In brief
- Somaliland Sun reported on 5 June 2013 that the Roads Development Agency became the sole authority for the nationwide roads network by presidential directive.
- The publication said the mandate had been held by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing and was previously shared with local governments.
- No follow-up reporting since that date establishes what the RDA has actually done with the mandate.
On 5 June 2013, Somaliland Sun reported that the Roads Development Agency (RDA) would "henceforth be the sole authority responsible for the management of the country's roads network." The change, the publication reported, followed a presidential directive numbered JSL/M/XERM/249-1772/062013, dated the same day: details that come from the publication's account, not from an independently verified document.
The directive was released to the press by the presidential press office that evening, according to Somaliland Sun. The publication reported that President Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo derived his authority for the action from article 90 of the constitution, a citation that SCR has not seen confirmed by any other document.
Somaliland Sun reported that the RDA was mandated with overall authority over management, development and rehabilitation of the nationwide roads network. That mandate, the publication reported, had formerly rested with the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing, and had until then been shared jointly by that ministry, local governments and the Roads Development Authority.
President Silanyo said he made the changes owing to the importance the road network has to the multi-sectored development of the country, according to Somaliland Sun's account of the presidential statement. The publication reported that the change takes effect immediately.
The same report claimed the directive came while the Silanyo administration was "operating at top gear" on rehabilitation and construction of roads connecting regions, districts and cities and inter-connecting city estates. That is the publication's characterization, and it carries no project names, locations, costs, contractors, designs or stage of works.
What the report does not establish
The 2013 report is the only account in this record. It does not establish that the RDA has managed the network since, that the ministry ceased any roads functions, that a transfer was made, or that the mandate was uncontested, implemented or permanent. No copy of the directive, no commencement instrument, gazette notice or implementing regulation, and no ministry confirmation are part of the record. Article 90 of the constitution is cited, but its text is not provided.
The report also does not state the RDA's budget, staffing or capacity, or whether it had begun to exercise the mandate. There is no named official quoted from the RDA, the ministry or the presidency. And there is no follow-up reporting on whether the arrangement held, was contested or was superseded.
For contractors and development partners working on Somaliland roads, the operative point is that the 2013 report is a statement of intent about who should hold the mandate. What the RDA has actually managed, funded or built since is not established by any evidence in this record.
Frequently asked questions
What specific responsibilities was the RDA given in 2013?
Somaliland Sun reported that the RDA was mandated with overall authority over the management, development and rehabilitation of the nationwide roads network, following a presidential directive dated 5 June 2013.
How does this affect road maintenance funding?
The report does not address funding. It gives no budget, no expenditure and no financing source for the RDA or for the rehabilitation and construction work it described.
What has happened to the mandate since 2013?
No follow-up reporting in this record establishes whether the mandate was implemented, contested, superseded or has any current status. The only account is the Somaliland Sun report of 5 June 2013.