OPM Workshop Civil Service and Public Administration in Federal Systems

Max Planck Foundation organises third workshop for staff of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Somali Federal Government

On 18 September 2016, the Max Planck Foundation organised the third workshop for selected staff of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) of the Somali Federal Government on “Civil Service and Public Administration in Federal Systems”. The workshop is part of a series of knowledge building trainings organised by the Max Planck Foundation and was attended by 21 staff members of the OPM, including nine women.

The workshop focused on the organisation of civil service and public administration in federal systems. Touching on general issues related to the allocation of executive powers and administrative functions between different levels, participants were particularly interested in identifying issues related to setting federal standards for the employment of civil servants at different levels of government and ensuring representation of all communities and social groups in the civil service as established by the 2012 Somali Provisional Constitution. The workshop focused on comparative examples and the lessons learned from laws and experiences of other federal countries in Africa and beyond.

The Max Planck Foundation’s Technical Advisors held the workshop presentations and moderated the ensuing discussion, which focused on pertinent issues of the Somali state-building process in terms of organising a coherent system of civil service and public administration in a multi-level system of governance in general and the need for inclusiveness and representation in the composition of the civil service in particular. The Max Planck Foundation’s comparative materials presented in the workshop enabled the participants to undertake detailed comparative analyses so as to contextualise Somali particularities from a comparative perspective.

The workshops for staff of the OPM are an integral part of the Foundation’s project “Support to the Somali Federalisation Process”, which is implemented with the financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office. The project supports key institutions in the Somali federalisation process with continuous legal assistance and capacity building.