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| Photo credit: ctsnow, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Convoy_trip_in_Mogadishu.jpg |
Earlier this month,
I was struck by an article that I read in the New York Times about recent
developments in Somalia. The insurgent group al-Shabaab's decision to withdraw from the capital has created a rare
opportunity for Mogadishu to stage a comeback. NYT journalist Jeffrey Gettleman
describes
the gradual transition to a more stable order:
Outside, on Mogadishu’s streets,
the thwat-thwat-thwat hammering sound that rings out in the mornings is not the
clatter of machine guns but the sound of actual hammers. Construction is going
on everywhere — new hospitals, new homes, new shops, a six-story hotel and even
sports bars (albeit serving cappuccino and fruit juice instead of beer).
Painters are painting again, and Somali singers just held their first concert
in more than two decades at the National Theater, which used to be a weapons
depot and then a national toilet. Up next: a televised, countrywide talent
show, essentially “Somali Idol.”
Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital,
which had been reduced to rubble during 21 years of civil war, becoming a
byword for anarchy, is making a remarkable comeback. The Shabab, the fearsome
insurgents who once controlled much of the country, withdrew from the city in
August and have been besieged on multiple sides by troops from the African
Union, Kenya, Ethiopia and an array of local militias.
Now, one superpower is left in
the capital — the African Union, with 10,000 troops (soon to be 17,000), tanks,
artillery and armored personnel carriers that constantly chug up and down the
street — and the city is enjoying its longest epoch of relative peace since
1991: eight months and counting.
While these
developments are encouraging, there seems to be a consensus that (a) recent
gains are fragile
and reversible, and (b) the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) needs to
seize this unique
moment in history -- by accelerating
its domestic reform efforts -- if it is to have any hope of building a
legitimate state. In particular, there is a growing
sense that the TFG needs to bring some transparency and discipline to its management
of public finances.
A new book by Dr.
Ali Issa Abdi entitled Somalia:
Crisis in Economic and Financial Management addresses this issue
at length. Dr. Issa Abdi, a former IMF
official and the current Managing Director of the Horn
Economic and Social Policy Institute (HESPI), argues convincingly that
state building requires sound public financial management, and in a highly
aid-dependent country like Somalia, sound public financial management and aid
transparency go hand in hand.
By almost all accounts, the TFG has done an exceptionally poor
job of managing aid monies, in spite of the fact that approximately 95% of
its operating
revenue comes from external sources. A February 2012 report
from International Crisis Group notes that "there is no reliable database covering
all development funds." And a recent
audit conducted by the Public Financial Management Unit in the Office of
the Prime Minister has revealed that as much as 85% of the central government's
revenue is never even recorded. The apparent lack of financial accountability does
not inspire donor confidence. U.S. State Department cables made available through
Wikileaks (here
and here) suggest
that donors have become very frustrated after transferring cash to the TFG and never
receiving a proper accounting for their funds.
Of course, aid
transparency is a two-way street. Donor agencies
have for years run their Somalia operations out of Nairobi or Hargeisa because
of security
concerns, making it difficult for the TFG authorities in Mogadishu to
pressure donors for detailed information about where,
when, and how their aid money is being spent.
But the perfect need
not be the enemy of the good. There are specific measures that the government
of Harvard-trained Prime Minister, Abdiweli
Mohamed Ali, can take to
improve the transparency of foreign assistance flows. The recent
experience of Liberia suggests that relatively simple measures -- shoring
up anti-corruption and audit institutions, creating a centralized aid
management unit, and insisting upon a common reporting mechanism for all
development projects -- can transform even exceptionally fragile states into
"good
enough" development partners.
Prime Minister Ali can even
look within Somalia's own borders for sources of inspiration. The semi-autonomous
government of Somaliland has recently taken steps to strengthen their public financial management
systems and introduce basic rules of engagement for donor agencies and NGOs
that wish to offer assistance. For example, they have introduced an Aid
Information Management System and published an aid
effectiveness report. The semi-autonomous government of Puntland is moving
in a similar direction.
We will continue to
monitor the TFG's public financial management reform efforts with interest, and
we invite readers with knowledge of recent developments in Somalia to
contribute to an open discussion on The First Tranche.
Brad Parks is
Co-Executive Director of AidData and Research Faculty at the College of William
and Mary
1 comment:
After I read the article, I felt relax knowing that there's still hope about the quote "make love not war". I was also amaze about the transparent aid management they've done, commonly not all state are doing this.
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