was not part of the culture of the University. Compare that to the present 200 plus powerful computers that is available to the students and teachers at different locations of the University Campuses plus high speed Internet Connections, and thanks to the helping hand of the International NGO Progressio (Formerly ICD) which provided an Expatriate to assist the University in IT matters. Acknowledging the importance of Information Technology the University Management has over the last 4 years put a lot of efforts to lobby for and secure the required funds to buy equipment necessary to establish computer network systems. The UNDP and the African Development Bank has provided one Vsat each (Small Satellite Dish) for High Speed Internet Connections. This has put the University in a position to offer online academic and short-term courses in conjunction with the African Virtual University and the World Bank as well as making easier for the University to have outside communications with the rest of the World. The University has three fully functioning network computer labs. The old computers at the main Amoud campus will be replaced with 40 powerful computers and a high speed Internet connection will be installed so that students will be able to access the vast material available for knowledge and research over the Internet.

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Somaliland University of Technology

Somaliland University of Technology (SUTECH) (Somali: Jaamacadda Tignoolajiyadda Somaliland) is the only stand-alone technical university in the northwestern Somaliland region of Somalia. It is located in Hargeisa, the region's capital. The university was founded in 2000 as a small non-profit educational organisation. Funded by the Islamic Development Bank based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, it was formerly known as the Hargeisa College of Applied Arts & Technology (CAAT) before being renamed after an upgrade to a new campus in 2007. The CAAT was an approved center of City & Guilds and Edexcel. Its web site (in English) is at http://www.somtech.org

References

1. Republic of Somaliland Country Profile, http://www.somalilandgov.com/cprofile.htm

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