The announcement comes amid ongoing monetary challenges in Somalia, where the national shilling has struggled since the central government’s collapse in the early 1990s.
Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in northeastern Somalia, plans to introduce its own shilling currency by 2025, President Said Abdullahi Deni announced during a speech at the Puntland Bank headquarters in Bosaso.
The decision comes after years of waiting for Somalia’s federal government to establish a unified national currency. “We have been waiting for a long time for a unified government to create a unified Somali shilling, but it does not appear,” President Deni stated, explaining the motivation behind this significant monetary initiative.
Deni emphasized that the move does not signal a departure from Somali unity, pointing out that “there are many federal countries in the world that have two currencies.” He expressed hope that Puntland’s new currency would eventually align with Somalia’s broader financial system once national consensus is achieved.
The announcement comes amid ongoing monetary challenges in Somalia, where the national shilling has struggled since the central government’s collapse in the early 1990s. The country’s financial system currently relies heavily on U.S. dollars every transactions.
Despite efforts to revive Somalia’s Central Bank in the late 2000s, the country’s monetary system remains fragmented. Mobile money has emerged as a crucial financial tool, providing essential services to millions of Somalis in the absence of a developed banking sector.
President Deni described Somalia’s current situation as being at a “dangerous point” where maintaining unity and governance has become increasingly challenging. The Puntland government is currently conducting studies on implementing its own currency, with plans to integrate it into the broader Somali financial system when conditions allow.
