Vice President inspects JPLG projects in Berbera

On 23 December 2022, Somaliland Standard reported that Vice President Abdirahman Abdilahi Ismail (Saili'i) inspected projects under the Joint Programme for Local Governance (JPLG) in Berbera on a Wednesday. The report said the Vice President heads the JPLG programme, which is intended to strengthen the capacities of the civic authority.

During the visit, the Vice President launched the construction of two roads and laid foundation stones for roads to be paved and constructed in the town, according to Somaliland Standard. The report identified one road as the Telesom road and another as a new road in the Sabawanaag neighbourhood, but did not clarify whether the Telesom road is a new build or an upgrade.

Berbera Mayor Cllr. Abdishakur Mohamud Hassan conducted the Vice President on an inspection tour of various programmes implemented in the municipality. Local government officials briefed the Vice President on decentralisation, activities from this year and the previous year, and plans for 2023.

Somaliland Standard reported that the Vice President said local government staff must be fully prepared before funding is given, and added, "we are a country whose economy is growing hence the institutions should be well managed."

The Mayor said local governments previously could not support social services without direct funding, but recently have supported education and health services. He claimed Berbera is ready to take over 100% of the education service in 2023.

The report did not name any contractor, consultant, funder or implementing agency for the roads. It also did not provide a contract value, project cost, budget, start date, completion date or timeline. No details were given on the JPLG projects inspected, including names, values or completion dates. The exact date of the Wednesday visit was not stated.