Somalia: STUDY ON PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN PUNTLAND & SOUTH WEST ADMINISTRATION

TOR FOR THE STUDY OF PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN SOMALIA

1. ASSINGMENT SUMMARY

Title

STUDY ON PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN PUNTLAND & SOUTH WEST ADMINISTRATION

Location

Somalia (Puntland and South West Administration)

Contract Duration

40 days

Start date

6^th March,2017

Project

SCOPES

A.BACKGROUND TO CARE WORK IN SOMALIA

CARE International has been providing development and lifesaving assistance across different regions of Somalia since 1981. Our programs go beyond meeting basic needs at the onset of an emergency to helping affected communities recover, rebuild their lives and become more resilient. In order to strengthen communities to better cope with future disasters and address persistent poverty and vulnerability, we are implementing a variety of longer term development activities aimed at addressing the underlying causes of poverty in Somalia. Our development programs support marginalized women and youth through innovative projects in education, water and sanitation, sustainable environmental management, civil society development, peacebuilding and governance and small scale enterprise development. CARE works in partnership with Somali and international NGOs, civil society leaders, universities, the private sector and local authorities in order to bring effective and lasting change to the most vulnerable communities.

CARE in partnership with two local NGOs(MUDAN and WARDI) received funding from EU under the thematic programme Civil Society Organizations and Local Authorities (CSO/LA) - Actions in partner countries. The project - Strengthening Civil Society Organisations and Public Sector Engagements in Somalia (SCOPES) works in Lower Shebelle Region of South West Administration and Six regions (Nugaal, Mudug, Karkar, Bari, Sool and Sanaag) of Puntland State of Somalia. The o**verall objective of the project is t**o contribute to the development of an effective civil society engagement towards the achievement of the strategic objectives of Peacebuilding and State-building Goal (PSG) 1 of the Somali Compact, namely achieve a stable and peaceful federal Somalia through inclusive political processes. The project intends to contribute to the development of a participative democracy in Somalia by developing a sustainable engagement between civil society actors and the public sector.

The specific objectives of the SCOPES project are:

a) Advance inclusive political dialogue to clarify and settle relations between the federal government and existing and emerging administrations and initiate processes of social reconciliation to restore trust between communities.

b) Stimulate civil society engagement in finalizing a federal constitution

c) Engage civil society in preparing for and holding credible elections by 2016

d) Engage civil society in policy and budget development and implementation: improved demand on accountability

This study will contribute to the fourth objective –engage civil society in policy and budget development and implementation that can result in improved demand on accountability.

B.BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

In Somalia, Public Financial Management (PFM) is not functioning well[1]. The level of development of PFM systems varies across the different regional states. The systems are relatively better in more stable regions (Puntland and Somaliland) than the other emerging states. Puntland has been relatively calm and has witnessed peaceful change of governments through elections. South West Administration (SWA) State is also relatively peaceful particularly the capital city Baidoa and both have close working relations with the Somali Federal Government (SFG). Due to the relative differences in political stability and security situations, the level of PFM also varies accordingly. With the new popular government in Somalia, more skilled Somalis are expected to return from the Diasporas and beef up local capacity. Overall, Somalia still has Weak PFM systems across the different regions. The Institutions and systems that were destroyed during the two decades of civil war have not yet been fully rebuilt and are thus not functioning effectively.

In early 2013, the SFG conducted a PFM self -assessment[2]. The assessment revealed the following key weaknesses: inadequate controls for revenue management; absence of long term planning and policy analysis to underpin annual budget formulation; budget execution and procurement processes lack adequate transparency and efficiency; inadequate banking supervision mechanisms by the Central Bank; lack of comprehensive reporting on the use of state resources; weak Parliamentary oversight over PFM functions; absence of a truly independent Auditor General; the existing PFM legal framework is inadequate and requires modernization; and HR and logistics challenges[3]. Based on the assessment, the World Bank and DFID financed a financial management information system pilot and an audit of the 2012 financial accounts, generating momentum for the government's reform agenda. The Bank now chairs the PFM working group to support the government's PFM reform action plan through the establishment of rudimentary systems for financial management, procurement and expenditure management. The project aims to enhance the government's ability to coordinate PFM reform as well as enhance financial accountability and strengthen sustainability through a strong skills and education component. The Bank's PFM work was initiated at the federal government level, but provided for future scale-up to regional governments.

Much work has also been done by international Development Partners, such as UNDP, the World Bank, DFID, USAID, AfDB and others. The work that has already been done by UNDP Program (SIDP) includes identification of gaps in accounting and reporting systems, provision of technical assistance to the offices of the Auditor General and Accountant General, training of public finance staff on accounting and financial reporting and some of them are enrolled into the professional accounting course, ACCA. Furthermore, SIDP supported budget and revenue reforms particularly in Somaliland where the GFS 2001 budget classification was adopted in the 2011 national budget, taxpayer education and other initiatives have been implemented leading to increase in revenue collection by 40% from 2010 to 2011. The World Bank has drafted bills for Procurement, Public Finance, Audit and Domestic Taxes for Somaliland. The AfDB has drafted a Public Finance Bill for the TFG and conducted training in budget formulation.

Lessons from other fragile and conflict affected countries underlines that without the demand for good governance and without strong leadership, supply-side capacity injection will not be sustainable. In this regard, DFID has developed an accountability platform in Somalia which engages with a consortium of non-state actors on a range of areas including PFM.

C.OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The overall objective of this study is to improve public participation in PFM in Somalia with a focus on Puntland and SWA regional states. The specific objectives are:

a) Assess the level of awareness and understanding of CSOs in PFM

b) Examine the constitutional and legal provisions in terms of opportunities for public participation in PFM

c) Explore mechanisms through which citizens can participate in PFM in Somalia

d) Provide recommendations for public participation in fiscal decision making processes in Somalia

e) Train key CSO staff in PFM

D.STUDY METHODOLOGY

The study will be conducted in Puntland and South West Administration (SWA) federal states of Somalia and will rely both on secondary and primary information through literature review and field work.

Literature review: The study should make use of the secondary information as relevant. The secondary information such as reports, previous assessments reports that exist will be used to narrow down the focus of the primary data collection.

Field work: data collection using qualitative tools. The study will rely primarily on qualitative information from interviews with Key Informant Interviews with Government staff, UN, World Bank, donor representatives and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with representatives of CSOs with particular focus on youth, women and minority groups.

E.DELIVERABLES

1. Inception report, study tools and proposed work plan for executing the study.

2. The study report

3. Training report for at least 30 TOTs from CSOs

F.DURATION OF THE STUDY

The duration of the assignment shall be 40 days.

G.PROFILE OF THE CONSULTANT OR FIRM

The team shall comprise of experts with at least 5-7 years of professional experience in PFM. Advanced degrees and professional qualifications in public Audit, Accounting and financial reporting and experience in similar work in Somalia or similar context will be required.

H. CONSULTANT RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The consultant shall carry out the tasks and specific activities outlined in this TOR to deliver the specific expected output professionally, responsibly and sensitively.
2. Develop a plan and methodology for the study and share with CARE.
3. Prepare relevant study tools and materials.
4. Lead the study process
5. Train CARE and partner staff in research skills, including development and use of data collection tools and analysis
6. Submit report to CARE at the conclusion of the assignment.

I. CARE RESPONSIBILITIES

1. CARE will coordinate the study and provide available reports and other documents relating to the study. In addition, CARE will also provide (or reimburse) the consultant with transport, accommodation and meals while in the field. This will include:

a. Flights to & from Garowe, Baidoa and Mogadishu.

b. Accommodation whilst in these locations.

c. Per diem in field (if meals not provided)

d. Taxi fares to & from airport

1. Provide a team of staff to work with, comprising:

2. Program Coordinator – Ibrahim Nur

3. Khadra Yussuf –Project Manager

4. Hodan Elmi- Governance and Communication Advisor

5. Denis Emor – the M & E Manager

6. Other Urban Youth staff

7. Selected partner staff

8. Data collectors

The consultant(s) will work under the overall supervision of the Urban Program Coordinator.

J. HOW TO APPLY

Applications and, CVs of the specialist with track record of previous trainings should be sent to via the following e-mails, somconsultants@care.org by not later than 5^th March 2017