by Emmanuel Goujon
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Most of the old phone lines are tangled in nooses, convoluted like Somalia's 16 years of warfare and its effects, but Mogadishu and the whole country remain in touch with the rest of the world thanks to mobile telephony.
The capital alone boasts three mobile service providers, with several others across the country and in the breakaway, self-governing regions of Puntland and Somaliland to the north.
Private wireless companies have comfortably and ably come to life since the old telecommunications system was almost wrecked by the civil war factions, and offer what may well be the best rates in Africa.
For these operators, the windfall from the absence of a central authority has translated into unbeatable telephone tariffs, since no taxes are levied in what some residents call a positive aspect of lawlessness.
"Mobile is great," said Hakiima, a domestic worker in Mogadishu, which clan wars had turned into one of the world's most dangerous cities. "It is working almost everywhere in the country, it helps
people to stay in touch, to give and get news to the family."
"The only problem is power, because it is difficult to find electricity in the town," she added.
Mogadishu has no regular electricity, while roads, health facilities, water supply systems and other infrastructure have been dilapidated by years of interclan fighting.
But diesel generators, mostly owned by the more affluent Somalis, have helped bypass the problem and keep the country in communication with the rest of the world.
Two dollars (about R14) buys people several minutes worth of international calls within the region. Marketplaces are replete with mobiles, even satellite phones and telephone accessories.
For those who cannot afford mobile phones, there are public booths set up by business people who turn in a profit since for fixed lines they pay a standard monthly fee of about 10 dollars, irrespective of the duration and number of calls.
Phone cards in units worth one, five and 10 dollars are available in most townships in the country, home to about 10 million people.
Mobile telephony survived Somalia's upheavals, for the Islamist movement that closed down cinemas, halted musical performance and banned watching of football matches during their six-month reign in
Mogadishu never limited the use of phones.
In Mogadishu, nearly everybody owns a mobile phone, including several of about 250 000 displaced people living in crowded and unhealthy camps in the capital.
The Islamists were routed from the capital last week by fighters of the interim government troops backed by Ethiopian forces, after nearly two weeks of battles.
Somalia has lacked an effective central government since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre that plunged the country into chaos, with unruly warlords splitting up the country into
fiefdoms.
Source: AFP, Jan 04, 2007