During a joyful ceremony on 20 June 2010, Government of Puntland officials and representatives of the UN Joint Programme on Local Governance and Decentralized Service Delivery opened the new Ministry of Interior sub-office in Bossaso.
Until now, the Ministry of Interior had been occupying rented offices in Bossaso, at considerable cost to the government. In late 2009, a dilapidated public building was identified for possible rehabilitation, and a joint assessment was carried out with UN-HABITAT. It was concluded that the old building was unfit for restoration, and that it would be more cost-effective to demolish the entire structure and put up a new one.
Construction started on 1 February 2010 and, reusing the old stones, a new building quickly emerged from the piles of rubble scattered over the site. Within two months, the new offices were ready to hand over to the ministry. By recycling the old building, a significant saving was made, which was used to buy the required furniture and basic office equipment. At a cost of less than USD 37,000, a most remarkable transformation has been achieved!
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