The Role of Transparency Institutions in strengthening governance in Somalia..

Following the collapse of the Somalia central government in 1991, the capacity of public institutions has considerably weakened, including government agencies designated to promote good governance, create public trust, fight corruption and safeguard public resources. This lack of accountability and oversight has contributed to the increase in corruption and misuse of public assets and prolonged recovery…

This, in turn, limited the institutions’ ability to deliver critically needed public services to the community. These reasons, compounded with the ongoing civil war in Somalia, prompted the formation of regional administrations to provide much-needed leadership and basic social services. Somalia’s path toward peace and development has been hindered by decades of conflict, political instability, and systemic challenges.

The country has experienced a prolonged period of civil war, a dysfunctional governance system, and a collapse of state authority. As a result, most of the public institutions entrusted with accountability and transparency, such as the Office of the Auditor General, the Accountant General, the Central Bank and the Anti-corruption committees, all deemed to exist. Today, Somalia remains one of the world’s most fragile states, grappling with widespread corruption, rampant nepotism, significant insecurity, weak governance, and a deficit of public trust.

Challenges such as political fragmentation, corruption, and the persistent threat of extremism continue to impede development. Moreover, governance mechanisms and transparency institutions remain insufficient, which hampers their effectiveness. These institutions are essential for restoring the rule of law and enabling the country to progress. Public transparency and effective governance institutions play a crucial role in ensuring openness, accountability, and trust in government actions.

The absence or weakness of these essential institutions has significantly impaired the governance of the country and the effective functioning of its governing bodies at all levels. In this essay, the intention is to shed light on the impact of inadequate government transparency and accountability institutions in Somalia.

The prolonged civil war in Somalia has systematically undermined and destroyed key governance and transparency institutions, significantly hindering the country’s recovery from its fragile state. Despite efforts to re-establish Somalia’s governance system, successive governments have utterly failed to properly rebuild these institutions, which have been detrimental to the country’s survival.