The Financial Governance Committee (FGC) today held its 28th meeting at the Ministry of Finance Building, Shangani, Mogadishu.

The FGC received the Prime Minister of Somalia HE Hassan Ali Khayre who reiterated his unwavering commitment to good governance and the fiscal reforms that are steadily improving the financial position of the government and its prospects for attaining debt relief. The Prime Minister commended the work of the FGC and promised his full support to its ongoing work on asset recovery, Central Bank governance, protection of state land and property, contracts and concessions, improving public finance management and supporting fiscal federalism.

H.E. Dr. Abdirahman Beileh, Minister of Finance and Chair of the FGC, emphasized that the government is increasing its efforts to formalize and harmonize domestic revenue collections across Somalia while encouraging the private sector to grow and prosper. The Minister noted a 27% increase in domestic revenue in the last 12 months. The Minister informed the FGC that the Finance Ministers of Federal Member States had recently committed to harmonizing sales tax based on the existing law, and that work is commencing to draft a new Revenue Bill for Somalia.

The FGC members welcomed recent progress on revenue sharing discussions for the fisheries sector and commended the Government and the Federal Member States for their substantive efforts and goodwill invested in reaching agreements.   The FGC emphasized the importance of securing political agreement on revenue sharing principles before entering into detailed agreements, with sustainability and equity being major considerations.

The FGC received an update on several government contracts and concessions. The Minister welcomed progress made by his staff, the Ministry of Ports and the Ministry of Transport on the review of key concessions for both the Mogadishu Port and the Airport. The Minister stated: “We will ensure value for money and transparency in all our contract and concession negotiations with potential investors”.

Finally, the FGC was informed that the second reading of the Public Financial Management Bill is scheduled for 10th May.   The Budget and Finance Committees of the Upper and Lower Houses have requested submission of a revised Audit Bill as a condition of passage of the PFM Bill.