Mogadishu, Somalia — Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has called on United Nations agencies, donors and international organisations working in Somalia to change their approach, saying the country should no longer be treated as a transitional state.
Speaking at an event in Mogadishu on Tuesday, Mr Barre said Somalia had established functioning government institutions and a legal framework and should move away from practices associated with its previous transitional period.
He said the government had developed a National Transition Plan (NTP) aimed at moving Somalia from its former transitional system towards fully functioning state institutions and governance structures.
“The old ways of working cannot continue. We want them to adapt to the new Somalia and where we are going,” Mr Barre said.
The prime minister urged international partners to align their programmes and operations with what he described as Somalia’s changing political and institutional landscape.
He also criticised the practice of international organisations maintaining offices or conducting significant operations outside Somalia while supporting programmes inside the country.
“There are people who work for us who still want to run from Nairobi. It is the culture they have learned, but it is not possible now,” he said.
Mr Barre said the shift towards a more fully functioning state must also take place within Somalia’s government.
He called on ministers, civil servants and government experts to adapt to the new system and strengthen the capacity of state institutions.
His comments come as Somalia seeks to consolidate its government institutions and reduce reliance on transitional arrangements, while taking greater responsibility for the country’s political, security and development affairs.
The government says the transition is intended to strengthen state capacity and establish more sustainable systems of governance as Somalia moves further away from the institutional arrangements of its transitional era.
