DODOMA: Somalia is turning to Tanzania’s public service reform experience as it seeks to advance digital governance and build more citizen-focused government services.
The interest was highlighted in Dodoma at the weekend, where the Minister of State in the President’s Office (Public Service Management and Good Governance), Mr Ridhiwani Kikwete (pictured), hosted a Somali delegation headed by the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Hirsi Jama Ganni, for a three-day working visit.
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The discussions centre on public sector reform and government modernisation, giving the two countries an opportunity to share experience in civil service management, merit-based recruitment, accountability, leadership development and digital government.
Mr Ridhiwani said Tanzania had undertaken a deliberate programme to modernise its public service, prepare institutions for the digital era and make services more responsive to citizens.
“Our public service has undertaken reforms to modernise operations, strengthen governance and align structures with the digital world to better meet citizens’ needs,” he said.
He described the engagement as timely, noting that African countries are continuing to develop public institutions that are more responsive, transparent and accountable.
Much of Tanzania’s progress has been anchored in the rapid digitalisation of government operations and public service delivery.
The government has introduced systems designed to strengthen human resource management, recruitment, performance tracking, information exchange and mechanisms for receiving feedback from citizens.
Among them are the Human Capital Information Management System (eWatumishi), Performance Management Information System (e-Utendaji), citizen feedback platform (eMeesha), Human Resource Assessment System and the Ajira Portal.
Interconnection through the Government Enterprise Service Bus (GovESB) is increasingly enabling the systems to work across institutions and improving interoperability.
The reforms have also attracted international recognition. Mr Ridhiwani said e-Mrejesho Version 1 received the United Nations Public Service Innovation Award in 2024, while Version 2 won the eGovernment category at the 2025 World Summit on the Information Society Awards.
He further said Tanzania had been placed in Group A of the World Bank’s GovTech Maturity Index 2025, ranking it among countries with high GovTech maturity and one of only five African nations in that category.
Mr Ganni said during the visit that Somalia wanted to deepen cooperation with Tanzania while pursuing reforms in its own public service.
“We are implementing reforms in our public service and want to learn best practices in policy and the use of technology in service management,” he said.
