Fiscal Decentralization Policy for Somalia

The Regional UNCDF Office in Addis Ababa has been busy over the whole first week of May, hosting two large delegations of thirty top officials from Somaliland and the Puntland State of Somalia, UNCDF officers and advisors from the Somalia Office, and the UNCDF contracted consultants from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) of the UK.

The occasion was the validation meeting for a Fiscal Decentralization Strategy for Somaliland and Puntland, which had been developed through a process of field assessments in several Somali districts and formal and informal discussions since January 2016 with key Government officials facilitated by the ODI.

The corridors of the Regional Service Center were abuzz with comings and goings of the Somali delegations, and the simultaneous meetings in Somali language. Among the Somali delegations were eight Mayors (as the very important elected leaders of the Local Governance Units are titled) of all the big north Somali districts including the capitals and the major ports; Director Generals of the Ministries of Finance, Education, Interior, the two Accountant and Auditor Generals, and four Vice Ministers from the Ministries of Interior and Finance.

The week long meeting adopted the draft Fiscal Decentralization Strategy reports, but went further and developed an immediate work plan covering the next three months. Among the agreed activities were specific actions to make the present system work better, resolving issues in local service delivery models, the introduction of block grants to local governments, but above all, beginning on a process to for local parliaments to legislate for regular adequate transfers to the local governments

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