In brief
- On 2 April 2016, Somaliland Sun reported that local drivers were voluntarily rehabilitating the road connecting Erigavo to Badan and onward to Las Anod and Bosaso.
- The volunteering drivers appealed to government, donor organisations, affluent citizens and private companies for financial and material donations, according to Somaliland Sun.
- The same report described a separate government project targeting asphalt on the over 500 km Erigavo-Burao road, with funds accrued from citizen and civil servant donations, but it did not establish what was built or funded after 2016-04-02.
Contents
On 2 April 2016, Somaliland Sun reported that local drivers were voluntarily rehabilitating the road connecting Erigavo, the Sanaag regional capital, to Badan and in extension to Las Anod in Sool Region and the Puntland port town of Bosaso.
The same report said the volunteering drivers supplied labour and relevant materials. It did not name a contractor, implementing organisation or driver association behind the works, and it did not state the road's length for this Erigavo-Badan stretch.
What the drivers asked for
According to Somaliland Sun, the volunteering drivers appealed to the government, donor organisations, affluent citizens and private companies for support with financial and material donations. The report records an appeal, not a secured donation, government commitment or funding.
The separate Erigavo-Burao asphalt target
Somaliland Sun also reported a government project it described as deemed the biggest in the country's history, targeting upgrading to asphalt status the over 500 km road linking Erigavo to Burao in Toghdeer region. The report did not state a project cost, contract value or budget, and it did not establish that this upgrade had started, been funded or been completed. Only the target was reported.
Funds for the road works, the report said, have been and are still being accrued from citizen donations, including civil servants who have been making monthly contributions for over a year. The report gave no amounts, currency, collection mechanism, number of contributors or total raised.
The report also said the Erigavo local government had tarmacked roads in the town. It gave no cost, date, contractor or physical extent for that work.
Before and after, as reported
Somaliland Sun reported that movement east of Erigavo town was previously time-consuming and physically difficult. It said commuters interviewed by starTV acknowledged the improvements accrued by the self-help efforts, especially the ease of movement and reduction in travel duration. Those were commuter statements, not measured travel-time data.
What the report does not establish
What happened after 2016-04-02 is not established by the reporting. There is no start date, completion date, progress measurement or current condition for the self-help works, and no subsequent reporting in this record showing what, if anything, was built, completed, funded or spent. No named contractor or financing commitment for the self-help project is given.