If you get the opportunity to visit the big Somali towns, you will notice the rapidly growing cities, the hustle and bustle, the booming informal business enterprises, sounds of construction, and many more positive developments.
Hargeisa, Mogadishu, and Bosaso are good examples of these towns. While the system of governance and means of creating inclusivity might vary from one administration to another – Hargeisa ruled by councilors who come through one person one vote election, Bosaso ruled by selected councilors who come through negotiated clan power-sharing and Mogadishu’s status not yet defined –, all three cities have established some form of local administration, systems, and structures that support the provision of basic public services i.e. security, sanitation, civil registration etc. to the local community.
This is not just good progress in a fragile country that’s struggling to recover from prolonged civil war, but also a perfect example of how a bottom-up state-building agenda – especially in Hargeisa and Bosaso – can best work in a complex environment.
A brief history of local governance in Somalia
The 1961 Somalia constitution provided a measure of decentralization of administrative functions to elected councils at the district level.
According to a Somalia country study conducted by the US Library of Congress, the process of giving more autonomous functions for local governments started with Siad Barre’s decree following the 1969 military coup. In the decree, Siad Barre regime re-organized local governments into sixteen regions each containing 3-6 districts. Banaadir remained an exceptional case.
Local governments were administered by regional representatives. Representatives of districts and regions – mostly if not all were drawn from the army, the police, and security personnel – were appointed by the central government. Such practices ensured that those in charge of carrying out administrative functions at the local level were directly reporting to the regime in Mogadishu.
All levels of local government staff were personnel appointed by the national civil service authorities. Local councils were permitted to plan local projects, impose local taxes, and borrow funds (with prior ministerial approval), for demonstrably productive development projects.
Noting the above, one can argue that the overly centralized nature of Siad Barre’s regime didn’t give space for decentralization to work effectively. In fact, the overemphasis on the central level is among one of the reasons that led to the demise of the military government.
Local governance in post-conflict Somalia
One of the consequences of Somalia’s civil war was the collapse of governance systems and structures. Despite decades of operating as a non-state, many variables in the country are improving steadily. In addition, the presence of the State began to re-emerge in the context of a new three-tiered federal system which includes the Federal Government of Somalia, Federal Member States, and local governments.
The Provisional Constitution of Somalia (Article 48) acknowledges the national and sub-national tiers of governance (state & local government). Nevertheless, the roles and responsibilities of different levels of government, legislative powers, and intergovernmental cooperation between various levels of administration, fiscal autonomy of the federal and state levels of government are part of the constitutional review process and are yet to be determined. The struggle for power between the federal and regional levels of government are an everyday reality.
It is within this fragile post-conflict reality that the most neglected tier of governance – local governments – emerged making considerable progress on addressing the challenges of weak local institutions and delivering basic public services. Notable examples are districts in Somaliland and to some extent Puntland, that nevertheless show promise in providing services to the public, strengthening democratization and peace-building often through hybrid governance models negotiated among state, civic and private sector actors.