File Photo/Somali Times
The President of Puntland, Said Abdullahi Deni, has sent a letter to Somalia’s international community demanding that they ensure the fair and equal distribution of grants and development aid cut off by the Somali federal government Puntland share.
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In this request that was sent to many international organizations and countries, Deni underlined his great concern about what he called the “increasing of donations to Somalia federal government.
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Said Deni expressed alarm over the money from international donors and said that the Somalia federal government uses political agendas, which he claims has been going on since he was re-elected.
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“The Puntland projects, programs and budget support has been cut off for the last 18 months,” Said Deni said.
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Deni said that he tried to resolve this issue with the federal government and the development banks but he did not succeed.
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He also say the federal government of starting a campaign of disinformation and fake news, which is intended to destabilize the Puntland regional government, as he said.
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Deni pointed out the importance of having a comprehensive approach to foreign aid, trade, agreements, natural resources, and other major issues that affect the interests of the member states of the Federal Government, including Puntland.
He argued that the actions of Mogadishu are ignoring the constitutional obligations, and the fragile state of the nation, which could threaten the stability and unity of Somalia, as he said.
“Given this serious situation, we ask our international friends to recognize the gravity of this situation,” said President Deni.
“We are asking for an alternative mechanism to enable development banks to directly help and support Puntland, independent of the politics of Mogadishu.”
Deni’s alarm comes as Puntland is facing a poor economic situation, while the army and some government workers have not been paid for months.
Some reports say that the federal government has cut off some of Puntland’s international grants, while others are being harassed.
Puntland has already said that it is dealing independently from the federal government, but the international community is still sending donations to the federal government.