Somali's GDP per Capita is false

[Idilinaa]

Taxing personal income for a corrupt government that doesn't even represent its own citizens is evil. It's just going to agitate people even more.

It's going to cripple them because imagine if a single person earns 500 dollars a month and the government taxes that, they have to cover soo many different expenses with that level of income, electricity, water, food, (maybe rent), education, transport etc

 

[Barkhadle1520]

There aren’t actual monopolies in Somaliland what likely happened in that poultry case is tied to licensing and registration requirements, which tend to be stricter compared to Mogadishu. The cost of acquiring licenses is what drives many to operate informally. That’s probably what your colleague was referring to.

Business licensing, however, brings significant income to the government.

This is why I believe struggling businesses should receive targeted tax exemptions, capped taxation, and even government grants for license acquisition to help encourage formalization and stimulate growth.

Also, let’s be clear: Somaliland has a growing poultry sector. Over the last 2–3 years, they’ve worked to develop a proper value chain including storage, processing, and local production. In fact, poultry farms now outnumber traditional livestock farms in some areas.
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There are a number of well-known poultry operations: Mandeeq Poultry, Someggs Poultry, Tooyo Poultry, Mahuraan Poultry, Lootah Hargeisa Chicken, and others.

Even small youth-run poultry businesses are starting and thriving.
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As for the broader economy Hargeisa actually has the second-highest number of registered businesses in Somalia (31,000), just after Mogadishu (50,000). So it’s incorrect to claim it’s anti-business. Benadir administration also issues licenses and taxes businesses. Both cities operate on a similar model in that regard.

Hargaisa is pretty much similar to Mogadishu's transformation, If you look at the recent renovations of Hargeisa’s central business district it has modern buildings, palm tree boulevards, renovated roads, you’d see it’s thriving.

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You can watch the whole video to see how it's shaped out.


Same road in Hargeisa only a few months apart

How it looks now:
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How it used to look:
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Same with Garowe, which has undergone a transformation through local revenue funded infrastructure and public works.

There are no real monopolies or oligarchies in Somalia what we have is a network of competing enterprises, community-run businesses, and cooperatives. Trying to interpret Somalia’s economic ecosystem through a Western shareholder-capitalist lens completely misses how things actually function here.

In fact, Puntland and Somaliland receive far less international aid compared to FGS, and they fund most of their governance through domestic revenue.

Puntland, in particular, has the most diversified tax base in the country: mobile money tax, property tax, business tax, transportation levies they’ve built an internally sustainable model.

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Meanwhile, FGS is still largely reliant on customs duties and donor aid, with a narrow tax base and poor returns.

The Kacaan government actually had a broad tax system. It supplemented trade taxes with revenue from state-owned enterprises, business profits, tolls and even export levies. That’s what allowed it to fund public services and infrastructure.

This brings me to income tax. I’ve seen how income taxes cripple livelihoods in Somali regions like the NFD and the Ogaden before the regime change. People already pay out-of-pocket for everything healthcare, education, security, even roads. Now you want the government to tax their salaries too, and still not provide anything in return?


I’m not saying income tax should be permanently off the table, but for now, it’s neither practical nor justifiable. We need to build trust and capacity first. Once wage levels rise and the state can actually offer services, then income taxation will be less burdensome and more acceptable.

Also, given the high informality of the economy, enforcing income tax would be costly and inefficient right now. It’s better to tax where money already moves visibly: trade, large enterprises, mobile transfers, and real property.

It pisses me off how bad Hargeisa's urban planning is

 

[Idilinaa]

It pisses me off how bad Hargeisa's urban planning is

Feel you, the private sector outpaces the public sector so there lack of capacity for centralized urban planning and local councils don't have the strong capacity to regulate of urban development.

Basically, businesses and construction projects move fast, while municipal governments often lack the technical expertise, legal tools, or funding to keep pace. Which means there are few enforceable zoning laws, no architectural guidelines, and poor coordination in how infrastructure should be built how and where.

So what you had since 1991 post- recovery was unregulated private development at the expense of public infrastructure.

Strengthening the public sector and local councils, the municipalities and boosting private-public partnership is what will fix this dilemma and we can reverse it.

The good news is that they launched master plans in 2022 to fix it and recently established a local government and urban development ministry

We are correcting the haphazard expansion of Hargeisa city with the Master Plan, says Mayor Mooge​

We are correcting the haphazard expansion of Hargeisa city with the Master Plan, says Mayor Mooge

By M.A. Egge The Mayor of Hargeisa Cllr. Abdikarim Ahmed Mooge said that the local government requested to make a comprehensive master plan for the city, Hargeisa, hence thanked the national planni…

horntribune.com

The Mayor of Hargeisa Cllr. Abdikarim Ahmed Mooge said that the local government requested to make a comprehensive master plan for the city, Hargeisa, hence thanked the national planning committee and the ministry of public works for heeding their call.

Pointing out that the spread of the city has widened haphazardly, the mayor noted that the new 20-year Master Plan for the city will be at par with renowned cities, and hence would correct the anomalies.

The mayor gave the sentiments at an event presenting the Collection of Data for the new Urban City Master Plan that was launched by the VP H.E. Abdirahman Abdillahi on Wednesday in the city.

He said that the city expanded without a plan, which caused it to be ragged.

He notes that since they took office, they have been working hard to straighten the city plan and get a modern design process and correct the anomalies

We have seen the newly elected president express this as a priority (time stamped when he talks about it)

 

[Idilinaa]

Feel you, the private sector outpaces the public sector so there lack of capacity for centralized urban planning and local councils down have strong capacity to regulate of urban development.

Basically, businesses and construction projects move fast, while municipal governments often lack the technical expertise, legal tools, or funding to keep pace. Which means there are few enforceable zoning laws, no architectural guidelines, and poor coordination in how infrastructure should be built how and where.

So what you had since 1991 post- recovery was unregulated private development at the expense of public infrastructure.

Strengthening the public sector and local councils, the municipalities and boosting private-public partnership is what will fix this dilemma and we can reverse it.

The good news is that they launched master plans in 2022 to fix it and recently established a local government and urban development ministry

We are correcting the haphazard expansion of Hargeisa city with the Master Plan, says Mayor Mooge​

We are correcting the haphazard expansion of Hargeisa city with the Master Plan, says Mayor Mooge

By M.A. Egge The Mayor of Hargeisa Cllr. Abdikarim Ahmed Mooge said that the local government requested to make a comprehensive master plan for the city, Hargeisa, hence thanked the national planni…

horntribune.com

We have seen the newly elected president express this as a priority (time stamped when he talks about it)

One of Hargeisa’s key advantages is its strong social cohesion and high rate of tax compliance people generally trust each other and support development. If the government matches that with transparency and visible public service delivery, it could build real institutional trust. That would turn Hargeisa’s organic growth into something more coordinated and planned, especially with the rollout of new master plans.

 

[Barkhadle1520]

Feel you, the private sector outpaces the public sector so there lack of capacity for centralized urban planning and local councils don't have the strong capacity to regulate of urban development.

Basically, businesses and construction projects move fast, while municipal governments often lack the technical expertise, legal tools, or funding to keep pace. Which means there are few enforceable zoning laws, no architectural guidelines, and poor coordination in how infrastructure should be built how and where.

So what you had since 1991 post- recovery was unregulated private development at the expense of public infrastructure.

Strengthening the public sector and local councils, the municipalities and boosting private-public partnership is what will fix this dilemma and we can reverse it.

The good news is that they launched master plans in 2022 to fix it and recently established a local government and urban development ministry

We are correcting the haphazard expansion of Hargeisa city with the Master Plan, says Mayor Mooge​

We are correcting the haphazard expansion of Hargeisa city with the Master Plan, says Mayor Mooge

By M.A. Egge The Mayor of Hargeisa Cllr. Abdikarim Ahmed Mooge said that the local government requested to make a comprehensive master plan for the city, Hargeisa, hence thanked the national planni…

horntribune.com

We have seen the newly elected president express this as a priority (time stamped when he talks about it)

SL gov is always seriousand on time about development so this is a good sign