In a federal republic, there are three levels of government; the central, the state, and the local. The new constitution of the Federal Republic of Somalia neglects local governments and undermines the process of state building as a whole.
It’s through local government that most individuals in Somalia experience the state and as such a greater effort to develop these local institutions should be made.
In the past two decades the international community and political actors in Somalia have been committed to re-establishing a strong central government in Mogadishu. They tried to restore governance by exclusively focusing on the restoration of the central authority through a top-down approach.
After more than 15 national initiatives to restore the Somali central state, yet no success was achieved. Lately, self-governing clan enclaves like Puntland, Galmudug, Himan and Heeb, and the Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamee’a group (ASWJ) compete for power with the central state by advocating for a federal government model in which power is with the regional clan-based states.
At the core of the governance crisis is a deeply-flawed focus on the centralised state model, creating a chaotic and clan-driven competition for power and resources. The end result has little to do with real governance and service delivery for the people.
Of the three levels of governments (central, state/regional, and local), it’s only in the local government that most individuals in Somalia experience the state as it is meant to be.
The recently adopted provisional constitution of Somalia establishes only two levels of government, the Federal and State Governments. Meanwhile, it leaves the establishment, organization, status, structure, and competences of local governments to the States. Any further political and administrative decentralization is also left in the hands of the various regional entities.
This top-down approach gives all the political power to the centralized states and thus leaves local governments completely in the hands of their respective regional authorities. Local governments risk being undermined in this process.
It is usually at the sub-national level that people interact with public officials – in receiving or requesting services, dealing with local disputes, and registering land. It is with local police that they deal with all other qualms as well. In some places, it is where they pay taxes.
Therefor the most power and resources should be allocated to local administrations, rather than the federal states that are paralyzed by the clan competition for power and resources. Therefore the central government should remain involved in facilitating and empowering those local administrations.
The focus should be on governance, setting a uniform standard for service delivery to prevent inequality, exclusion and marginalisation of local governments. After all, it’s through the local government that most citizens experience the state.
{DN Staff Writers}
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