Somalia: Private initiative rules in absence of functioning state

February 18, 2005

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA -- In a crowded Internet cafe, women in flowing veils and men in jeans and T-shirts catch up on the news and chat with friends around the world. Across town, a nervous learner takes her turn at the wheel of a car for a drive around an abandoned stadium.

Through 14 years of violent anarchy, life has carried on in Somalia. There may be no government, but for those who can afford it, there is electricity at the flick of a switch, wireless Internet access, a university education and even driving lessons.

Somalia has been without any effective central authority since clan-based warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, then destroyed a U.S.-led military mission trying to relieve famine and pacify the nation of 7 million.

Somalia became a patchwork of heavily armed fiefdoms that still clash periodically. A new government was formed last year after tortuous negotiations among warlords, clan elders and civic leaders. But it has no budget and meets in Kenya because it considers Somalia too dangerous.

With no state to provide services, private initiative rules.

Parents, nostalgic for a time when education and health care were free, scrape together what they can to pay their children's teachers. Schools range from informal classes under a tree to a rapidly expanding university in Mogadishu, the capital, that offers degrees in nursing, business management, computer science and other subjects to 2,000 students.

Somali doctors working abroad have returned to work at several private hospitals. With no government support, all are forced to charge the equivalent of a few U.S. dollars. But even that can be prohibitive for Somalis who have lost everything to fighting and drought.

Mogadishu's harbor stands idle and camels graze at the national airport. But business is booming at private airstrips and natural harbors.

Private companies providing power and running water to a few hundred households apiece have mushroomed.

When Somalia still had a government, Faduma Mayow bought her water off a donkey cart for about $1.50 a barrel. It was expensive, sometimes contaminated and never enough, said the mother of eight.

Now, Isaf Water and Electricity Supply has installed a faucet in her courtyard from which chlorinated water flows for less than half the price. The chlorine comes from UNICEF, but otherwise Isaf is privately funded.

The same company powers lights and electric mixers at the family bakery, at 65 cents per outlet per day. "Before, we used to mix everything by hand," said Mayow's husband, Abdallah Kasim Mohamed. "So now that we have mixers, we are making big business."

Somalia's telecommunications are among Africa's best. With three companies competing, a land line can be installed in 24 hours. Local calls are free with the $10 monthly fee and international calls cost 50 cents a minute.

Cell phones are widely available, though Somalis are cautious about chatting in public lest a gunman help himself to the phone.

There is no garbage collection, but plenty of laborers are available to bury waste for a small fee.