By: Yusuf M Hasan
GAROWE (Somalilandsun) – The Puntland presidency is in the third day of darkness after power supply was cut.
According to our sources the brownout that has seen President Abdiweli Gas entertain regional state guest in a candles lit mansion is as a result of the non-payment of electricity bills in six months.
“Since Gas took over the presidency in Puntland, the regional state of Somalia has failed to pay its monthly expenditure regularly” said our source
The Garowe ministry of Finance which acknowledges receipt of the final, following similar regular monthly ones, payment demand vouchers from the private supplier also failed to buy more time before payment thence subsequent power supply cuts.
On her fears for the future Ms Muna (pseudo) a civil servant in Galkayo says that the power cut to the presidency in Garowe kills all their hopes for payment of four months accumulated salaries promised recently by the government.
While the issue of hungry civil servants and security personnel demonstrating in protest against prolonged no payment of service remuneration is no longer news, the candle lit presidency courtesy of accumulated electricity bills is the last straw to the self acclaimed managerial skills of president Abdiweli Gas.
The irony of the Garowe mansion blackout is that it emanates from failure to pay dues while President Gas continues to waste state coffers in pursuit of creating mayhem in Somaliland where he is claiming some parts of Sool and East Sanaag regions that he wants to annex, come shine or rain, to his clan enclave of Puntland.
More confounding is the fact that Gas took over a debtless office from his without doubt of lesser academic qualifications predecessor Abdirahman Farole in whose long reign no default in state expenditure payments were ever reported or even hinted at.
Reminiscing on recent reports of government funds induced physical combat between Gas and his deputy Amey one is forced to wonder on what is really happening at the Garowe presidential mansion.
