Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has ordered federal ministries and government agencies to introduce open, competitive recruitment for department director posts, emphasizing that appointments must be determined by qualifications, experience, competence and merit.
Speaking in Mogadishu on Thursday, Hamza said the government had spent the past four years strengthening state institutions and reforming the civil service. That work has included the approval of laws, policies and regulations governing public administration and personnel management.
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He said, however, that legislation and policy would not deliver institutional reform unless they were put into practice through concrete action.
“I instruct all ministers and government officials to fully implement a recruitment and appointment system grounded in competence and merit,” Hamza said.
The reform’s first stage will target department director positions, which the prime minister called the backbone of government administration.
According to Hamza, department directors are critical to managing personnel and putting institutional policies and plans into effect.
He instructed ministries and government agencies to fill the posts through open internal competition, giving qualified civil servants an equal opportunity to apply.
“This first phase of the competition will commence on Sept. 20, 2026, with the Civil Service Commission overseeing the implementation of the process,” Hamza said.
Hamza also directed ministers, agency heads and other officials involved in the process to cooperate fully with the commission and refrain from conduct that could undermine the competition’s independence, integrity or fairness.
The prime minister said the second stage would address director general positions across ministries and government agencies.
He said candidates for those roles would likewise be assessed on their qualifications, experience, leadership, performance and merit.
Hamza said the broader objective was to establish a professional, stable and accountable civil service capable of converting government policies into practical results for the public.
