Minister of Finance Dr. Abdirahman Beileh, and Chair of the Financial Governance Committee, has today released the FGC’s second Financial Governance Report. The report sets out the financial governance priorities the FGC believes need to be addressed in the coming year to strengthen state-building efforts going forward as Somalia continues to make progress on establishing a strong reform track record for IFI arrears clearance and HIPC Decision point.

The FGC’s advisory scope encompasses Central Bank governance, asset recovery, public procurement and concessions, public financial management reforms, the protection of public property, and fiscal federalism.   Since its inception in 2014, the FGC has published periodic progress reports and Advisory Notes on these issues.  Many of the reports are shared on the Ministry of Finance’s website.  The Financial Governance Report brings together the FGC’s insights across this range of issues into a single overarching report.

The report registers substantive progress in many areas of the FGC’s mandate, while also highlighting strategic issues that require further attention in the coming twelve months.   These include among others:  improved management of key security sector expenditures (salaries and rations), renegotiation of key concessions (Port and Airport), political agreement on the principles underpinning resource sharing, commitment to customs reform, establishing an inventory of public property and, undertaking the first phase of currency reform.

The Prime Minister of Somalia HE Hassan Ali Khayre has recently commended the work of the FGC and promised his full support to the ongoing priorities in the next year.