Executive summary
The 11th parliament has a disproportionately high number of young members in both the lower and upper houses as compared to prior parliaments. In Somalia, for example, youth MPs were elected to the positions of deputy speakers of both the lower and upper houses for the first time in addition to many elected youth MPs in Southwest state have been replaced by MPs who have been in government for more than a decade.
To contribute to Somalia’s stability and development, members of parliament, including youth MPs, must formulate policies and supervise their execution. Youth MPs have an essential role in that process. to fulfill it, youth in the parliament might:
Assess who they will vote on in the upcoming presidential elections and think about electing a president who can be trusted for the future of the Somali country and people.
Public goods provision: TheMPs should hold accountable for the government to provide effective and equitable public goods across the country, particularly in the health and education sectors: government should invest in the health and education sectors to provide for healthy and educated citizens who become agents of development. Even more relevant for the rural segments of the population, the government should massively expand transportation infrastructure, build schools and health and sanitation facilities, and establish emergency programs for drought periods. In addition, they could revive the action-forcing mechanisms to deliver impactful Good Governance: taking bold accountability on ensuring to eradicate the corruption and uphold human rights and the rule of law.
Peace and security: They could take practical steps to take accountability for the government for the necessity of restoring security and peace and find a solution to the endless security risks and conflicts. This can be done by putting people with experience in security jobs and blocking political nominees for important jobs with regular accountability.
Finalization of the draft constitution:With a constitutional court that can resolve constitutional challenges, MPs should focus on advancing a final approved constitution and clarifying power allocation. So, if the constitution is revised and clarified, and the country moves forward with the proposed constitution, it will generate political stability and attract potential investors.
Economic policies that encourage entrepreneurship and self-employment:They should encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, which are the keys to long-term growth and prosperity, as are more open markets and sound fiscal policies.
There are immediate steps MPs to take to insulate the resources of the upcoming generations, particularly Oil exploration and the government’s contract negotiations MPs should hold accountable for the government contracting with oil corporations and reject the unfavorable contracts made with the previous administration.