Somaliland
Somaliland to pass central bank law within 3 weeks: cbank
February 4, 2012 · 30 Comments
HARGEISA — Somaliland’s central bank governor said on Thursday parliament is expected to pass a law within three weeks that will formerly establish a central bank, paving the way for foreign commercial banks to start operating in the self-declared country by 2013.
Somaliland, a breakaway state in the northeast of Somalia, remains unrecognised internationally. It has no formal banking sector and its people rely heavily on remittances from diaspora communities in Europe, North America and the United Arab Emirates, as there are no ATMs or loan facilities.
“We expect to finalise the (Central Bank) act within a maximum of three weeks,” Abdi Dirir Abdi told Reuters in an interview in the Somaliland capital of Hargeisa.
The act was brought before parliament in November 2011.
“The Commercial Banking Act will follow in the next six to 12 months,” he said. That legislation will allow foreign commercial banks to be set up in Somaliland and offer credit and cash withdrawal facilities.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has enjoyed relative stability compared to the rest of Somalia.
Several foreign lenders have expressed interest in operating in Somaliland where they are keen to capitalise on its untapped market potential.
“We are still awaiting the regulation. Once it is passed we will open a head office in Hargeisa and branches in five cities in Somaliland. We are ready to open immediately,” said Saad Djama, a representative of Djibouti-based Banque pour le Commerce et l’Industrie-Mer Rouge in Hargeisa.
“This is a good market. The business in Somaliland is free, the rate of taxation is also very cheap,” Djama said, referring to limited government interference in the business sector.
Djama said his bank currently catered to about 60 customers, mostly companies and non-governmental organisations. He hoped that number would rise to 1,000, once full branches are opened.
Yemeni state-owned bank CAC, Djibouti-based Salaam African Bank, and Banque de Depot de Credit Djibouti, a subsidiary of Switzerland-headquartered Swiss Financial Investments, have all approached Abdi about commencing operations in Somaliland.
“I think (the presence of foreign banks) will enhance our mobile banking system. But banks will bring in cash machines (ATMs) also,” Abdi said.
“We are eager to issue licences to commercial banks so that the economy will pick up, because people will have access to credit.”
By Mark Anderson
Reuters
Saturday, Feb 4, 2012
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Tags: Central Bank, commercial bank, Djibouti, saving account, Somaliland, Switzerland, Yemen
Readers Comments (30)
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While commercial banks might create new opportunities for our people—-we must not ignore what is happening around the world. Much of today's economic problems are caused by these so called commercial banks, I hate to see Somaliland experiencing the same.
We need community credit unions not commercial banks however we do need few commercial banks in this period since the country is not internationally recognized, so if our people can access funds through these banks, we should welcome few.
The central bank needs to stop printing the 1000 and 5000 notes—we are becoming like Somalia. I personally believe Somaliland should adopt a new foreign currency such as the US dollar to conduct every day business and should stop wasting its resources and energy printing worthless shillings.
Somalilanders can open their own commercial banks, all you need is 100 people to come together and start offering the services and ATM's are not must after all we have Mobile Banking…
Dahabshiil, Telesom and Qaran express should form a union Bank in which the gov of Somaliland has majority share….NATIONAL BANK or SHIICIIB BANK
Good news. We are far behind the world, so Somaliland should move much faster. I think some how we can say central bank is the heart of economy in any country. So I suggest that Somaliland central bank to hire best of the best minds in Somaliland and not only that but also give scholarships to outperforming students and hire them after their graduation.
As long as (((( INTEREST )))) is not involved in Somaliland Financial Institutions be it Central Bank, Commercial bank, Community Bank etc , WE ARE SAVE AND WILL PROSPER insha’Allah, but the minute we belittle that front, and not heed to the advice of our beloved Prophet(Pbuh) which is anti interest in no unequivocal terms – be forewarned that Allah (swt) has already declared war on the little superficial gains through Interest and will be ruined badly at the end like any other heedless financial system in of this world and the West in particular, and things will turned worse state in day after, since we are a believers of that day which is long 50,000 years, just that day of judgment alone in cosmic terms. Continue …
Allah (swt) don’t want us to learn in this front the hard way like unbelievers and feel as result nervous and miserable but he want us to be content with the little source of income and little profit we gained and have peace of mind rather than being dangerous, crazy and victims limitless stinginess which is inadvertently the product of INTEREST. We must attract and or establish a solid Islamic Financial Institution like Malaysia which permitted that country to handsomely weather recent global financial meltdown. We must learn from Malaysia and head start Islamic banking for Africa at this initial stage. Please watch below links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vot13FKYbQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=end…
The misery of financial system of one Country as result of interest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbACCGf6q-c
Long Live Somaliland and Prosper Financially in Islamic way
Our constitution is based on the shariah law, so the introduction of any interest based financial system in our country will be illegal.
I am all for weather financial storms but I am not sure about mixing religion and politics its always a bad idea. All the muslim countries in my honest opinions are jokes compared to the world powers.
I doubt its Sharia Law God forbid! Thats not a democracy thats a theocracy! Separation of Mosque and State! You cant be a modern nation and live in the time of camel herding prophets! No disrespect but look where that stuff got Saudi Arabia if it wasnt for the oil where would they be? No where!
I dont think there is Sharia but if it is then Somaliland needs a change and FAST!
There should be two laws one sharia for whoever wants to be judged accordingly and one liberal law for whoever wants to be judged accordingly!
Jans make no mistake, overwhelming majority of Somalilanders adhere to the principles of Islamic faith for guidance whether you like it not. If you are a Somalilander, in this case you are a minority and must accept the verdict of the majority, if you are not a Somalilander or Somali in which I suspect you have no business in this issue. It doesn't concern you at all. Somaliland is a bet project exclusively for Somalilanders and their genuine friends from world community.
God is Great.
I am a Somalilander so what do you say to me not wanting to be ruled by Sharia exclusively? Why are you against having a 2 law system people "aqhwana muslimeen" shabab like etc can be ruled by harsher laws if they wish! But regular people who want to go about their lives and are afraid to express their opinions should not be bullied into a system they dont agree with.
So have two laws one for those who want to be governed by sharia law whether financial, social etc, but dotn stiffle those that want a more liberal laws ala scandavanian western style democracy!
What if I told you that I dont personally believe in your "idea" about God should I be judged by the same laws for something I dont believe in? I believe in a higher power but not something that sits there and worries about riba constantly or how long a girls skirt is or whether a girl wears a hijab or not.
Where is the place for Somalilanders that believe so bc whether you want to believe it or not the vast majority of us that live overseas that love this country and want to contribute to it DONT WANT SHARIA, where is our place in the future of this country?
There is no place for fundamentalism in Somaliland. Those who advocate Sharia & Wahabism should leave us and go to Al Shabab.
Somaliland will be a modern state where banking business is conducted in accordance with the financial regulations of the country. Interest will be used by whoever wants. If some one does not want Interest then he or she can bank with Islmaic banks which will also be allowed to operate in the country.
Thats all I want@Ahmed A modern secular state! I was thinking that weerar was really a faqash al shabab pretending to be a Somalilander.
Folks didnt die for Somaliland for it to turn into saudi arabia junior!
Commercil banking in Somaliland should be protected for Somalilanders for 1-2 decades so that it can grow indiginiously. Otherwise, we will be swamped by powerful Western, middle estern and African banks and we will remain hand tied for ever like some of our African sister countries. Some countries made smart move of protecting their indiginious banking market to grow for sometime so that it can later compete with the open market and survive. This is our time to make a smart decision. Otherwise, our children will get a sold out nation.
Somaliland is a HALAAL project and will remain HALAAL. Anyone who is for HARAAM will have to look for it elsewhere in SHAYTAANLAND.
Hey Guys,
let us make everything simple
For those who are claiming for What Allah obliged to his People is not possible in Somaliland
I would say, Somaliland Constitution is defined that everything what is against SHARIA will be concerned Illegal.. Done!!! So Guys May Allah guides you the right way Aamiin…
Secondly, Somaliland Will be Something without Practizing everything against ISLAM
@ Abraham
Yes, agree with you brother mashAllah. Lets keep it halal
@ Jans
Interest will only burn people in this world and in the hereafter. Look at the economic crisis we are witnessing here in the west, why? because of INTEREST! Even some Christians here in Britain and in America have expressed their favour for Islamic banking.
Those who prefer man made system over Allah'S compelete system are heading wrong direction and their imam is in question, because you cant call urself a muslim and at the same time against Allah's way of life
Walalo saying that interest alone was the driving force in the economic issues of Europe and the united states is very childish! Al Jazeera english did a really interesting documentary about what exactly happened and I think you should look into that.
If you are a business person and you lend out money you should charge interest nothing crazy but how else are you supposed to get a profit if you only get back what you gave and alittle thank you money from time to time?
Again you need to separate religion from ruling a state! for all those that are harping on about Allah this and burning this!
If YOU particularly dont want interest then I am sure Somaliland will have options for you, not DONT push your religous ideas on others who dont believe as you do. I think interest WITH IN REASON is good! Nothing on the scale of what the west does but still needed.
If you want to live in the dark ages then by all means move to a state that will allow you to live as such.
Let me ask you a question, how many of you that are going on about interest and xaram are living in the "evil west"? How many of you are benefiting from their style of government?
I live in the West but don't imitate their way of life. I don't take or give interest, don't gamble, don't drink alcohol, don't smoke or chew qat which is also Haram, and don't go to night clubs. I pray five times a day, fast in Ramadan, give charity and live my life by the supreme laws of the Almighty. I define my values and purpose in life by what was revealed by Almighty Allah. And guess what… thanks to Allah I have a happier, more peaceful life than many who have forsaken their faith. So how do you think I am benefiting from interest?
If you need a 3000 year old book to tell you that you shouldnt kill people, or steal or that excessive amounts of interest is generally bad then honey I hate to break it to you but your already going to hell. If such a place exists.
May Allah guide you to the right path Mr Jans. You are misled by Shaytaan. My adive to you brother is: caqligaaga latasho.
Abraham walalo thank you for your concern for an afterlife that we both or anyone living has no idea about.
I respect your beliefs all I ask is that you respect mine, cant we build a government where we all respect each others beliefs and no ones beliefs are forced on those that dont want them? Mine as well as yours?
Jans, the path you take will only concern you and you have the full right to believe in whatever you want to believe. There is no compulsion in religion and if you choose to not follow Allah than Allah doesnt need you because we are the ones who need Allah and we are the ones who need salvation and peace of mind and happyness. We can only pray that Allah who have created us will one day guide you. However, Somaliland is a muslim country and if you choose to be non-muslim than how can you advocate interest/corruption to disfuse into the financial system of a muslim country. I believe in freedom but freedom has limitation and Somaliland will not adopt what you call freedom of the west. If you advocate for the like of interest and say is your believe and right what will stop others to advocate gay marriege and call it their freedom and so on. You can be whatever you want but the country is a Muslim country and will remain a Muslim country. The book we follow is Quran which has a profound and inclusive way of life which we abide by as much as possible
P.s I do believe in hell, I believe in the punishment of Allah and I believe in the mercy of Allah and although I'm not perfect Muslim I HOPE and seek the mercy of Allah.
* diffuse
Excuse my spelling errors, I just can't be bothered to spell check
Ok walalo if you want Somaliland to go down that hole of religion above state secular law have at it and see where it leads you.
We could sit here and argue about religion but honestly Somaliland might as well have been wiped out by siyad barre if they go down this road! Either one is a road to destruction one of em just takes longer than the other.
Just remember that alot of young people are growing up in the west, meaning the best and the brightest that our country could get might not want to come because of strict policies that some of you on here are advocating.
I personally after graduation wanted to come home, but if I have to fight a religious war than honestly its not worth creating the businesses that I had in mind. I would rather invest in a country that I can be myself completely and not be harassed for not wearing a hijab in the street and wearing regular jeans etc..
Reading Iians last post its really sad Somaliland would lose honest people that wanted to help simply because of harsh laws.
If alot of Somalilanders think like you, we are not ready for independence. Damn I was excited for Somaliland thinking it was going to be different……..maybe it still can……..shrugs…..
wow folks on here have no business talking about al shabab when your al shabab lite!
The truth is interest cannot be avoided. You see, even the so called sharia compliant banks, do charge or give a subliminal interest, and some of them offer products with exorbitant interest far more higher than conventional banks. Most of non-muslim owned banking corporations like Barclays bank, HSBC, City bank, Deautch bank etc have a sharia compliant section to cater for muslim customer. Why, because they make huge amount profit. If you want prove islamic they give or take interest, open an account with them deposit money and leave it for a period of time. Either the money will increase or decrease depending on the type of account.
Regarding the seperation of religion and state, i think even staunch theocratic state like Saudi Arabia and Iran are not totally or completely theocratic because they have parliaments which makes laws. So here, when they say they follow sharia law, what this means is, they use sharia law or laws found in the quran and sunnah as a beacon to guide the when they are making their own laws. So this state can be called quasi-theocratic.
Having said that, on the other hand Somaliland too has a democratically elected parliament which makes law. As someone pointed out, in the Somaliland constitution stipulate that any law which goes against sharia law is null and void. What this means is sharia is a guiding beacon, a threshold which cannot be crossed and a moral compass used to reflect upon when making the laws. And this not strange, even the so called developed country have their laws based on either Roman law, Greek laws, Mosaic laws, or even common laws inherited from their ancestor. And hence, you cannot call Western countries legal system as medival or outdated.
I will finish by saying Somaliland is the right direction direction, it is a democratic and secular. As a matter of fact, in Somaliland not only the sharia laws but even customary laws play an important role when laws are being made.
Jans, I was first quite shocked to see my own fellow somalilander as a non-muslim but I tried not to be rude and have already told you that your believe is your business and that there is no compulsion in religion and I have not tried to force my faith on you, however, it is very impudent of you to come here and disrespect our religion 'Islam' like that without any knowledge. I'm afraid Somaliland is a Muslim country and if you got problem with Islam then take a hike somewhere else. It is foolish of you to link Islam or ordinary Muslims like us to terrorist and extremist al-shabab whose practices and extremism has nothing to do with Islam. Every country has their values and even westerners respect it and conform to it when they visit or live in these countries, similarly Somaliland has its values and costumes and as Muslim country these are centered around Islam. You obviously got issues and I suggest you take Islam out of your comments from now on because majority of us here are Muslims and don't need your kafir ideology.
p.s I liked your comments previously but shamefully you are anti-Muslim Islamaphobic
Wow sister you have been very hash to the brother try to understand him. what he is trying to say is the state should be a neutral arbiter of people's affairs. The state as a fictious entity should be kept secular, this does not mean that people should as well be secular. First of all, try to understand what a state is? A state is an instrument or a tool used to facilitate peoples daily affairs to make life run smoothly, it is a fictious entity which exist in people's imaginations, and this points is the most important point which compels citizens to attribute an identy of some kind their state, like Islamic republic of Iran, jewish state or even communist China. There is no harm in doing so, but still remember a state a fictious imaginary entity.
How democratic can you be when you use sharia law as a guiding force for other laws that you make? Surely there are people like me in your society that dont believe as you do, are you just supposed to run over their right to live their lives as they wish?
The old roman/greek laws were more open than sharia lets be fair in judging that. Most of them came off of laws where there were many Gods etc so they believed in having freedom of religion or non religion if one wished so!
If you use the law that women should cover themselves from sharia law to guide your judgement then who is going to protect women that dont want to cover their heads but are Somaliland citizens!
Rome wasnt built in a day, perhaps that is what the youth of Somaliland will be doing transforming this nation into a free and fair secular state!