Eight years ago, Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State was synonymous with political turmoil, humanitarian distress and deep underdevelopment. More than 7,000 political prisoners were held at Jail Ogaden, maternal and child mortality remained high, and the regional capital had only one paved road. After nearly eight decades of misgovernance, the region had become known as “Ethiopia’s backward region.” Since the current government took office in 2018, however, the Somali Region has undergone a rapid transformation, moving from instability toward a future shaped by peace, investment and expanding public services.
A Foundation of Peace and Stability
The new administration placed peacebuilding at the center of its agenda. A crucial step was addressing the Somali Region’s decades-long conflict with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which had conducted an armed insurgency in the region since 1994. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed’s reform program, introduced soon after he assumed office in 2018, removed the ONLF from the list of terrorist organizations, freed political prisoners and created space for negotiations.
The regional government, led by Mustafe Omer, pressed consistently for an agreement. That effort produced a landmark peace deal in Asmara on October 21, 2018, when the ONLF and the federal government reached an accord that enabled exiled leaders to return and take part in peaceful political activity. The ONLF later registered as a political party, secured seats in parliament and assumed important executive positions at both state and local levels.
Peaceful political participation, combined with inclusive governance, clan reconciliation and a stronger commitment to the rule of law, has helped replace decades of communal conflict with greater political cooperation. The effects have been visible across the region. Towns once regarded as volatile have developed into active commercial centers, while large numbers of internally displaced people have returned to their communities.
Improved security also gave the regional government room to rebuild its administration. A new generation of educated technocrats and experienced professionals entered cabinet and civil-service positions, while accountability systems were strengthened. The resulting investment in institutions and human capital provided the platform for the region’s subsequent economic and social gains.
Economic Boom and Private Investment
With peace came a surge in economic activity. In the past eight years, the Somali Region has attracted more than 70 billion birr in private investment, an unprecedented level for the region. The money has supported modern hotels, large-scale trading operations, agro-processing facilities and logistics ventures.
Jigjiga, the regional capital, has emerged as a focal point for that expansion. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed has described the city as a “jewel of development” for the Horn of Africa. New infrastructure has changed its skyline and improved its connections with national and regional markets, reinforcing its role as a commercial and administrative center.
Water Resource Development and Management
The region’s gains in water access offer one of the clearest measures of change. Before 2018, reliable access to clean water reached only about 18% of rural residents and 20% of urban residents. Those shares have since risen to 46.5% and 51.4%, respectively, following an extensive program of borehole drilling and water harvesting.
More than 360 boreholes have been completed, alongside numerous small-scale irrigation schemes. The projects have provided dependable water to thousands of pastoralist communities while allowing farmers to cultivate land during the dry season—turning areas once considered barren into productive fields.
Godey illustrates the scale of the challenge and the progress made. Although the city lies beside the Shabelle River, residents lacked reliable access to clean water for decades. Under the current government, Godey has reached 100% access, transforming a longstanding contradiction—scarcity beside an abundant river—into a symbol of the region’s broader water development.
Agricultural and Livestock Modernization
Livestock remains central to the regional economy, but the sector has gained new support through expanded veterinary services, improved marketing cooperatives and export-quality abattoirs. Agriculture has also expanded rapidly, with both rain-fed and irrigated production increasing.
Cultivated land grew from 350,000 hectares when President Mustafe took office to 1.6 million hectares last year. The target for this year is two million hectares. Across the Shabelle and Sitti zones, large irrigation projects valued at more than 8 billion birr are already under construction or development.
Education, Health, and Human Capital
Healthcare capacity has expanded from nine hospitals to more than 32, including 24 built since 2018. The region has also established its first dedicated hospital for the Somali Region Police, a facility with no precedent in the region’s history.
Education infrastructure has grown alongside healthcare. More than 700 schools have been constructed, including over 100 secondary schools and 12 boarding schools, while enrollment has more than doubled. New technical and vocational training centers are preparing young people for a changing economy by providing practical and employment-focused skills.
Beyond these institutional investments, the administration has built hundreds of homes for low-income families across all regions. The housing program addresses a basic social need while supporting stability and improving household security. By helping vulnerable families secure better living conditions, it also contributes to wider community welfare and economic participation.
Infrastructure and Connectivity
Road construction has extended beyond the major urban centers. Hundreds of kilometers of gravel roads have been built or rehabilitated, connecting rural communities with market towns and cross-border trade routes. Expanded electricity and telecommunications networks have brought mobile banking and internet access to previously disconnected areas, creating new opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Since 2018, more than 115 cities and towns have joined the electricity grid for the first time. The expanded access has brought power to communities that had long remained without it. Jigjiga has also benefited from Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed’s corridor development initiative, gaining more than 9 kilometers of modern roadway with three car lanes on each side, separate pedestrian and bicycle lanes, and extensive greenery.
Across Jigjiga, Godey, Degehabur and Kebridahar, asphalt roads and modern facilities have replaced many unpaved streets and limited public services. The urban improvements have been accompanied by a wave of new government-office construction, strengthening administrative capacity at regional and zonal levels.
The Next Five Years: An Even Brighter Horizon
If the current leadership maintains the peace and continues pursuing the vision President Mustafe frequently outlines in public, the coming five years could consolidate the Somali Region’s position as a self-sustaining economic powerhouse. Six priorities form the core of that agenda.
1. Major Federal Investment Partnerships
With support from Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and the federal government, the Somali Region is hosting major projects led by Dangote Group and GCL. The initiatives cover fertilizer, industrial production and large-scale infrastructure. They are expected to generate employment, expand local manufacturing and connect the region more closely to Ethiopia’s wider economy.
2. A Record-Breaking $675 Million Budget
The region has approved a budget of 108.9 billion birr, equivalent to about $675 million, for the 2026–2027 fiscal year. The figure represents a 66% increase from the previous year. The region plans to finance 51% of the budget through domestic revenue, while approximately 70% of spending will go toward social sectors, including education, health, water and livelihoods.
3. Agricultural Transformation and Food Security
The administration aims to expand cultivated land to two million hectares this year, with a longer-term objective of using the region’s more than 10 million hectares of arable land. Its strategy is to reduce reliance on imported food, eventually produce crops for foreign markets and increase national foreign-exchange earnings. Solar-powered irrigation projects are also being introduced to make food production more resilient to climate shocks.
4. Digital Governance and Public Service Modernization
Jigjiga’s recently opened Mesob One-Stop Service center brings nine government institutions together and provides more than 40 services in one location. The model is scheduled to expand to 12 regional towns. The administration also plans to speed up the digitization of public services, broaden the use of digital IDs and e-governance platforms, and expand agricultural mechanization as part of its effort to reduce dependence on food aid.
5. Environmental Sustainability
The region has launched the 2026 Green Legacy program, which aims to plant 15 million trees under the slogan “Plant a Tree, Leave Hope.” The initiative is intended to strengthen environmental protection, address land degradation and limit the effects of climate change.
6. Youth, Diaspora, and Private Sector Engagement
A China-backed, grant-funded initiative will support youth and rural development through sport, with a particular focus on pastoral communities. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed has also appealed directly to the Somali diaspora—including communities in Kenya, South Africa and elsewhere—to return and invest. Hospitality, trade and agro-processing remain the leading areas for private-sector activity.
A Parting Shot
President Mustafe’s eight-year record reflects a strategy built around resilience, forward planning and inclusive governance. The Somali Region’s experience demonstrates how prioritizing peace, directing investment toward basic needs and involving communities can alter a region’s trajectory. What began as an effort to restore stability has developed into a broader project of economic self-determination.
The combination of a record budget, major federal investment partnerships, extensive infrastructure spending and a focus on digital services and food security points to an ambitious next phase. The coming progress will matter not only to the Somali Region but to Ethiopia as a whole. If the past eight years established the foundation, the next five will determine how far the region can build upon it.
𝐾ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑟 𝑀 𝐿𝑒𝑦𝑙𝑖 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐽𝑖𝑔𝑗𝑖𝑔𝑎, 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖 𝑅𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑎. 𝐻𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝐾ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑚@𝑔𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝑚.
