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Research Proposals or Synopsis | Development Studies | Somalia | Volume 11 Issue 12, December 2022 | Popularity: 5 / 10
Governance Models for Large-Scaleurban Disasters: Policy Options for Hargeisa Market Fire
Abdihakim Osman Ali, Hargeisa, Somaliland
Abstract: The main market in Somaliland was destroyed in a fire. Over five thousand business were lost, costing an estimated USD 2 billion dollars. Successive governments have traditionally appointed Ad hoc Committees to aid in the country's response to and recovery from disasters like droughts and, more recently, the COVID19 pandemic. The public's faith in these committees has been called into question, and the most recent one, COVID19, was widely panned. Not only was public accountability ignored, but millions of dollars in COVID19 response operations and COVID19 test expenses collected up to this day were never properly recorded and reported. Now, Hargeisa Market Fire response and recovery is in progress, but the road remained unclear for about three months. No national direction as the President did not ratify the governance structure of the Committee set for managing the response and recovery effort. Hargeisa local council regarded the response and recovery process as a local government role, but the Ministry of Public Works, Land and Housing saw it as a national disaster and sees itself as the lead institution. The government has put a USD 2 billion recovery appeal, yet response and recovery efforts are now handled without clear governance structures. To counter this, the brief proposes establishing a new Commission through Presidential Decree, followed by an act of Parliament. With this new body, the government can set suitable organizational structure and appoint credible leadership and technocrats to steer the process. This policy recommendation demands financial transparency, public accountability and putting trust building and public confidence at the heart of the recovery programming. Scaling up the role CSOs and media scrutinizes the work of the Commission and keeps them accountable. The policy considers any attempt to overlook setting up dedicated institutions as a "political suicide" which may have negative political and economic implications.
Keywords: Waaheen, Market fire, Hargeisa, Urban Disaster, Governance
Edition: Volume 11 Issue 12, December 2022
Pages: 930 - 935
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.21275/SR221219142217
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