- “Rising inflation and government inaction may lead to further social unrest”
Residents of major cities today took to the streets in protest of the price hicking of food and other basic goods.
Protesters – who came out across the capital Hargeisa, as well as in the port towns of Berbera – want the state to step in to control rising prices, but the government was quick in blaming money exchangers and mobile service providers ot causing the inflation.
Unnamed protester told us “When inflation occurs largely because of rising prices of food products as it has been of late, it becomes a double burden on the underprivileged since food accounts for more than half the expenditures of the poor.
Another protester said the demonstrations show a growing determination to push for change, and even larger protests should be expected if the government fails to act.
Riot police units were deployed against the protest, dozens of protesting citizens were arrested.The protest and heavy police response shut down businesses in the capital and the port city of Berbera.
The government held an emergency meeting in the evening chaired by the President, meant to put in place legal and regulatory framework to counter the raising value of the US dollar and boosting the weakening the Somaliland shilling which has in the past few months steadily loosing it’s value, hence exerting pressure on almost all sectors of the local economy.
Today’s protests not only reflected shared concerns across citizens, but with rising inflation and the burden of price rise crippling the common man.
