PROFIT, POWER AND THE RED LINE

The Growing Concentration of Somaliland’s Essential Economy

Araweelo News Network | Associated Online Agencies

Author: Abdillahi Jama Ali – Qurus

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7 minutes

“Indho ribix arkayaa, rixin ma eegaan.”
“They see the profit, but they do not see their kin.”
Somaliland has built much of its modern economy through private initiative. In the absence of a fully developed state economic infrastructure, entrepreneurs stepped forward, invested their capital and created services that millions of people depend upon every day.
That achievement should be recognised.
But success creates its own responsibility.
Today, a fundamental question deserves serious public discussion: How much economic power should be concentrated in the hands of a very small number of corporate groups before that concentration becomes a threat to competition, consumers and the authority of the state?
This is no longer simply a question about business. It is a question about economic power.

The Power of Two
A striking feature of Somaliland’s economy is the enormous reach of its largest corporate groups.
The same major players have developed powerful positions across sectors that are fundamental to everyday life: telecommunications, banking, money transfer, foreign exchange, fuel, electricity and other essential services.
Each individual business may have its own justification. Investment requires capital. Large infrastructure requires large companies. Economies of scale can reduce costs.
But when a small number of companies become dominant across several essential sectors, the economic environment changes.
Two companies do not automatically mean competition.
Real competition exists when consumers have meaningful alternatives, businesses compete on price and quality, and no single company—or small group of companies—can effectively determine the terms of the market.
The question Somaliland must therefore ask is not simply:
“How many companies are operating?”
It is:
“How much real choice does the consumer have?”
When Competition Becomes Coordination
There is an even more serious concern when dominant companies appear to move in similar directions on prices and charges.
It is important to distinguish between proven collusion and public suspicion of coordination. An allegation of price-fixing should not be treated as established fact without evidence and proper investigation.
But suspicion itself cannot simply be dismissed when consumers repeatedly experience rising prices in essential services and have few meaningful alternatives.
If dominant companies are independently responding to the same economic pressures, that is one matter.
If competitors are communicating or coordinating in ways that undermine genuine competition, that is an entirely different matter.
The responsibility for determining the difference belongs not to the public, not to political rumours, and not to the companies themselves—but to an independent and credible regulatory process.
That is precisely why regulatory institutions matter.
The Internet Shock
The recent increase in the cost of internet services demonstrated something important.
When telecommunications services become more expensive, the effect does not stop with the individual consumer.
Internet access has become part of education, business, banking, communication, government services, journalism and international commerce.
For young people, entrepreneurs and small businesses, connectivity is no longer a luxury. It is economic infrastructure.
When the public reacts strongly to an increase in internet prices, policymakers should not simply see an angry consumer.
They should see a warning signal.
The same principle applies to electricity.
Electricity Is Not an Ordinary Commodity
Electricity is fundamental to almost every productive activity.
A rise in electricity prices affects households, shops, restaurants, manufacturers, schools, offices, water services and small enterprises.
The cost is eventually passed through the economy.
A business facing higher electricity costs must either absorb the loss, reduce its operations or increase the price of its goods and services.
Therefore, when electricity prices rise, the issue is not merely the electricity bill.
It can become an inflationary pressure throughout the economy.
That is why essential utilities cannot be treated exactly like ordinary consumer products.
The State Must Not Become a Spectator
There is nothing wrong with powerful private companies. In fact, Somaliland needs strong companies. It needs investment, innovation, infrastructure and entrepreneurs capable of building businesses that can compete internationally.
But strong companies require strong rules.
A government that allows private economic power to become so concentrated that it can dictate terms to consumers—or challenge the authority of regulators—risks weakening the very market system that allowed those companies to succeed.
The state does not need to run every business. It needs to establish the rules of the game and enforce them fairly.
The regulator must be able to ask:
• Is there genuine competition?
• Are prices justified by costs?
• Are consumers adequately protected?
• Are dominant companies abusing their market position?
• Are competitors communicating in ways that undermine competition?
• Can new companies realistically enter these markets?
• Are essential services being priced in the public interest?
• Are regulatory decisions respected?
These are not anti-business questions.
They are pro-market questions.

The Red Line
There is a point at which economic strength becomes economic power, and economic power can become political power.
That is where the red line begins.
No private company should be above the law.
No corporation should be powerful enough to determine public policy simply because the government depends upon its services.
And no regulator should exist merely on paper.
If a regulatory authority is legally responsible for supervising a sector, its decisions must carry real authority.
Otherwise, the public is left with the appearance of regulation without the substance of it.
That is dangerous for Somaliland.

This Is Not an Attack on Business

This argument should not be misunderstood.
Somaliland’s private sector has achieved things that the state alone could not have achieved.
It has connected people, facilitated commerce, transferred money across borders, provided electricity, financed businesses and helped keep the economy functioning through difficult circumstances.
Those achievements deserve recognition.
But precisely because these companies are so important, their responsibilities are greater—not smaller.
Economic success should create social responsibility, not exemption from it.
The larger the company, the greater its impact on society.
And the greater its impact, the stronger the case for transparency, accountability and effective regulation.

A Market Needs More Than Sellers
A functioning market requires more than companies selling products.It requires choice, competition, information, rules.
And above all, it requires an authority capable of enforcing those rules.
Without these things, a market can gradually become a system in which consumers have little choice but to accept whatever terms powerful providers offer.
That is not healthy capitalism. It is concentrated economic power.

The Somali Proverb
This is where the old Somali wisdom becomes remarkably relevant:
“Indho ribix arkayaa, rixin ma eegaan.”
They see the profit, but they do not see their kin.
Profit is legitimate. So is business and investment But an economy is ultimately about people. The consumer is not merely a source of revenue. The electricity user is not merely a monthly payment. The internet subscriber is not merely a number on a company balance sheet.
They are citizens, families, students, workers. entrepreneurs. They are the society that made these businesses possible in the first place.

Before the Red Line Is Crossed

Somaliland does not need to choose between private enterprise and government.
It needs both.
It needs strong private companies and strong public institutions.
It needs investment and regulation.
It needs profit and responsibility.
The objective should not be to weaken successful companies. It should be to prevent economic success from becoming unchecked economic power.
The time has come for Somaliland to look carefully at the concentration of its essential economy.
Not with hostility.
Not with ideology.
But with courage, evidence and independent regulation. Because once economic power becomes powerful enough to challenge public authority, the question is no longer simply how much consumers are paying.
The question becomes:
Who ultimately sets the rules of the economy—the state, or the market giants?
That is the red line.
And Somaliland should address it before it is crossed.
“Indho ribix arkayaa, rixin ma eegaan.”
They see the profit, but they do not see their kin.

By Abdillahi Jama Ali – Qurus .A former teacher, trainer, radio journalist, manager, Member of Parliament and Minister, He is now a writer, contributor  and political analyst, drawing on more than 50 years of professional, public-service and political experience. Abdullahi Jama Ali is also a contributor to Araweelo News Network / Associated Online Agencies, where he has published numerous articles and political analyses. His work focuses particularly on current affairs, governance, policy developments, and geopolitical dynamics in the Horn of Africa, offering readers well-crafted perspectives shaped by decades of professional, public-service, and political experience