Puntland Unveils Plans for Own Currency Amid Federal Stalemate

President Deni: “Having a Puntland-specific currency does not mean Puntland is withdrawing from the Union. We have waited far too long for the Federal Government to print Somali shillings.”

Garowe (PP News Desk) — The President of Puntland State of Somalia, Said Abdullahi Deni, has today unveiled plans for launching a separate currency for Puntland. “I urge Puntland State Bank experts to adhere to global monetary rules and  carry out an in-depth research  for launching a currency for Puntland State of Somalia. Having a Puntland-specific currency does not mean Puntland is withdrawing from the Union. We have waited far too long for the Federal Government to print Somali shillings. Until political stability is restored nationwide, Puntland aims to use its own currency,” said President Deni.

Puntland State of Somalia has used its own Somali shilling, printed several times since 1998 when the first autonomous post-1991 Somali administration was established. No Somali shilling has  been printed by a Mogadishu-based government since 1991. The US dollar remains the predominant currency for transactions throughout Somalia.

President Deni inherited an unstable exchange regime due to currency printed in Puntland before 2009. In 2021, his administration appointed a high-level committee, chaired by former Puntland President Abdirahman Farole, to address the exchange rate crisis. The Puntland government has since been praised for stabilising the exchange rate. 

© Puntland Post, 2024