By Khadar M Leyli
Saturday August 22, 2026
When the current government came to power in 2018, the Somali region was defined by political instability, humanitarian crisis, and developmental deficit, earning the region the infamous title “Ethiopia’s backward region.” With over 7,000 political prisoners in Jail Ogaden, high maternal and child mortality, and one paved road in the region’s capital, the region remained a poster child for misgovernance for close to 80 years. Yet over a period of just 8 years, the Somali region has shed its old reputation for instability and emerged as one of Ethiopia’s most dynamic and promising frontiers, and few could have predicted the speed and scale of such a transformation.
A Foundation of Peace and Stability
From the earliest days of the new administration, peacebuilding became a top priority. Central to that effort was resolving the region’s decades-long conflict with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which had waged an armed insurgency in the Somali Regional State since 1994. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed’s reformist agenda, launched shortly after he took office in 2018 — delisting the ONLF as a terrorist organization, releasing political prisoners, and opening the door to dialogue — created an opening for a breakthrough. Seizing the opportunity, the regional government led by Mustafe Omer relentlessly lobbied for a deal, and within weeks the ONLF and the federal government signed a landmark peace agreement in Asmara on October 21, 2018, allowing exiled leaders to return home and participate in peaceful politics. Consequently, the ONLF has registered as a political party, won seats in parliament, and holds key positions in the executive both at state and local levels.
Indeed, peaceful politics, paired with inclusive governance, reconciliation among clans, and a firm commitment to the rule of law, has paved the way for the region to trade decades of communal conflict for a new culture of political cooperation. The dividends have been immense: once-volatile towns are now bustling commercial hubs, and internally displaced families have returned home in large numbers. This renewed sense of security has created an opportunity for the regional government to build the administration from the ground up, bringing a new generation of educated technocrats and experienced professionals into cabinet and civil-service roles, and instituting stronger systems of accountability. That overhaul of the region’s institutions and human capital laid the groundwork for everything that followed.
Economic Boom and Private Investment
Peace paved the way for an economic renaissance. Over the past eight years, the Somali Region has attracted more than 70 billion birr in private investment — unprecedented in its history. That capital has flowed into modern hotels, large-scale trade, agro-processing, and logistics. Jigjiga, the regional capital, has been praised by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed as a “jewel of development” for the entire Horn of Africa, its skyline reshaped by new infrastructure that links it more efficiently to national and regional markets.
Water Resource Development and Management
Few achievements capture the region’s transformation as clearly as its progress on access to water. Before 2018, only about 18% of the rural population and 20% of the urban population had reliable access to clean water. Today those figures stand at 46.5% and 51.4% respectively, driven by a massive drilling campaign and water-harvesting push that has delivered more than 360 new boreholes alongside numerous small-scale irrigation schemes. The result has been twofold: thousands of pastoralist communities now have reliable water, and dry-season farming has turned previously barren land into productive fields.
One of the most striking examples is Godey. Despite sitting right along the Shabelle River, the city had no reliable access to clean water for decades. Under the current government, Godey has achieved 100% access to clean water for its residents — turning a paradox of scarcity beside abundance into a symbol of the region’s broader water gains.
Agricultural and Livestock Modernization
The region’s traditional backbone — livestock — has been modernized with expanded veterinary services, stronger marketing cooperatives, and export-quality abattoirs. Rain-fed and irrigated agriculture have grown just as sharply: cultivated land has expanded from 350,000 hectares when President Mustafe took office to 1.6 million hectares last year, with two million targeted this year. Large-scale irrigation projects worth over 8 billion birr are already underway across the Shabelle and Sitti zones.
Education, Health, and Human Capital
In healthcare, the region has grown from just nine hospitals to more than 32, with 24 built since 2018. Among these is a landmark first: a dedicated hospital for the Somali Region Police, built for the first time in the region’s history. In education, over 700 new schools — including more than 100 secondary schools and 12 boarding schools — have gone up, and enrollment has more than doubled. New technical and vocational training centers are equipping young people with practical skills for a modernizing economy.
Alongside these institutional gains, the administration has undertaken a direct social welfare project: the construction of hundreds of houses for low-income families across all regions. This initiative addresses a fundamental human need and underscores a policy focus on vulnerable populations. By improving living conditions and providing housing security, the project contributes to social stability and economic well-being at the community level.
Infrastructure and Connectivity
Hundreds of kilometers of gravel roads have been built or repaired, linking rural communities to market towns and cross-border trade routes. Expanded telecom and electricity networks have brought mobile banking and internet access to previously unconnected areas, fueling a digital leap for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Since 2018, over 115 cities and towns have been connected to the electricity grid for the first time, bringing power to communities that had long been left in the dark. Taking advantage of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed’s corridor development initiative, Jigjiga has also gained over 9 kilometers of modern road corridor, featuring three car lanes on each side, dedicated pedestrian and bicycle lanes, and extensive greenery.
The region’s major cities — Jigjiga, Godey, Degehabur, and Kebridahar — have been visibly transformed, with new asphalt roads and modern infrastructure replacing what were once unpaved streets and limited public facilities. The urban renewal has gone hand in hand with a wave of new government office construction, strengthening institutional capacity at both the regional and zonal levels.
The Next Five Years: An Even Brighter Horizon
If the current leadership sustains the peace and stays on track for achieving the vision President Mustafe often articulates in the media, we can conclude that the next five years are going to cement the Somali Region as a self-sustaining economic powerhouse. Six pillars anchor his forward-looking agenda.
1. Major Federal Investment Partnerships
With the backing of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and the federal government, the Somali Region is now hosting major investment projects led by Dangote Group and GCL, spanning fertilizer, industrial production, and large-scale infrastructure. These partnerships reflect growing federal support for the region’s development ambitions and are expected to create jobs, expand local industry, and further integrate the Somali Region into Ethiopia’s national economy.
2. A Record-Breaking $675 Million Budget
The region has approved a record budget of 108.9 billion birr (about $675 million) for the 2026–2027 fiscal year — a 66% increase over the previous year. Remarkably, 51% will be financed through the region’s own domestic revenue, and social sectors — education, health, water, and livelihoods — account for roughly 70% of spending, reflecting a deep commitment to basic services and pro-poor sectors.
3. Agricultural Transformation and Food Security
The administration plans to expand cultivated land to two million hectares this year, working toward a long-term goal of fully utilizing the region’s more than 10 million hectares of arable land. The focus is on replacing food imports with local production and, eventually, supplying food crops to foreign markets to boost national foreign exchange earnings. Solar-powered irrigation schemes are also being rolled out to build food systems resilient to climate shocks.
4. Digital Governance and Public Service Modernization
The recently launched Mesob One-Stop Service center in Jigjiga — which consolidates nine government institutions and offers over 40 services in a single location — will be expanded to 12 regional towns. The administration plans to accelerate the digitization of government services, expand digital IDs and e-governance platforms, and strengthen agricultural mechanization to reduce dependence on food aid.
5. Environmental Sustainability
The region has launched the 2026 Green Legacy program to plant 15 million trees under the slogan “Plant a Tree, Leave Hope,” aimed at strengthening environmental protection, combating land degradation, and reducing the impact of climate change.
6. Youth, Diaspora, and Private Sector Engagement
A new China-backed, grant-funded program will support youth and rural development through sport, particularly among pastoral communities. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed has issued a direct appeal to the Somali diaspora — including communities in Kenya, South Africa, and beyond — to return home and invest. The private sector remains a key driver of growth, with hospitality, trade, and agro-processing continuing as top investment sectors.
A Parting Shot
President Mustafe’s eight-year record is one of resilience, foresight, and inclusive governance. The Somali Region today stands as an example of what can be achieved when peace is prioritized, investment is targeted, and communities are empowered. What began as an urgent project of stabilization has grown into something more ambitious: a region writing its own economic future rather than waiting for one to be handed to it.
With a record budget, major federal investment partnerships, significant infrastructure spending, and a clear focus on digital transformation and food security, the next five years promise even greater progress — not just for the region, but for Ethiopia as a whole. If the last eight years were about building the foundation, the next five are about what gets built on top of it.
𝐾ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑟 𝑀 𝐿𝑒𝑦𝑙𝑖 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝐽𝑖𝑔𝑗𝑖𝑔𝑎, 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖 𝑅𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑎. 𝐻𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝐾ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑚@𝑔𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝑚.