2024 was another productive year for the Somali Public Agenda (SPA). We published 16 papers, held 19 forums, produced 24 podcast episodes, trained 42 bloggers and 23 early career researchers, engaged and talked to local and international media, attended conferences and workshops, trained four interns, and started working with like-minded institutions.

In 2024, SPA conducted and published various extensive studies. We published 16 papers, including four research reports, three policy papers, five governance briefs, and four commentaries. We undertook research and analysis on key governance and public service issues in Somalia including security, local council formation and operations, Somalia’s membership to the East African Community (EAC), civil society and media role in humanitarian accountability, elections, constitutional review process, the federal government budget, and taxation. SPA produced joint papers with other research institutions in 2024. We published two studies with the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) and a joint paper with the Puntland Development Research Center (PDRC) and Sababi Institute.

Moreover, SPA published three policy papers in 2024 on contentious issues on elections in the constitutional review process, Somalia’s new electoral bill, and Somalia’s new sales tax. SPA published five governance briefs on elections in Puntland, the Constitutional Amendment Procedure, the FGS annual budget, changing UNSOM to UNTMIS, and insecurity in Beledweyne. SPA also published four commentaries on several governance and public service issues, including the Ethiopia-Somaliland MoU, Somalia’s election conundrum, and a review and analysis of two electoral bills.

Our Public Agenda Forum organized 19 forums in 2024. Over 525 participants attended our in-person forums, while 1,200 turned in our X Spaces Discussions. Different governance and public service issues were discussed in these various forums including elections, public lands, regional developments, FGS-FMS relations, security, constitutional review, accountability, and taxation.

In 2024, we produced and released 24 podcast episodes. The Maamul Wanaag Podcast produced 12 episodes. The Maamul Wanaag Podcast delves deep into various governance matters in Somalia. The guests of the Maamul Wanaag Podcast broadly discussed and analyzed governance topics including accountability and transparency, stabilization, FGS and Puntland relations, local elections in Puntland, Ethiopia-Somaliland MoU, and the annual federal government budget.

SPA also published 12 Adeeg Wanaag Podcast episodes. Adeeg Wanaag intensely discusses public service matters in Somalia. The 12 episodes released in 2024 discussed e-governance, disaster response, sales tax, media and civil society role in humanitarian accountability, skin bleaching, sewage and drainage, the entertainment landscape in Somalia, the quality of primary education, mental health problems, football tournaments, and the impact of climate change in Somalia.

In 2024, over 9673 times were downloaded and listened to our two podcasts. The full podcast videos published on YouTube in 2024 received over 19,960 views. The combined views of podcast short videos were 230,717 views. The podcast audio and videos were downloaded or viewed 250,680 times.

The SPA Policy Lab coordinated the first year of a 3-year EU-funded project aimed at increasing opportunities for Somali citizens and strengthening civil society’s role in scrutinizing fiscal and financial governance within local government authorities. The SPA Policy Lab has also collaborated with similar organizations to address design issues and share experiences.

The SPA Center for Learning and Development (CLD) conducted two successful blog writing training in January-February and July-August 2023 for 42 talented young bloggers. During the two trainings, trainees wrote over 160 blog posts and shared them with their social media networks. Throughout the eight weeks of the 4-week training, renowned Somali bloggers mentored the trainees, shared their blogging journeys, and gave invaluable advice. Moreover, 23 trainees (18 males and 5 females) completed the SPA Center for Learning and Development 5-week-long research training course in 2024.

Four interns (two male and two female) completed three-month internships in 2024. The interns contributed to the work of the different SPA departments and research productions. The internship provides much-needed experience for recent university graduates. Four interns who took the three-month-long internship wrote reflections (published on the SPA website) about their internship experiences.

SPA maintained a collaborative relationship with our partners and donors and started new relationships. We are currently working with the Rift Valley Institute’s Somali Dialogue Platform on research and engagement related to contentious political issues in Somalia. In 2024, we continued our working relationship with the Life and Peace Institute (LPI), the Oversees Development Institute (ODI), and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR). In 2024, The European Union provided us with a multiyear grant to increase opportunities for Somali citizens’ scrutiny of fiscal and financial governance. The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) supported an ongoing study on taxation in the Benadir region in 2024. We also strengthened our engagement and relationship with civil society organizations in Somalia; we became a member of the Somali Research and Education Network (SomaliREN) and Somalia Non-State Actors (SONSA) in 2024.

We maintained a good relationship with the media. International and local media outlets regularly interviewed us. Goobjoog Radio & TV, Voice of Banadir Region (Codka Caasimadda), Hiiran Weyn, Bilan Media, Mustaqbal Media, Dawan TV, Somali Cable TV, RTN Somali TV, BBC, Asal TV, Dalsan TV, Press TV, and VOA Somali were some of the media houses that regularly interviewed or invited our team members to participate in debates. Our researchers and analysts were invited to forums, workshops, and conferences in 2024.

Our work also shaped policy-making in Somalia in 2024. Some of the recommendations of our election analysis were incorporated into the political parties law, such as reducing the prohibitive $100,000 registration fees of political associations to $10,000 and limiting the tenure of the three national political parties to 10-15 years.

Our work in 2025 will focus on elections, the constitutional review process, public finance management, accountability and transparency, taxation, reconciliation, transitional justice, urbanization, and education. Studies, briefs, policy papers, commentaries, forums, and podcasts on these issues will be our priorities in 2025.

It has been an honor for me to lead our talented, youthful, and competent SPA team. Despite the limited human capital and financial resources, security concerns, and other challenges of 2024, SPA has consistently produced high-quality papers and created a space for important discussions both online and in person.

Finally, we are grateful for the unwavering support of our distinguished Board members and our fellows. Special gratitude goes to Peter Chonka, who spends many hours reading and editing our work every year. Many thanks are also owed to our supporters and readers whose confidence and encouragement inspire us to do more work for the common good. As we enter our seventh year, we look forward to producing quality research outputs, creating space for discussion on key national issues, offering training, and helping public and civic institutions design human-centered public services.

Mahad Wasuge is the Executive Director of the Somali Public Agenda.