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Somalia Govt. In New Deal To Coordinate Aid Delivery

The Somali government has launched a “New Deal” task force, which will oversee the implementation of a new structure aimed at coordinating aid delivery agreed … Continue reading Somalia Govt. In New Deal To Coordinate Aid Delivery


The Somali government has launched a “New Deal” task force, which will oversee the implementation of a new structure aimed at coordinating aid delivery agreed with international partners.

Last week, Somalia won international pledges of extra cash and military assistance at a major conference convened to help the East African country cope with the twin threats of Islamic militancy and piracy.

The ‘New Deal’ was created in 2011 by the G7+, a forum of fragile and conflict affected countries.

It calls for reform of the international aid delivery structure so that donors can work within the state building and peace building goals of recipients, while concurrently helping members stay accountable for the resources they receive.

The meeting served as a ‘kick-off’ event for Somalia’s Government that recently formed a special task force to implement the coalition’s goals on March 22.

Now that Somalia’s National Security Forces have driven the extremist group al-Shabaab out of most of south-central Somalia, analysts say Somalia is experiencing its best chance of rebuilding the political, economic, legal, security and social systems that were ravaged by its long-running civil conflict.

Somalia’s government is seeking to impose stability in a country ravaged by two decades of civil war, lawlessness and famine, and by its own admission it needs help from outside to rebuild decimated infrastructure and institutions.

The country’s government is now seeking international support and cooperation to fuel its recovery under the components of the ‘New Deal’.

“Providing adequate financing to Somalia is both lifesaving activity and livelihood support this will provide the window of opportunity to build confidence in the political process and strengthen core national priorities, thereby beginning to lay the foundations of sustainable development,” said Somalia Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon.

Participants included several Somali ministers and high-ranking officials from the United Nations, European Union and representatives from other ‘New Deal’ countries like South Sudan and Timor.

“The New Deal is a process driven and led by Somalia and Somali actors. The international community is strongly behind it. Today was only the beginning of a very long process that will lead also to a conference in September in Brussels,” said the European Union’s Special Envoy to Somalia, Michele Cervone d’Urso.

Somalia’s ‘New Deal’ Task Force will conduct an assessment of the country’s resource needs, formulate mutual accountability and monitoring systems and create a national development plan.

Britain committed around 180 million pounds ($279 million), including funding for a planned doubling of the police force, and the United States donated $40 million on top of the $1.5 billion it has given since 2009.