The citizens of volatile regions often play an outsize role in directly financing essential public goods and services. Little is known, however, about how informal revenue generation works in practice and the implications it may have for both development and state building. To better understand informal public finance in fragile contexts, we conducted two pieces of research in Gedo in southern Somalia, where the state taxation system is extremely weak. We found that most households step in to fund public services through community-based informal taxes. Our evidence also suggests that external actors can build on this informal financing to improve public goods provision, without necessarily undermining the state’s authority. Working directly with citizens and community leaders can be an effective way of delivering services in difficult contexts. It can also help to strengthen and build government capacity at the local level.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
More Stories
Inside the AAI Gala
Malian Basketballers Apologize for Brawl
Experts at the WTO Public Forum Talk Greening SMEs to Harness the Benefits of the AfCFTA
Dealing with Child Marriages on the Continent
Tighter Controls at Uganda’s Borders
The First Statue of an African Displayed in Trafalgar Square
Ramaphosa’s Opponents Want Him Impeached over a Growing Scandal
‘An Organized Attack on Freedoms by the Remnants of the Old Regime’ – Sudanese Lawyer
A Proposed Ban on the Deployment of Kenyan Domestic Workers to Saudi Arabia
Trial of Guinea’s Former President and Others Accused of the 2009 Stadium Massacre Begins
Essential Medical Supplies at Critically Low Levels in Ethiopia’s Conflict Zone
DRC Apes Kidnapped for Ransom