By M.A. Egge
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – The country which has been reeling against the fear of locust invasion, and steeling itself against the havoc they would leave in the spate of their wake, saw the city residents treated to a rude shock on Friday.
This was when large swarms flew over parts of Hargeisa and blanketed portions of areas in cloud films. Whenever they sojourned on trees their effects was vivid as it was chilling.
The city residents, most of them having never witnessed the scenario, stared agape.
Whereas the youth were naively mesmerized, the older folks held their fingers crossed while numbed with awe.
This brings us to the equally numbing revelation by the NERAD chief that there are expectations that larger swarms than the Friday fly-past were expected to invade the western parts of the country. Mr. Mohammed Muse Awale likewise disclosed the fact that his agency could not do anything about the situation.
Incidentally, the first warnings concerning the impending calamity were sounded in November last year.
Since then, the Agricultural minister Hon. F.E. Geedoole had frantically tried to do something hence control the plausible invasion but to no avail.
Now that it has come to pass, hence crippled with lack of technical capacity to fight the plague coupled with the compound negative international tentative control support, the horn region is left to put their hopes on fate.
