| Federal and regional authorities are establishing more checkpoints and opening more revenue and customs branch offices in the Somali Regional State in a bid to curb rampant contraband trade and encourage legal business. The Somali Regional State shares its border with Somaliland, Djibouti and Kenya, across which contraband trade has flourished for a long time. From rice, which is very commonly eaten in the region to manufactured goods, including many types of electronic wares, are smuggled across the border from the neighbouring countries. The neighbouring countries in turn get livestock, khat and other agricultural products. The people of the region are almost dependent on foreign products. Even in Jijiga, the seat of the regional government, there are few locally produced goods. Local business people do not hold many local products for fear that they will not compete with the smuggled products. That is now changing. The border is being patrolled by federal officers, which are making the smuggling very difficult both ways. “The federal government is establishing 11 new checkpoints in addition to the existing four,” said Mohammednaji Mohammed, head of the Somali Trade and Industry Bureau at Jijiga. “These will provide legal customs services to traders.” The parliament has approved for the regional Revenue and Customs Bureau, which has its only office in Jijiga, to open nine branch offices in the zones, he added.
“This is going to happen soon as the officials have already been appointed,” Mohammednaji continued and mentioned that a major part of the work involved changing the people’s attitude towards contraband trade and encouraging them to embrace legal trading system. The bureau will create market links, provide access to regulatory services and at the same time encourage people to buy and sell local products and legally imported commodities and also put pressure on contraband.
There was a big public discussion months ago in Jijiga about curbing contraband trade and encouraging legal trade involving the public, business people, representatives of the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority, regional government officials and the regional chamber of commerce. Mohammednaji admitted that addressing the issue was a big challenge, but the participants had agreed that contraband trade was more harmful in terms of quality of goods and security. “It is much easier and nearer for our region to import goods from our neighbour Somaliland than having goods from the highland areas of the country,” said Hassen Usman, a businessman in Jijiga. “Besides, the people in this region are familiar with the goods that come from Somaliland. Therefore, the government has to create the means for the legal import of goods from Somaliland.” This problem has been recognized as valid, leading to the identification of 30 business people who will legally import goods from the neighbouring country. “The necessary preparations are done,” Mohammednaji said. “We are only waiting for the legal authorization from the Federal Customs and Revenues Authority.” “We are planning to talk with the federal government to allow goods like food to be imported duty free and to create the means to bring goods from highland areas,” said Haftay Dersta, head of the customer service at the branch office. “Currently, the Whole Sale Trade and Import Enterprise is selling the goods that it receives from us in Jijiga, instead of sending it to the highland area.” He hopes that this will help stabilize the market, which is experiencing fluctuating prices as a result of an inconstant supply of goods. | 
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