Guide to Somalia and Somaliland

A guest post by anonymous*

Getting There: There are now quite a few flights that operate on the Nairobi-Mogadishu route. Some of them include Turkish Airlines (but one has to go via Istanbul), African Express, East African Airlines, Jubba Airways, Air Uganda and Ethiopian Airlines (Note this one doesn’t fly to Somalia but to Hargeisa Airport in Somaliland). A ticket to Somalia or Somaliland costs between $500 to $1,000+ depending on the season. To get to Somaliland we took Jubba Airways (though I learnt they don't comply with IATA laws), and to Somalia we used East African Airways which is owned by 540 aviation.

On Arrival: When one lands at the Mogadishu airport, you won't be allowed to enter into the country if you your not being picked up or have proper documentation. Due to the security situation in Somalia, they are very careful about letting visitors enter into the country without proper host details.

But, in Somaliland one only needs to produce a letter of invitation. A visa is paid for on entry which costs around $35 although the immigration officers rarely indicate the actual amount in the receipt. When you get to the immigration area, you meet one officer who assesses your letter, then refers you to another who will collect your money and give you a receipt, then the last two officers check whether the visa fee has been paid and let you into their country. Although they have all these checks and balances, one needs to be careful as they are not transparent as they seem.

Aden Adde airport in Mogadishu

Odd Airport Points: The airports, both in Somaliland and Somalia, did not resemble anything I would call a modern airport. - and this was probably due to the wars which both countries have struggled to recover from. While checking in at Mogadishu, I was petrified, as the airport resembled a market and there wasn’t much respect for queues.

In Somaliland, the case was different except that one is required to pay an exit fee which is more than the visa fee. One pays $10 as airport handling fees, moves to another counter (2 minutes away) to pay for a $35 'exit fee', then moves on to another officer who stamps your passport & verifies the receipts, and then finally proceeds to other officers who let you access the luggage belt.

Getting Around In Somalia, we never used a taxi as we were being hosted by the UN and AMISOM which also meant that we had security as well as a car.

However, in Somaliland we got off the plane at Berbera Airport which is 3 hours away from Hargeisa. We had pre-arranged a taxi and security as this was a requirement. Along the way there were many road blocks (almost 30 on the 3 hours journey), and it seemed that those that had a security chase car spent less time at the checkpoints compared to those without. The cost of each security person is $20 and one needs to pay for a car for them which is fuelled, and hire about 3 others.

In Mogadishu it’s not safe for foreigners to walk around. So if you have a workshop or event, what happens is that participants come to the hotel /guest house where you're staying, rather than you going to them. One can only walk around the AMISOM/UN protected area which is a designated zone reserved for only the international guests.

In Somaliland, it’s relatively safe and one can walk freely in Hargeisa without having to worry. The only unsafe place in Somaliland is when moving long distances like in our case from Berbera Aiport to Hargeisa Town.

Most Somali’s I met understood English and they have some English Papers. Since you are required to arrange and pay for your accommodation, and sometimes also the cost of transportation, one hardly has to spend any money unless it's for making phone calls or buying drinks for friends. I personally never used any money.

Staying in Touch Somalia and Somaliland have some fast internet as well as cheap calls.The airport in Somaliland had wi-fi which was really fast, and in Somalia I was able to access internet at my guest house and also at the UN and AMISOM offices.

Map juxtaposing Somalia and Somaliland

Where to Stay: It’s quite costly in both Somalia and Somaliland and one requires around $150 per day, and in some instances it can be more than this. The main source of power is the generator in both Somalia and Somaliland

What to Eat:  Both Somalia and Somaliland are Islamic states, and beer is not openly sold although international guests are able to access alcohol. Spaghetti and Rice is the staple food in Somalia and Somaliland.

Shopping & Sight-Seeing: In Somalia I was able to walk around in the AMISOM and UN guarded areas but was not able to go to Mogadishu centre or meet with many locals. It’s not quiet safe yet despite the presence of the AMISOM troops. I wasn’t able to go to a shopping area as it was not safe to go there. I wouldn’t know if they have one, but I saw some shops in the airport selling some touristy stuff.

Surprises about the Trip: Somalia and Somaliland both have beautiful beaches and coastlines. Also Somali’s love poetry and they have quite a number of poets, but one may needs a translator to understand the poems.

 

Map image is from Wandering Trader

* The post was prepared last week before the unfortunate events in Nairobi on Sept 21, 2013.

Somalia's Remittance Lifeline

This week in Nairobi on September 11, there was a discussion forum on the importance of remittances from the Somali diaspora to the people in Somalia and it was attended by representatives of the Rift Valley Institute, ADESO, Oxfam and Dahabshil. 

It was held just a few weeks ahead of a September 30 deadline which Barclays Bank in the UK have set as the date that they will cut off remittances to four companies including Dahabshil and the forum was on the reasons behind that decision and the impact it will have on Somalia.  The country receives about $1.5 billion a year in remittances (with about $150M coming from the UK) – which is more than foreign aid or private investments, and these funds support 40% of the population and amount to a third of the country’s GDP.  Somalia was said to have the largest number of asylum seekers in the world in relation to their population, and they are first generation immigrants with strong links to their home country - hence a higher level of remittances to reduce hardship and insecurity back home. 

The participants at the forum emphasized that the cutoff of vital remittances to Somalia was not triggered by any transgression, but rather it was a knee0jerk reaction to repeated bad news about Somalia and misunderstandinga that remittances support money laundering, piracy or terrorism. Dahabshil and other Hawala-like companies have complied with all requirements set by the UK and US, and conduct due diligence in handling the remittances (which at an average of $300 to individuals are relatively small), in a country without a banking system, commercial courts and no formal identification card systems - using agents, village and clans to triangulate and ensure that money goes to the intended recipients - all without bringing in dollars to the country.  Dahabshil, which the New York Times reported to have 286 locations around Somalia (compared to one for Western Union),  also  know that there are gaps in the system meant to weed out suspicious transactions, that they can work with the UK to fix and improve without facing the threat of closure.

Barclays are the last large UK bank facilitating these transfers to Somalia, and there was some discussion about coming to some accommodation with them such as asking them to delay the cutoff by another 12 months to allow for partner institutions to develop alternatives, as well as the possibility of partner institutions setting up a trust fund to cushion Barclays in the event that the UK authorities levy a fine for continuing to facilitate remittances to Somalia. The finality of all the Barclays decision may be resolved at a  Ministerial meeting on Monday next week in the UK or a later EU meeting in Brussels.

Kutwa Tuesday: December 31 2008

1. Yes it’s Wednesday
2. this is the final post for 2008
3. Happy New Year
4. Welcome first time readers searching online for primary school exam (KCPE) results. This is a blog on finance and investment issues in Kenya mainly
5. stories you may have missed in December 2008

- National Oil Corporation NOCK will borrow $65 million from French Bank PNB Paribas
- Triton Petrol (now under receivership) has left several local and international banks exposed to bad loans. They were also partners of Reliance (India) in the second national Operator contract
- From January 2009 Kenyans can buy government bonds and bills for just Kshs. 100,000 (~$1,300) through the Central bank of Kenya. The next bill auctions are on 5th January for bills while bond are on 26th January. one must open a CDS account with the CBK (currently they hold 4,222 accounts that trade in GoK securities) more details here
- The CBK also released a report on commercial banks readiness and compliances with Basel II requirements
- New branches Banks opening new branches in December were National bank of Kenya (Kakamega, Eldoret airport, Embu, Ongata rongai), Bank of Baroda (Nakuru) and CFC Stanbic (Kisumu, Westlands – Westgate)
- Dyer & Blair Investment Bank will arrange a fund raising plan for TransCentury, one of Kenya’s leading Private Equity firms
- Standard Chartered expected to roll out a mobile banking platform in 2009 in Kenya for funds transfer, utility payments etc. (already operational in Uganda)
- Uchumi made a payment to debenture holders in December, can it re-list at the Nairobi stock exchange in 2009?
- Co-Op Bank shares began trading at the NSE – but mini bounce on day one was not sustainable

from the blogs
- Kshs. 2.5 billion worth of Equity shares trade hands in a surprisingtrade yesterday
- NIC Kenya’s leader in asset finance, but more retail and corporate has ventured into Tanzania acquiring 51% of S&F Bank - more here
- Want to buy goods online, but you don’t have a credit card – read up on Afripay - a local company that offers that service in Nairobi
- Why is it so hard for foreign (German) companies to invest in Tanzania?
- While Pirate terrorize the east African Coastline, what should be Kenya’s flagship navy vessel is rotting away in Europe.

Kutwa Tuesday - June 26

Uchumi revealed: Shedding some lights on the Uchumi bond proposal, the receiver manager has stated that the problems that shut down Uchumi had more to do with management style than the market conditions. The newspaper says that the 650 million to be raised, 280 million will go to pay to pay suppliers & creditors, 23 million interest on (bank) loans, 52m to pay terminal benefits of staff, 200m working capital as the company plans to open 3 new branches in Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kisumu.

The article adds that all suppliers have been paid for deliveries made in the last 12 months i.e. the company is profitable. The company had sales of Kshs. 1.3 billion in the first quarter of the year and had 2.8 million shoppers visit their stores. Sarit is their best store with April revenue of 90 million followed by Ngong Rd hyper with 68m (last was Eldoret with 8m) from an offline story in the financial standard.
Note - even if they re-list, won't they be in the same boat as NBK and be unable to pay dividends for several years?

Rights Issue: Olympia’s rights issue was formally announced today with an offer for shareholders to buy 3 shares for each held.

Newspapers: New newspaper from the KISS team - called the Nairobi Star and billing itself as Kenya’s first full color daily newspaper launches next week
- But what happened to the Kenya Times website frozen on June 8?

Trade not aid
According to , an Oxfam report subsidies are responsible for poverty among African cotton farmers.

Political worm
Raila Odinga gets unfairly blamed for a lot of things, but he is not responsible for a malicious computer virus bearing his name that has caused IT admin’s some headaches this month

uh oh: Why is Obama’s campaign getting stuck?

uh oh 2: Sad to read that former track darling Marion Jones is
almost broke. Even though she wasn’t a big spender like Tyson or Jackson, legal bills fending off drug allegations have taken their toll on her finances.

Uh oh 3 & 4 : Zimbabwe to do a takeover of foreign businesses as Uganda parliamentarians have given Barclays, Sheraton, Kakira Sugar, and Uganda Telecom one year to float part of their share on the Uganda stock exchange.

War what is it good for?
Is there a difference between Somalia, Darfur and Palestine?