Somaliland News Agency (SOLNA) was established in 2007 as the official wire service of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. Its core mandate is to collect and disseminate news content for the government’s media ecosystem. SOLNA plays a central role in shaping and boosting the state’s public communication efforts.
Media assets
News agency: SOLNA
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
SOLNA operates as an administrative department within the Ministry of Information and National Guidance. The Ministry exercises full control over the agency’s leadership, operations, and editorial agenda, with senior managers appointed directly by the Minister. As such, SOLNA is effectively an arm of the executive, functioning under close political supervision.
Source of funding and budget
No specific financial data has been made publicly available regarding SOLNA’s annual budget. However, both local media actors and international analysts with experience in Somaliland interviewed for this project confirm that the agency is entirely funded through government subsidies. There is no indication of commercial revenue generation or independent financial management, and the agency’s budget is embedded within broader ministry allocations, rendering it opaque to public scrutiny.
Editorial independence
In practice, SOLNA functions as a government mouthpiece, tasked with generating and distributing content that supports state policy, promotes national narratives, and showcases government achievements. According to local journalists and international observers interviewed for this project in May 2024 and January 2025, the agency is widely perceived as a tool for political communication rather than an independent journalistic entity.
As of mid-2025, no domestic legal framework exists to guarantee editorial autonomy for SOLNA. Moreover, there is no independent regulatory body overseeing the agency’s operations or safeguarding against political interference. In the absence of such mechanisms, SOLNA remains squarely under government control, with little room for critical reporting or independent verification of its content.
June 2025