His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, Musa Bihi Abdi, has on Monday made what critics are already terming as meaningless reshuffle which could prove counter-productive on government continuity and efficiency.
The President made 9 changes to his government.
The reshuffle affected 7 director-generals and two parastatal agencies.
The table below shows affected director-generals and the new ministries they were transferred to:
| 1. | Abdinassir Ahmed Yussuf | Environment |
| 2. | Abdirahman Mohamed Muhumad | Trade and Tourism |
| 3. | Abdirizak Jama Nour ‘Nakhudeh’ | Foreign |
| 4. | Mohamed Yussuf Ismail | Energy & Mineral Resources |
| 5. | Ahmed Abdirizak Derie | Natrional Tender Board |
| 6. | Ahmed Abdi Ismail | Water Resources |
| 7. | Mohamed Ahmed Hassan ‘Jabarti’ | Aviation Authority |
In the same decree, the President relieved the former Director-General of the Good Governance and Anti-corruption Commission, Mohamed Adan Hirsi, replacing him with Mohamed Ismail Elmi; and the former Vice Chairperson of the Quality Control Commission, Amal Abdi Hassan, replacing with the rector of the New Generation University College, Abdiwasa’ Mohamed Yussuf.
“Director-generals of ministries, unlike ministers, state ministers and vice ministers, are the mainstay of continuity and governance regardless of who is at the top,” political observers point out.
Director-Generals, critics contend, should have been freed of demoralizing reshuffles and not subjected to constant transfers as the changes incontestably affect government continuity and efficiency of public service delivery adversely.
The changes could not have come at a worse time, either. Director-Generals were looking forward to implementing work plans he designed for the year ahead. Now, as it is, each of them will have to move over to another’s plan of which he had no role in drawing up or envisioning.
This is the second change which government directors have undergone within the past ten days. A number of Admin and finance directors have been made to exchange places – a transferred passed down by the civil service commission for the first time in the 30-year history of the unrecognized republic. Both transfer orders appear to have targeted a few positions and not across the government departments which could have rendered the moves a mite more defensible. Both, also, make government service delivery unreliable and – at best – shaky.
