Young Erigavo-born academics awarded the President of the Republic of Somaliland a certificate of honor for achievements he has made possible during his term in office.
A spokesman for the group said the certificate was only a small symbol of the region’s sincere appreciation of the President’s efforts at the head of which was the beginning of a 309-kilometer tarmac road linking the semi-isolated but very rich region of Sanaag to Burao and the rest of the country.
“For 156 years the city of Erigavo existed, it remained virtually cut off from the rest of Somaliland. For the first time in that history, you, the President, has gathered the courage to tackle a road that defeated all former Somali administrations,” he said, adding that when they were young nobody thought that unless stronger governments such as Kuwait or Qatar intervened, the road would remain the impassable, arduous risky affair it always was.
The President, currently in Erigavo, on the last leg of a long, fact-finding tour he is making to the far-eastern regions of Somaliland, has made close inspection visits to on-going development programs in Sahil, Togdheer, Saraar and Sool regions before driving to the Sanaag – the vastest region of the Republic.
The President, today, participated in a graduation ceremony held at Sanaag University for the first batch of graduates from the university’s environment and pastoral faculty. He and his delegation paid a fact-finding visit to the re-opened General Hospital of the city and the in-patients presently treated there.
During his land drive on his capital to the capital Erigavo, he and his delegation made innumerable stops on the way to either acknowledge the heartwarming reception that the delegation was receiving from crowds lining on both sides of the road all along the way or to closely inspect on-going road-building activities, machinery, implements and/or to talk to the engineers and road gangs busily racing against the odds.
In Las Anod, Sool, the President toured completed projects and laid foundation stones for new ones foremost among which were a borehole for potable water to be drilled for the city, the airport runway and tarmac roads – the first of their kind in Las Anod since it came to be – that were being built to link different parts of a fast growing city.
It is notable that the President took along on this visit almost his entire cabinet of Ministers so each note the gaps relating to his/her responsibility for a quick response. Besides the First Lady, the delegation include the Chairman of the ruling Kulmiye party, the Ministers for Presidency, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Health, Education, Finance (2), Information, Public Works,the First deputy of House of Representatives, the Chief Commanders of the Army and the Police and a number of Assistant Ministers who represented their ministries in the tour.
Highlights of the President’s tour are shown below in video and slides.
Exclusive interview with president on objectives of tour:
Erigavo reception of President and delegation
https://youtu.be/2WmHFLJHQu4
