# Government pressed GIZ on vocational school siting

> Somaliland Standard reported on 2019-06-10 that Hargeisa pressed GIZ to move a Burao vocational institute project to the capital. No cost or outcome is stated.

- By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about)
- Published: 30 September 2026
- Format: News story (reported from one named public source)
- Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com)
- Subject: People and Skills
- Tags: construction-training, training-gaps
- Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/somaliland-giz-vocational-school-hargeisa-2019

## Key points

- Somaliland Standard reported on 2019-06-10 that the Somaliland government pressured GIZ to stop funding the rejuvenation and refurnishing of Burao Vocational Institute and to shift the project to Hargeisa.
- The report says it was not yet known whether GIZ was convinced, and gives no date for the pressure or the German delegation visit to Burao technical school.
- The report does not establish what happened after 2019-06-10 to the project, the siting decision or GIZ funding.

On 10 June 2019, Somaliland Standard reported that the Somaliland government had pressured the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) to stop funding the rejuvenation and refurnishing of Burao Vocational Institute, and had called on the agency to shift the project to Hargeisa to build a modern vocational institute there.

According to the outlet, the suggestion came from former finance minister Abdiasis Mohamed Samale, described as a senior member of the Kulmiye ruling party, together with director generals from the education and planning ministries. Somaliland Standard reported that they proposed GIZ build a modern technical school in Hargeisa instead of funding the Burao technical school revamp.

## What the report ties the request to

The report attributes the proposals to the government led by incumbent president Bihi, and says the government advised GIZ to construct a modern vocational training school in the capital on the grounds that, as the outlet put it, the largest population of Somaliland lives in Hargeisa. No source or figure is cited for that population assertion, and the report does not state a site, design, scope, cost estimate or timeline for the proposed Hargeisa institute.

Somaliland Standard also reported that a high-level German delegation had visited Burao technical school to assess the cost of the project for implementation, without giving a date for the visit or naming its members. The outlet further reported that the former administration headed by ex-president Silanyo had appealed to the German government to rebuild the institute which, it said, Germany constructed in the 1960s. No date is given for that appeal.

## What is not established

The report states that it was not yet known whether GIZ was convinced by the proposals. No GIZ statement, confirmation or denial is included, and no official document or direct quotation from the government, the former finance minister, the education and planning director generals, or GIZ appears in the report.

No contract value, budget, funding amount or signed agreement status is disclosed for the Burao Vocational Institute rejuvenation and refurnishing. The report also does not state whether a Hargeisa institute was ever requested in writing, tendered or funded.

> **Note:** The report is dated 2019-06-10 and does not establish what happened after that date. It does not say whether GIZ shifted, continued or cancelled the project, and does not record any construction start, contract award or completion in Burao or Hargeisa.

For contractors and training providers reading the record, the material gap is documentary: an account of pressure and a siting request, with no disclosed budget, no signature and no confirmed decision by the agency concerned.

## Questions

### What did the Somaliland government ask GIZ to do, as reported?

Somaliland Standard reported on 2019-06-10 that the government pressured GIZ to stop funding the rejuvenation and refurnishing of Burao Vocational Institute and called on it to shift the project to Hargeisa to build a modern vocational institute.

### Is there a confirmed site, design or cost for the proposed Hargeisa vocational school?

No. The report gives no site, design, scope, cost estimate or timeline, and states it was not yet known whether GIZ was convinced by the proposals.

### What happened to the project after 2019-06-10?

The report does not establish this. It records no GIZ decision, no contract value, no agreement and no post-2019 development.

## Sources

- [Somaliland Gov pressures GIZ to Build Vocational School in Hargeisa](https://somalilandstandard.com/somaliland-gov-pressures-giz-to-build-vocational-school-in-hargeisa/) — Somaliland Standard, 2019-06-10