Awil: How EAC human resource can help rebuild Somalia
President William Ruto welcomes Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at the Eldoret International Airport. President Mohamud has redoubled the push for Somalia's EAC membership. He appointed Hadliye envoy to the EAC with a specific brief to lobby for that membership.
To achieve supportive employees, countries must invest in human capital development to improve global market productivity and competitiveness. An argument supported by the organisational theory concept, which stipulates that employees perform better when their employers value and appreciate their contributions and care about their well-being.
Unfortunately, Somalia has had shortcomings in investment in human capital development since the outbreak of the long-running civil strife. This situation led to breakdown of most institutions, including the education and finance sectors, which dictate the process of human capital development.
Commendably, the country’s development partners, including the World Bank, are supporting it in increasing access to primary education in underserved areas, with a focus on girls, and improving quality of instruction through the Education for Human Capital Development Project for Somalia. However, this could be a long-term project that might not meet the country’s current performance.
East African Community
The integration of Somalia in the East African Community (EAC) bloc offers an almost immediate solution the Horn of Africa country’s short- and long-term economic performance. EAC partner states have well-developed public and private institutions, ranging from primary and secondary to tertiary levels, with further measures by all states to enhance the sector, including establishment of specialised regional centres of excellence regionwide.
In the short term, this offers Somalia an opportunity to encourage its workers and employers to contribute to provident funds managed by regional states on behalf of employees within its labour laws and regulations as stipulated in its employment terms—including medical care, compensation and employee-compliant processes. More so, its secondary school leavers can enrol in the many technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in the region. That will initiate fast human capital development at lower levels with vocational skills and competencies at certificate and diploma levels as the country works on long-term solutions.
Its long-term human resource solutions could include taking advantage of EAC’s diverse high-quality skilled human resources and innovative human capital at all levels to support its new and existing businesses. This could involve training its future workforce using EAC-based campuses of reputable international universities. Thus, Somali graduates will benefit from the global competitiveness and attractiveness of the bloc’s higher education, warranting its graduates’ mobility and employability.
This integration benefits Somalia in many ways, particularly the education sector, which has lagged behind its fellow EAC members’. As a basic human need for betterment of skills, it will influence economic development based on increased labour-class skills and per capita income competition.
High-quality human capital
For example, since Somalia is an agricultural country, high-quality human capital is a key asset to its agro-processing industry, growth domestic production and so on. Therefore, proper education will enable effective human capital to enhance proper utilisation of its natural resources towards achieving economic development.
The country is rich in natural resources, which are being underutilised due to lack of the necessary human capital. Similarly, effective human capital will increase the country’s productivity and tame the famines and other hazards that require humanitarian assistance every year.
Skill development will promote Somalia’s higher economic growth through addition of physical capital stock. Quality human resource will also assist in rapid growth of production and creation of commercial transactions towards enhanced production of goods and services, hence raising the people’s per capita income and national capital. That will improve the standard of living of the citizens.
Mr Awil, international relations consultant, is a former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Somalia to China. [email protected]. @m_amb
