Federalism Adviser – Mogadishu, Somalia

The institutionalization of federalism in Somalia is taking root at multiple levels of government institutions. The Ministry of Finance continues to play a central role in defining some of the revenue and expenditure assignments at technical and policy levels. This is supported by a structured Intergovernmental Fiscal Federalism Technical Committee (IGFF-TC) and the Finance Ministers Fiscal Forum (FMFF).

Gaps in terms of institutional, intergovernmental coordination, human resources, fiscal capacity, constitutional ambiguity, and fiduciary capacity continue to affect the ability of federal and state institutions to fulfill their functional assignments as autonomous levels of government.

Measures are needed to address Somalia’s slow progress in completing the federal constitution and reaching a political settlement that defines the functional assignment of the levels of government. The enabling environment needs to be created to enhance the effectiveness of IGFF-TC and the FMFF to improve the prospects of the positive impact of federalism. Somalia will need to integrate citizen engagement into the federalism agenda to build consensus and understanding with the people on federalism.

1. Scope of Work and Responsibilities

The Federalism Adviser is expected to execute the following activities over a 12-month period:

1. Undertake a stocktaking exercise of all the signed intergovernmental agreements and communiques by the FMFF and the IGFF-TC over the last three years. Provide a report on their implementation status and recommend actions to strengthen future agreements that will build confidence between the levels of governments.
2. Provide policy advice on the adoption of a rule-based fiscal transfer formula between the FGS and the FMS to promote predictability and transparency in intergovernmental transfers. The adviser is expected to come up with a three-year implementation plan that is reviewed every six months to support the ongoing dialogue under the FMFF and IGFF-TC platforms.

• Support the existing Intergovernmental Technical Working Groups (TWG) activities by monitoring their progress and providing technical support in harmonizing the FGS and FMS financial management systems in the areas of budgeting, chart of accounts, and Government Financial Statistics (GFS) integrations. Support the review of existing legislations at FGS and FMS levels and provide recommendations during reviews to ensure the legislations are up to date and support the federalism agenda in Somalia.

1. Provide support in ongoing discussions over the expenditure responsibilities in the security sector between the FGS and FMS considering the political sensitivities and fiscal capacities vertically and horizontally.
2. Provide technical and policy advice on defining revenue assignment, revenue sharing, and assignment of expenditure responsibilities between the FGS and the FMS as part of a renewed constitutional review process. The adviser is expected to work closely with the Ministers for Finance and the FMFF platform in coming up with options and recommendations to be discussed during structured meetings by the Ministers of Finance.
3. Make recommendations concerning the basis for the equitable sharing of revenue raised by the Federal Government, between the Federal Government and the Federal Member States, and among the Federal Member States.

• The adviser is expected to provide strong political support in linking the FMFF platform to Somalia’s National

Security Council negotiations to strengthen the legitimacy of signed intergovernmental agreements in the areas of revenue and expenditure assignment, the constitutional review process, security, and resource sharing such as fisheries, grant, and customs revenues. The adviser is expected to be respected by the FGS and FMS institutions to support the political settlement dialogue under the federalism platform.

• The adviser is expected to prepare and deliver training on fundamental aspects of Federalism while setting the foundational knowledge on federalism in Somalia as part of the citizen engagement program. The adviser will need to combine concise input presentations on international standards, best practices, and comparative case studies, with practical exercises – including simulation and role play – through which participants can directly practice the knowledge learned from the expert on federalism.

1. Contribute to the implementation of quality and effective public services systems particularly for health and education services in all government tiers by strengthening networking in sharing knowledge, best practices, experiences, and advice to enhance cooperation on public service delivery between the Federal Government and the Federal Member States.
2. Contribute to the ongoing efforts of harmonization of legal and regulatory frameworks that governing the civil service management at FGS and FMSs Commissions, and provide policy advice on the previously developed laws, policies, and regulations by Capacity Injection Project at Federal Government and Puntland State, and on the laws and policies developed by the PRMIS Project for the states of JSS, SWSS, GSS, and HSS.
3. The adviser will perform any other duty delegated by the Minister for Finance on federalism

• Complete the required onboarding and other training, including online training, that may be prescribed from time to time.
• Submit detailed performance reports as prescribed by the Head of the RCRF Project Implementation Unit (PIU.)