Somalia has appointed Faisal Muhammed Hashi as the first Director General of its newly established Somalia Revenue Authority (SRA), as the government seeks to strengthen domestic revenue collection and reduce reliance on external assistance.
The Council of Ministers approved Hashi’s appointment by a majority vote, following a proposal by the Minister of Finance. He will serve a five-year term and oversee the establishment and operationalisation of the independent institution.
The appointment follows parliamentary approval and presidential assent to legislation establishing the SRA, moving revenue administration from the Ministry of Finance into a separate institution. The authority is expected to improve tax administration, compliance and widen the domestic revenue base.
Previously, revenue administration was handled through the Ministry of Finance’s Directorate General of Revenue, which coordinated inland revenue and customs operations. The new arrangement is intended to strengthen institutional capacity, enhance accountability and give revenue mobilisation dedicated operational focus.
The authority will be expected to harmonise tax collection procedures, modernise revenue systems, improve taxpayer services and strengthen oversight of government receipts. It will also coordinate revenue administration across different levels of government as Somalia develops its fiscal federalism framework. The authority should improve coordination among federal and state revenue institutions.
Hashi brings experience from within the system. He served as Director General of Revenue at the Ministry of Finance, a position he assumed in May 2023. In that role, he participated in developing revenue mobilisation policies, tax administration reforms and initiatives to modernise customs operations.
He also chaired the Intergovernmental Fiscal Federalism Technical Committee, which brings together federal and state finance officials.
Hashi was associated with the Ministry of Finance’s Medium-Term Revenue Roadmap for 2024–2027. The strategy seeks to broaden the tax base, improve compliance and raise domestic revenue by an annual equivalent of 0.3 percentage points of gross domestic product. It aims to enable the government to meet its operating expenditure from domestic resources by 2027.
His tenure begins as Somalia seeks to strengthen public financial management and build a sustainable financing model. The NRA will face pressure to reduce revenue leakages, improve transparency and encourage voluntary compliance among businesses and individuals.
The objective is to increase the state’s capacity to fund essential services while limiting exposure to external support.
