Somali president leads cabinet meeting on state-building and public service reforms

Somalia’s cabinet meeting signals a push to turn battlefield gains into public services

Mogadishu’s message: accountability, services, and a long game

In Mogadishu on Thursday, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sat at the head of the long table in the Council of Ministers and offered his cabinet a familiar charge with a sharper edge: make the machinery of government move faster, cleaner, and closer to the people. The weekly meeting, officials said, looked beyond the security front lines to the hard work of state-building—health clinics, classrooms, basic services, and the trust that binds citizens to their state.

On paper, the meeting had the hallmarks of an ordinary government check-in. Ministers updated the president on the fight against al-Shabaab and outlined plans for the 2026 national budget. In the room, though, the subtext was bigger. The administration wants to convert months of security momentum into visible improvements in daily life, and to do it with tighter accountability and more public transparency.

That ambition sits at the core of Somalia’s next chapter. The country has weathered a punishing decade of insurgency and climate shocks. Yet the pulse of Mogadishu today—the morning rush on KM4, the cranes along the airport corridor, the quiet resilience of tea sellers under shade trees—points to a public that keeps showing up, even when institutions struggle to keep pace. The government’s renewed emphasis on “state-building” acknowledges a simple truth: military gains only hold if people feel the state works for them.

Budget 2026: from guns to clinics, and the weight of expectations

Ministers signaled that the 2026 budget will raise spending and channel more resources to health, education, and essential social services. That line may read like standard development language, but it carries real stakes in a country where public systems remain thin and the private sector—diaspora-backed hospitals, fee-based schools, mobile money platforms—fills the gaps.

What would it mean in practice? A credible social spending pivot would require predictable teacher salaries, secure drug supplies in district health centers, and investments in water and sanitation systems that can withstand drought and flash floods. It also demands the dull but decisive parts of governance: clean procurement, published contracts, routine audits, and independent oversight.

Somalia’s fiscal story offers a chance to do this right. After reaching full debt relief under the IMF and World Bank process in late 2023, the country gained access to new concessional financing and a clearer runway for reforms. Domestic revenue remains low relative to peers, but it’s rising from a very small base as customs, tax administration, and digital payments deepen. A larger budget is a tool; how ministers deploy it—toward recurring services rather than one-off projects—will decide whether families notice the difference.

Security gains are real—but fragile

The cabinet’s assessment that Somali forces have dealt significant losses to al-Shabaab in recent months mirrors reports from the field: joint operations with local fighters have taken territory, disrupted command nodes, and tightened the government’s hold in parts of Galmudug and Hirshabelle. Training and equipment for the National Army have been upgraded, reflecting years of work with partners.

Yet the pattern is familiar to Somalis: the group often recedes under pressure, shifts to rural sanctuaries, then reverts to asymmetric attacks and economic coercion—especially on roads. Where the state is absent, al-Shabaab levies taxes on livestock, goods, and traders. Breaking that cycle demands more than a military map. It requires securing supply routes, paying local forces on time, integrating community defense units under a common chain of command, and delivering quick-impact services that signal permanence.

All of this is unfolding as the African Union mission continues its drawdown, placing more responsibility on Somali forces at a delicate time. The transition can succeed, but only if security gains move in lockstep with governance and service delivery, not a half-step behind.

Democratization and the test of public trust

The president’s call for ministers to engage the democratization process taps into one of Somalia’s most sensitive debates: how to move from elite power-sharing toward a more direct say for citizens. For years, politics has leaned on indirect selection mechanisms rooted in clan agreements. The government has pledged to inch toward broader participation—starting at the local level—but that journey is more marathon than sprint.

Democratization is not just election day. It is the unglamorous infrastructure that makes a vote possible and credible: civil registries, voter rolls, rules for campaigning and finance, court systems able to resolve disputes, and media that can report freely without fear. It also involves navigating federal tensions—ensuring Federal Member States are partners rather than rivals—and creating a political calendar that people can trust.

Why does this matter to the family in Beledweyne or the trader in Kismayo? Because legitimacy is the currency that buys patience when services falter, and participation is the mechanism that keeps governments honest when budgets grow. Without it, promises look like slogans.

A wider lens: climate, markets, and the ties that bind

Somalia’s cabinet faces a world of moving parts. Climate shocks have multiplied, swinging from drought to flood with cruel speed, dismantling harvests and inflating food prices. Remittances—lifelines from the diaspora—still prop up household budgets, while mobile money has brought financial services to millions who never had a bank account. These are strengths to build on, not crutches to lean on.

The global community will watch how Mogadishu turns new fiscal space into resilient services. Development partners, from the World Bank to the European Union, have long asked for the same recipe: tie money to measurable outcomes, publish the results, and keep civil society in the conversation. Somalia’s public has asked for something simpler and harder: fairness, consistency, and a government that shows up on time.

What to watch in the months ahead

• Budget discipline: Will the 2026 budget prioritize recurring social services and publish full details of allocations, contracts, and quarterly execution?
• Payroll reliability: Do teachers, nurses, and security forces receive salaries predictably, particularly outside Mogadishu?
• Security transitions: As African Union forces draw down, can Somali forces hold key corridors, and do local administrations deliver quick wins in newly recovered areas?
• Federal cooperation: Are Federal Member States brought into budget and security planning in a way that reduces friction and improves service delivery?
• Public oversight: Will audit findings be made public and acted upon, and can media and watchdogs report without intimidation?

Thursday’s cabinet meeting did not announce sweeping decrees. It did something more important: it framed the next test. Somalia has fought hard for the breathing room it has now. The question before President Mohamud and his ministers is whether they can translate tactical victories into everyday dividends—school by school, clinic by clinic, receipt by receipt.

If they can, the state grows visible in the places that matter most: in a child’s classroom, a mother’s health visit, a secure road to market. If they cannot, the old cycles will tug Somalia back. The difference will lie in the details—how budgets are spent, how honestly progress is counted, and how widely the benefits are shared.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.