Exploring options for Political and Economic District Council Sustainability – November 2021

Through the application of the Wadajir Framework and concerted action by a range of implementing agencies, district councils are being established across Somalia. SSF, however, has found that once established, the political and fiscal integration of these newly established district councils is neither clear nor assured. In particular, there lacks a clear mechanism for fiscal decentralisation to this level of governance which renders newly established district councils without a clear budget risking their unsustainability. Moreover, there is a risk that introducing new revenue generation mechanisms may conflict with existing economic or political stakeholder interests. This research will study the scope for fiscal integration of district councils into existing fiscal architecture while considering the potential challenges new district councils may face from a political perspective in doing so.

This paper forms part of SSFs work to strengthen inclusive politics and local governance and builds upon research and analysis on this issue, such as the Local Governance: Lessons Learned Study.