Priorities for Somali State Rebuilding

June 6, 2012 by Abukar Sanei

AMISOM personnel carriers are seen in front of a war-damaged building in Mogadishu, Somalia. Stuart Price/UN

Even though some may be slow to accept it, Somalia is a failed state and has been for some time. Moreover, despite past efforts at rebuilding Somalia, including billions in aid over the decades, there is a renewed effort to rebuild Somalia.  

However, Somalis are the only ones that can make a difference. The international conference in Istanbul is, among other things, an effort to put together the development project that Somalia will need in order to achieve progress in the short term.  Since the Djibouti conference in late 2008, and the current Transitional Federal Government (TFG), led by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, there have been glimmers of hope in Somalia, and especially in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, especially after the ousting of al-Shabaab by AMISOM forces.

This is not to heap praise on the TFG.  Outside and within Somalia, the TFG is known for its widespread corruption and endless political crisis.  The World Bank recently published a report that large sums of money received by Somalia’s interim UN-backed government have not been accounted for.

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