Somaliland rejects Telecommunication Bill in the Federal Parliament

The secessionist administration of Somaliland in the north of Somalia has rejected the Telecommunication Bill currently under debate in the Federal Parliament in Mogadishu.

Somaliland Telecommunication minister Mohamed Jama has told the media that the bill infringes on their control of country code 252 , which he said they share with Somalia.

“I would like to make it clear that this bill in the Federal Parliament doesn’t concern us; the only thing that concerns us is the country code 252 which we share. They must know that we are a sovereign nation and we passed our Telecommunication Act in 2010 so we are informing the whole world that this so called bill does not concern us,” said Jama.

But the minister did not rule out the possibility of talks between the two sides on the matter. He however warned that the bill would not be drained down in their throats.

The long overdue bill is in the Federal Parliament for debate and is at an advanced stage to be passed into law. It has legally binding articles that would make necessary for international telecommunication authorities to abide, thus affecting Somaliland’s monopoly on the country code against the wishes of the Federal Government.

The bill aims to regulate the telecommunications sector in terms of licensing, taxation, operation and use of the country’s communication resources within the confines of the law. Somaliland has one telco, Telsom and concerns have been raised by the northern state that the telco is already operating under an already established legal regime provided for in the Somaliland Telecommunications Act 2010 and therefore risks double regulation and taxation in the event the Mogadishu fronted bill comes into force.

Goobjoog News