Saraar Judicial and Police HQs Groundbreaking Reported

On 4 March 2014, Somaliland Sun reported that a delegation of Somaliland government ministers laid the first cornerstone of a building planned to serve as both the judicial and the police headquarters in Saraar region. The report was datelined Ainabo, Saraar region, but it does not state that the building site is in Ainabo.

The delegation was led by internal affairs minister Hon. Ali Mohammed Waranade, according to the Somaliland Sun report. It also included Hon. Mahamud Hashi Abdi, sports and tourism minister Hon. Ali Said Raygal, and public works minister Hon. Abdifizak. The delegation was escorted by the governor of Saraar, who was not named.

At the event, the Saraar police chief said the region does not have enough police officers and that the building currently in use is in a state of shambles, as reported by Somaliland Sun. The interior minister said it is sad that Somaliland is 20 years old and nothing had been done about the police building. The ministerial delegation also pledged more development strategies for Saraar region, but the report states no budget, programme or timeline for that pledge.

The Somaliland Sun report does not identify a contractor, consultant, funder or implementing agency for the building. It states no contract value, total project cost, budget allocation or disbursement, despite the headline saying the state "Avails" the building. No construction start date, completion date or timeline is given, and no building specifications, size or capacity are described.

Somaliland Sun's report of 4 March 2014 does not establish what has happened to the project since that date. It does not say whether construction proceeded, stalled, was completed, cancelled or replaced. Similarly, the report does not state where the building is located beyond the region, nor does it name the governor who escorted the delegation.