Somalia officially began exporting livestock from the main port in it’s capital, Mogadishu, for the first time in 22 years, when on March 8 13,055 goats and 2,437 camels were loaded onto cargo ships bound for markets in the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Gulf.
Livestock rearing is Somalia’s largest revenue generating activity, with one camel fetching about US$300 to US$1000, depending on its age and strength. The export event was one more sign that the country appears to be returning to normalcy after decades of conflict.
“This is a sign that governance, stability and livelihoods are returning to full capacity. We are very grateful and welcome this export,” said Abdi Farah Shirdon, a prominent businessman who was named prime minister of the federal government last October. “For our part, my government is ready and we have done all that’s required for this to happen: roads, the port, taxes and everything related to security. This export has happened because of all of these things, otherwise it would not have been possible.”
The export of livestock and other produce from Mogadishu International seaport came to a halt in 1991 when the government of former president Siad Barre was ousted and civil war ensued. Security and economic activity is returning to most parts of south central Somalia as members of the Somali National forces and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces defeat the extremist group Al Shabaab.
During the conflict years, exporters used ports in the semi-autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland to ship animals. In 2010, an estimated 4.2 million animals were exported through the ports of Berbera in Somaliland and Bossaso in Puntland.
Companies like the Indian Ocean Livestock Co., which has its own veterinary quarantine that checks the animals before they are exported, are said to be flocking back to the capital. “I want to tell all Somalis and businessmen that we are going to open an animal market in south Somalia, this will be an opportunity for them to have a place to sell their animals to exporters so that we can get more animals for export,” says company representative Abdulkadir Mohamud Elmi
Efforts also are under way to get the port of Kismayo active again. Located about 310 miles from Mogadishu, Kismayo’s main business is charcoal.
In other signs that Somalia is preparing for an economic rebound, AMISOM combat engineers have begun grading and repairing a 2.6 mile stretch of road leading to the town of Afgooye in the Lower Shabelle region, along the main route linking the fertile, agricultural region with the capital Mogadishu. After years under the control of Al-Qaeda linked Al Shabaab, stretches of the economically important thoroughfare were virtually impassable. The repairs will facilitate the flow of people and produce to and from Mogadishu.
Aden Abdulle International Airport in Mogadishu is busy once again, with close to 15 flights, including foreign airlines and local charters, taking off and landing daily. Said Abdullah Saleh, general manager of Horn of Africa Aviation, said the airline has received all the necessary approvals from the federal government and will be flying daily to Kismayo, Baido and Beletweyne. The airline previously operated charter flights between Puntland and Somaliland, but never out of the Somali capital Mogadishu.
With the new government and relative calm in place, Saleh said, “we want to connect the country from Mogadishu to all the other provisional capitals in Somalia, because we see that there is a great need.”
Somali airport authorities still have to convince the International Civil Aviation Organization that the airport meets international safety and security standards before the organization lifts its ban. The authorities acknowledge that problems exist, but insist that changes are under way.
“We request the International Civil Aviation Organization to come and see what is going on here, in order to lift the ban, because the airport is closed from their side due to civil conflict. This time there is no more civil conflict, the airport is operating, everybody and come and witness what is going on here,” says Engineer Ali Mahmud Ibrahim, general manager of Somali Civil Aviation Authority.
