trust

Somalia: In Baidoa, a New Income Tax Tests Public Trust in a Time of Insecurity and Joblessness BAIDOA, Somalia — A new personal income tax in Somalia’s South West State is colliding with the hard math of life in Baidoa: few formal jobs, persistent insecurity, and threadbare public services. Authorities say the measure is essential to build a functioning state. Many residents hear it as a bill for services they cannot see. The policy, announced recently in Baidoa — the interim capital of South West State — applies to…

Somalia’s Cash Pipeline: Billions in Aid, Little Change at Home as Trust Deficit Deepens MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia sits at the center of a paradox. The country attracts substantial external finance — about $4.2 billion in annual inflows by one senior official’s estimate — yet citizens still face delayed salaries, frayed services and scarce formal jobs. As donors recalibrate their risk exposure and the government insists its systems are improving, a widening trust deficit is draining resources, slowing delivery and…

This Halloween season, a palpable sense of unease grips American voters, as the specter of potential electoral upheaval looms over the 2024 presidential race. Many are anxious that the victor might not emerge from the ballot box come election day but rather from a chaotic judicial showdown afterward. Such turmoil is not without precedent. Flashback to 2000: the Supreme Court intervened to resolve the contentious showdown between George Bush and Al Gore, ultimately declaring Bush the winner after a fraught manual recount in…

Taxes, the lifeblood of nations, are the engines driving public services like healthcare, education, and roads, fostering economic growth everywhere. In the vibrant yet resource-strapped landscape of sub-Saharan Africa, adequate public services hinge on tax collection, but obstacles loom large. Kenya's recent tax uproar highlights the friction brewing as folks demand justice in tax policies that evenly spread the fiscal load. Tax collection is a bit of a pickle with small-time businesses and farming galore. Capturing this…

EDITORIAL | Somalia's outgoing federal government officials must satisfactorily clarify the security incident in which a convoy of former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was shot in Mogadishu. On Wednesday afternoon, the Custodial Corps, Somalia's prison guards, saw shooting at Mrs Mohamud's entourage. His allies have claimed it was an assassination attempt. But whether we agree with that etiquette or not, it is something that the federal government should investigate and provide adequate information not only to Mr…

In Libya, after two days of intense debate, the elected parliament approved the transitional government led by 61-year-old businessman Abdel Hamid Dbeibah. The vote took place on Wednesday 10 March in Sirte. He was hailed as "historic" for a cabinet born of a UN-sponsored process that will help bring the country out of chaos by leading it to elections at the end of the year. Abdel Hamid Dbeibah and…

In Côte d'Ivoire, less than four weeks before the presidential election, the joint mission of ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations ends its stay. Before leaving the country, she took stock of her visit to Abidjan. From our correspondent in Abidjan After his stay in Abidjan, the common mission for ECOWAS, The African Union and the UN share one concern: the lack of trust between political actors. This is the main point made by the press release read by General Francis Behanzin, Commissioner for Political…