Mr. Chairman and Honorable members;
We have given our first priority to the defense, security and stability of the nation. In that regard we are committed to support our brave and dedicated security forces in cities and our heroic uniformed soldiers who protect our borders.
We have professionalized the armed forces and increased their rank by 1800 soldiers. We have increased their equipment, capacity and logistics including training, armored vehicles, communication and their ability to rapidly respond to national security incidents.
We have provided medical equipment and increased the capacity of the special military hospitals in Hargeisa and Burao. We have built a training school for the armed forces in Dardarweyne where a large number of soldiers have already graduated since my administration was sworn in.
We have built and fully equipped a new Special Forces Unit of the Army, whose role is to protect our borders from external security threats. We are confident this Special Forces Unit will play a vital role in providing security for this nation.
To increase the morale of the armed forces and the quality of our professional military force, we have provided training to a large number of officers in and outside the country. We have also allocated in the 2013 budget the salaries commiserate to each soldier’s rank, from private soldier to the highest officers in the armed forces. This will impact more than 5000 soldiers who are officers in the army. This issue has been the number one request from our armed forces for more than a decade and we’ll achieve that in 2013.
With the resolution of this issue, it will make it possible for the armed forces to recruit and retain more soldiers, especially now that we have so many officers joining the ranks after receiving their training abroad. We see this action as yet another example of our resolve to support the armed forces of Somaliland.
