PM Khaire Launches two days Public-Private Discussions (PPD) Forum in Mogadishu

Mogadishu, November 18, 2018.The Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia, His Excellency Hassan Ali Khaire 

today oversaw the launching of a PPD event that brought together senior officials from his Government, representatives from the Somali Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) as well as international development partners.

The forum is set to outline the government’s short and long term plans for enhancing economic growth and trade in the country. In his opening remarks, the PM recognized and appreciated the efforts of the minister for Trade & Industry, Hon. Mohamed Abdi Hayir, alias ‘Mareye’ for organizing a well-attended event. He also thanked officials from the SCCI, the Somali Business Community and other development partners for gracing the event. He encouraged the attendees to open up and amicably ventilate pertinent business issues that require to be addressed by both the government and the private sector.

Public-Private Dialogue is a structured, all-inclusive formal discussion among a set of relevant and local stakeholders, aimed at identifying, prioritizing and making a factual recommendation to address inherent challenges facing efforts for economic recovery.

The need for PPD Somalia emanated from the consultations to outline Somali National Development Plan in early 2016. Federal Government chamber heads along with their counterparts from Federal Member State governments first met in Garowe where they adopted a communiqué to enhance cooperation, increase local revenue generation, create jobs as well as enhance both domestic and foreign investments in the country.

The same was reaffirmed at the sidelines in the Somali Conferences in London and Brussels. The Mogadishu event thus provided an avenue to appraise gains made and analyze lessons learnt for future improvements.

The Prime Minister underpins the centrality of the business community to Federal Government’s plans and reiterated his willingness to establish a robust free market economy in the country. He highlighted the great level of resilience exhibited by Somali businessmen and women who, despite all odds, continued with their business activities in the country. He assured the local traders and potential investors of the Somali Government’s unwavering support, noting their critical role in the country’s sustained efforts for economic recovery.

The PM observed, “Last year the Somali business people generated the highest amount of local revenue in 27 years, with better projections expected in the coming year. This enabled the government to meet its basic obligations of paying civil servants’ and security agencies’ salaries. This also enhanced elements of reliability and trust, thus encouraging the international community to directly supplement on our domestic budget. We were able to register these successes, partly because of the efficient mechanisms we put in place to eliminate wastage and corruption.”

“Let’s not dwell on what we used to be or the opportunities we squandered over the past 30 years. Missed opportunities are learnt lessons. Instead, let us ponder over and plan for the future, and discover our potential. Let the business community not wait for the government to give directions. You are the government. Make your mark and take the initiatives. Ours is to provide facilitative platforms”, Prime Minister Khaire further emphasized.

The PM also gave status updates on the performance of the economy, stating that, in the previous year the country’s economic growth rate was estimated at 2.3%, with this year’s rate projected to oscillate between 3—4%. He also noted that inflation rates went down by 6%, with double new business enterprises having registered themselves within the same period.

The two-day meeting is anticipated to take stoke of achievements and lessons leant regarding the cooperation between the public and private sectors since the London Conference, with a view to identifying, prioritizing areas for overall economic growth, possible gaps, and hence suggesting remedies for the same.

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