Solar street lights are being installed along main roads and market streets in several Hargeisa neighbourhoods, part of a local government project to improve lighting without adding to the city's power bills.

Each lamp has its own panel and battery, so it keeps working during power cuts. Workers have so far focused on junctions, school routes and the lanes around busy markets, where residents had long asked for better lighting.

Longer evenings for traders

Shopkeepers said the change was visible within days. "Before, we closed when it got dark. Now customers come after evening prayers and we stay open longer," said a woman who sells household goods near one of the newly lit junctions.

Parents said children walking home from evening Quran classes now use well-lit streets, and neighbourhood committees reported that more families were out in the evening than before. Some young people have started using the lit pavements for evening walks and informal football.

Electricians trained under the project will maintain the lamps, cleaning dust off the panels and replacing batteries when needed. Several of the technicians are young people from the same neighbourhoods, who say the work has given them a practical skill and a steady income.

A local council official said the next phase would extend the lights to newer districts on the edge of the city. The council has also asked residents to report broken or damaged lamps through neighbourhood committees so that repairs can be made quickly.

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