HARGEISA (SD) – Somaliland’s Minister of Public Works has taken over the reconstruction work of Waheen Market which was recently destroyed by fire.

In a decree issued by the Minister of Public Works, Abdillahi Abokor, names a list of engineers that would work on the reconstruction project. The minister did not say if the engineers were vetted or how the committee was selected.

“The Ministry of Public Works has convened a committee of the country’s top engineers with expert knowledge and work experience to lead the rebuilding of the Waheen market and to establish a system to ensure the safety of other markets in the country.” the Minister said in the decree.

The minister also said that the committee will be composed of two members of the Hargeisa City Council who are also engineers.

The committee appointed by the minister is already a source of concern as the government of President Bihi has previously been criticized for awarding contracts based nepotism and on clan affiliation.

To add salt to the wound, the committee appointed by the minister is said to be not limited to Waheen Market but has been awarded additional contracts to design the country’s markets.

Traders of Somaliland’s largest market, Waheen, lost more than $2 Billion in assets in the recent fires, victims are yet to receive a meaningful help, despite more than $30 million dollar donations collected on behalf of the victims by president Bihi’s government.