Somalia’s House of the People has voted to annul Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre’s directive requiring departmental director positions in government ministries and agencies to be filled through competitive, merit-based recruitment.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (Somali Report) — Somalia’s House of the People on Wednesday voted to reject a directive issued by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre requiring government ministries and agencies to fill departmental director positions through open, merit-based competition.
Lawmakers held a session at Villa Hargeysa in Mogadishu to debate the directive, which had been issued earlier this month as part of a broader government effort to reform the federal civil service. Parliament subsequently voted to set aside the measure, according to Deputy Speaker Abdullahi Abshirow.
A total of 136 lawmakers voted in favour of overturning the directive, while two voted against and two abstained, Abshirow said during the session.
The parliamentary action came days after Hamza instructed ministers and other senior government officials to implement a new recruitment and appointment system based on competence and merit. The first phase was scheduled to begin on September 20 and focused on departmental directors across federal ministries and government institutions.
Hamza had said the positions were central to the functioning of government institutions because departmental directors oversee staff, help implement government policies and plans and ensure continuity in the work of ministries and agencies.
The prime minister's office said the reform was intended to establish a professional and stable administrative leadership capable of translating government policies into measurable results. Hamza cited Article 161(1) of Somalia's provisional constitution and Article 7 of the civil service law as part of the legal basis for the directive.
The government's plan envisaged a second phase focusing on director-general positions, with appointments to be assessed according to qualifications, experience, leadership ability, performance and merit.
But lawmakers questioned the legal and administrative basis for implementing the directive in its current form.
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“There was a decision prepared by the Prime Minister's Office and some ministries concerning departmental directors in the civil service, and there were no regulations governing it,” Abshirow said, according to the parliamentary account of the session.
“We believe the executive branch acted hastily on this matter,” he added.
Abshirow said Wednesday's debate focused on whether the directive should remain in force and that lawmakers had voted for it to be annulled.
The dispute highlights a broader question over the authority and procedures governing senior appointments within Somalia's federal civil service. A separate report published Wednesday said the Auditor General had also objected to the prime minister's directive, citing concerns over its legal and administrative basis.
The prime minister's initiative had been presented as part of wider civil service reforms aimed at strengthening professional recruitment and reducing discretionary appointments. Government officials said qualified civil servants would receive equal opportunities to compete for departmental positions under the proposed system.
The parliamentary vote now puts the implementation of that first phase into question, with the House of the People rejecting the directive before the planned restructuring of departmental director positions could proceed under the announced framework.
The development adds to institutional tensions between Somalia's executive and legislative branches over the interpretation and implementation of government policies and administrative reforms.
For now, the parliamentary decision leaves the government's proposed competitive recruitment system for departmental directors without the implementation framework announced by the prime minister earlier this month.
About the Author
Ahmed Omar is a senior journalist for Somali Report, based in Mogadishu. He has two decades of experience reporting on Somalia for international and local media. He covers politics, security, governance, business, trade, economic developments and regional affairs.
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