Garowe, Puntland – Somali Family Services brought together 51 civil society, business, government and religious leaders for a two-day forum on the emerging tax system on June 14 and 15. Participants, including 25 women leaders, debated the structure and purpose of revenue mobilization in Puntland, and developed recommendations to increase the system’s legitimacy and efficacy. Somali Family Services conducted the forum as part of a civil society-strengthening project across Puntland in partnership with Diakonia.

For many participants, the forum represented the first formal education on the purpose and structure of Puntland’s revenue generation. Many early critics of existing tax laws expressed surprise at the direct link between tax shortfalls and limited social service provisions. The workshop included presentations by Somali Family Services Director Abdurashid Ali and Somali Family Service consultants Morten Seja and Dylan Groves.

Somali Family Services is a non-governmental organization dedicated to fostering a peaceful and democratic Somalia through support of civil society, women, youth other marginalized groups

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