Laascaanood (PP News Desk ) — Two years ago the Rift Valley Institute published a report on Laascaanood. Entitled Lasanod: City at the Margins, the report, funded by UK Aid, argued without evidence that “Dhulbahante and Warsangeli residents of the [disputed] area neither identify with Somaliland nor Puntland. Instead, they see themselves as citizens of Somalia and support the Federal Government”. What the report glossed over is that Puntland State of Somalia federally represents constituencies inhabited by the two clans in question. It is difficult to underestimate the impact sketchy details on the dynamics in the disputed territories could have on policy-making and distribution of development aid.
What the report brought to light, however, is how currencies used in Laascaanood reflect where the loyalty of Laascaanood people lies as far as the union is concerned. “The Somali shilling and US dollar are accepted for daily transactions, while the Somaliland shilling is used to pay civil servants who typically exchange their salaries into Somali shillings and US dollars” the report writes. In Laascaanood the Somali shilling is the legal tender accepted by traders. The presence of the Puntland-based Golis telecom mobile money platform in Laascaanood facilitates the dominant position of the Somali shilling as a currency favoured by traders.
The Somaliland Administration did not manage to enforce compulsory use of the Somaliland Shilling as the sole legal tender in Laascaanood. Economic ties with the South, where the Somaliland shilling is not a legal tender, and Laascaanood’s proximity to Nugaal and Mudug regions equally make the Somali shilling the more important currency in the district relative to the Somaliland shilling.
© Puntland Post, 2023
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