Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Lower House has overturned a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office that required federal ministries and government agencies to fill department director positions through open competition.
Second Deputy Speaker Abdullahi Omar Abshirow said lawmakers reached the decision on Saturday after debating a proposal from the House’s Social Affairs Committee.
- Advertisement -
Abshirow said the committee advised suspending the directive until Parliament completes legislation and regulations governing the appointment and administration of civil servants.
“The Social Affairs Committee, in collaboration with government legal experts and specialists, worked on this matter, and the House of the People debated the directive issued by the Prime Minister’s Office today,” Abshirow said.
The motion to annul the directive received 132 votes in favour. Two lawmakers voted against it, while two abstained.
Abshirow said the outcome renders the directive invalid and that Parliament will formally communicate its decision to the executive branch.
“I believe the executive branch acted prematurely on this matter,” Abshirow said. He added that regulations governing civil servants should be completed before further action is taken on the appointment of department directors.
He also said the rules governing the civil service must be brought into line with Somalia’s new constitution and other national laws.
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre issued the directive on Thursday, instructing federal ministries and government agencies to begin an open competitive process for department director positions. He said candidates should be selected according to their qualifications, experience, competence and merit.
Hamza said the government had spent the past four years strengthening state institutions and reforming the civil service, including by approving laws, policies and regulations for public administration and personnel management.
But he said legislation and policy approvals alone could not deliver institutional reform, stressing that the changes must also be put into practice.
