By Abdinassir Shale Sagar
Background
An economic development agenda is a central pillar of state building and is key to societal progress. Both the academic literature and practitioner views converge on the idea that states emerging from civil war or protracted conflict should put in place measures to strengthen economic development and spur growth. While the relationship between economic development and state building is reciprocal, the former is essential for providing the resources to rebuild state infrastructure, reduce poverty, curb unemployment and improve the capacity of government institutions. For these reasons, economic development has been a sought-after vision by many countries.
The World Bank, African Development Bank and other multilateral institutions have specific programmes to support countries in devising and realizing economic development plans and fighting against poverty and inequality. At the core of these programmes are capacity development initiatives aimed at building institutional capacities for economic policy development and devising long-term economic strategies and plans.
The Somali government has recently embarked on a national visioning exercise to develop a 2060 centennial vision to not only guide future development planning frameworks but also serve as the foundation for economic development. It seeks to address specific challenges such as poor infrastructure, corruption, food insecurity, high unemployment and low per capita income while building on and capitalizing on Somalia’s youthful population, diaspora population, untapped natural resources, recent debt relief and progress made in the extensive reform initiatives in the economic, security and governance sectors. The vision specifically aims to formulate long-term strategies to transform Somalia into a middle-income country by 2060 and in the process curb the causes of fragility, poverty and instability in the country.
The National Economic Council, which is part of the Office of the President, has been tasked with leading the process for developing Somalia’s centennial vision. The advisory arm of the council has been organizing consultations with various stakeholders to gather input for the vision. In addition, they are also undertaking a thorough analysis of the country’s political, economic, social and environmental landscape as well as mapping successful development pathways, critical enablers and success factors. In this short piece, I intend to contribute to this process by arguing that Somalia should consider technology as both an enabler of the vision and as an outcome itself.
Technology as an outcome in the vision
New technologies continue to reshape products and markets, often transforming how society works and conducts business with itself and with the outside world. Digitalization, enabled by information and communication technology, is well known to create economic growth by spurring innovation, automating business transactions and leading to production spillover effects. For these reasons, many countries have pursued technology-driven strategies including significant investments in technology to leapfrog their economy and gain a competitive edge over others.
Somalia’s private sector is often credited for the current digital infrastructure although several administrations have considered ICT as a national priority and a key enabler of sustainable economic development. Over time, private investors made millions of investments to introduce nation-wide mobile network services. Today, the country has a rapidly increasing internet uptake and a modernized telecommunication landscape which provide low rate for voice and data services, as well as low-cost mobile money services. These mobile money services allow citizens to easily transfer money, pay bills and process transactions for goods and services.
Despite these achievements, Somalia still lags behind in key technology performance indicators. For example, as of 2017, only 2% of the total population were using the internet compared to close to 40% of those in middle income countries. More recent data shows higher number of internet users but still there is significant connectivity gap. Similarly, only half of the population has mobile cellular subscriptions. On the other hand, while more than a third of Somalia’s population aged 15 and above own an account at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, it still lags behind those in middle-income countries. Therefore, Somalia, if it is to become a middle-income country by 2060, should further pursue technology as an outcome in its 2060 vision and close these gaps which can further exacerbate the digital divide and lead to more inequalities.
In its 2060 vision, Somalia should prioritize investments in digital infrastructure and accessible and affordable connectivity for all, digital education to create a digitally savvy and competent workforce and also strategies to ignite a digital economy further increasing the use of digital financial services and the number of digital startups, businesses and data-driven technology firms. It should seek ways to facilitate technology transfer from developed nations, including the use of private sector firms and its diaspora population.
Technology as an enabler of the vision
The mega vision of making Somalia a middle-income country in less than 4 decades requires a paradigm shift and structural transformations in every sector. This includes a modernized administrative system that oversees not only the implementation of the vision goals but also its sustenance. Technology can play a key role in enabling these transformations. For example, it can improve the government’s extractive capacity – ability to collect revenue – by digitizing and automating revenue collection forgoing manual and tedious processes.
The recent proposal by the government to tax mobile money transfers is only possible because of technology. It will also aid in its fiscal capacity – managing financial processes and information – by instituting transparent financial processes and publishing financial information online for policy makers and citizens. It can also support in improving service delivery and engagement capacity by introducing online channels that are convenient for citizens to access government information and services and to introduce a digital-based voting system, digital engagement platforms for continuous dialogue on national matters and benefit transfer systems to reach vulnerable individuals in society. Technology can also support the government in adhering to national, regional and international financial regulations, such as the “know your customer” rule that most financial institutions require to process transactions. These benefits can in turn lead to increased trust and transparency in key government processes.
To realize these aforementioned benefits, the Somalia government should accelerate current digital initiatives, work towards the creation of new digital platforms and further strengthen its digital governance. One of the key initiatives that is a foundation to the vision 2060 is the Digital ID initiative which seeks to issue identification cards that are digitally verifiable to Somali citizens and residents. The digital identification system can enable census taking, tax collection, processing of financial transactions and business and property registrations which are key components of strategies for economic development.
The government should also prioritize the integration of all digital initiatives and platforms to avoid siloed data collection, duplication of efforts and un-interoperable systems. More importantly, it should have a specific digital strategy to guide the country’s digital transformation.
Concluding remarks
Undoubtedly, it is a momentous time for Somalia as it aims to break free from the cycle of conflict and poverty and envision a prosperous and peaceful Somalia, regardless of how long it takes. The 2060 centennial visioning exercise presents an opportunity for Somalia to be ambitious and chart new path for its current citizens and future generations.
In a world dominated by advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, Somalia cannot afford to ignore technology and its pivotal role in today’s society. It needs to be prepared for a digital world and tech-driven economic competitions. In the 2060 centennial vision, I urge the government to consider technology both as an outcome and as an enabler of the vision itself.
Abdinassir Shale Sagar
Email: [email protected]
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Abdinassir is a PhD fellow at Maastricht University. His PhD research explores the role of technology in re-building fragile states. He holds an MBA and BCom degree from the University of Alberta School of Business. He can be reached at [email protected]
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