Decentralization policy consultant

 

JUBALAND STATE OF SOMALIA

MINISTRY OF INTERIOR, FEDERAL AFFAIRS AND RECONCILIATION

Contract type: Individual Consultant.

Contract duration: 45 working days.

Supervision: directly accountable to the Director General.

Location: Kismayo.

Issue date: March 07, 2024.

Deadline: March 20, 2024

 

 

1. Background

 

Jubbaland State has adopted a decentralized model of local governance wherein district councils are principally entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out administrative, political, fiscal, and economically devolved functions for the furtherance of service delivery at the local level. This endeavour intends to enable the localities to prioritize their basic needs in a participatory manner, implement actions that are intended for the improvement of the lives of their community, and likewise monitor and track the progress of the implementation of the tasks and services rendered in conformity with planned actions. Moreover, the devolution of powers to the local level aims to enable districts to have political autonomy elect their district administration; administrative autonomy to administer service delivery functions; fiscal autonomy to own source revenue and intergovernmental fiscal transfers to fund service deliveries; economic autonomy; to venture into business enterprises. Devolving functions furthermore seek to institutionalize local governance principles such as accountability, transparency, responsiveness, inclusiveness, and public participation, which ultimately result in the realization of sustainable peace and economic growth.

 

The existing policies (the Local Government Law) lack categorical definitions of the functions of the sectoral roles at the district government level from the state service delivery institutions. This has created unclarity in the intervention modalities, overlapped tasks, and reinvented footprints.

2. Objective of the assignment

 

There are two main interlinked objectives in the assignment.

I.         The objective of the assignment is to develop a practical and effective decentralization policy that clearly outlines sectoral roles and maps functions to devolve from sub-national government entities to the local government, to empower local governments to deliver innovative, equitable, and decentralized services, thereby enhancing the overall quality and performance of government services.

II.         Support the operationalization and implementation mechanism of the decentralization policy through the facilitation of sectoral/institutional/legal/operational reviews/reforms (service delivery institutions) that are in full alignment with the decentralization policy which would lead to an enhanced understanding and unbundling of the functions to be devolved (politically, administratively, fiscally, and economically) to local governments.

3. Scope of Work

The short-term consultant is expected to undertake the following activities.

 

A. Draft Decentralization Policy

 

I.         Develop a clear and appropriate work plan and share it with the Directorate of the Ministry of Interior of Jubbaland State for review and approval.

II.         Carry out an extensive desk review of the existing policies, best practices, and legislative frameworks on decentralization.

III.         Review the sectoral policies and strategies regarding decentralizing functions.

 

IV.         Map out the primary functions to be devolved from the state institutions with the service delivery portfolio to local governments.

 

It is against this backdrop that the Ministry of Interior, with the support of the Somali Stability Fund (SSF), is seeking to hire a short-term consultant to develop the Jubbaland State Decentralization Policy roadmap that would clarify functional roles and responsibilities among the tiers of the service delivery institution (state and local government).

           I.       Quote policy references from the service delivery institutions.

           II.      Draft the State Decentralization Policy with a clear background, rationale, and definition of its legal composition, as well as vertically align it with the National Decentralization Policy and the State Local Government Law.

          III.     Finalize the Decentralization Policy based on the Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs  &      Reconciliations’ feedback for final approval.

 

 

       B. Consultations

                       I.       Conduct two consultative dialogue forums with the technical staff of the service delivery ministries, local governance experts, district administrations, and other local governance stakeholders to assess the authenticity appropriateness and alignment of the draft decentralization policy with the sectoral roles strategies.

                      II.      Seek inputs from the technical staff of the service delivery ministries, local governance experts, district administrations, and other local governance stakeholders and incorporate them in the draft policy.

                     III.     Share a draft with the Directorate of the Ministry of Interior for review and approval.

 

    C. Validations

I. Conduct a one-day multi-local governance stakeholder validation workshop to ensure the alignment of the final draft of the policy with the needs and expectations of the different local governance stakeholders.

 

 

 D. Translations:

I. Translate the validated English version of the State Decentralization Policy to an official, proofread, and Interpretable Somalia Language.

 

E. Support the operationalization mechanisms of the decentralization policy.

 

4. Expected Deliverables

 

            I.       The following are the expected deliverables of the consultant.

            II.      Detailed work plan

 

           III.     Draft Decentralization Policy

 

           IV.     Validated Decentralization Policy with implementation/operational plan.

           V.      Translated Decentralization Policy

           VI.     Sectoral institutions with legally reformed operational strategies roll out to facilitate service delivery.

        5. Required Qualifications and Experience

 

 

    The required skills, knowledge and expertise include.

 

I.       Master’s degree in law (LLM) from a recognized university

II.       A minimum experience of 7 years in supporting/facilitating/leading the development of similar policies.

III.      Exhibit of previously developed policies and legislative frameworks.

IV.      Demonstrable experience in leading policy-related discussions with government counterparts and stakeholders

V.       Proven track record of translating documents providing easy-to-understand versions.

VI.       In-depth experience in the validation process through a validation workshop/seminar/public participation

VII.     A wealthy institutional memory of local government laws at the Federal and State levels.

VIII.    Excellent analytical and writing skills.

 

IX.       Very good organizational and task management skills

 

X.       Ability to work independently.

XI.       Ability to work with a diverse group of stakeholders including Government, civil societies, communities, and private sector among others.

XII.    Strong analytical skills

XIII.   Strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to research sensitive topics in cross-cultural settings.

XIV.   Strong English language skills (both written and spoken)

XV.     Ability to speak and/or read Somali is desirable.

 

     6. Submission of the Application

Individual consultants meeting all the above requirements are invited to submit their CVs and Cover Letters, specifying their interest and availability for the task, and highlighting how the assignment will be undertaken both technically and financially to deliver the outputs. The applications must be sent to moijss3@gmail.com and copied to dg-moi@jubalandstate.so  no later than 20^th March 2024 at midnight East African Time, with mention of “STATE DECENTRALIZATION POLICY CONSULTANT ” in the email subject.