# National Civil Service Commission of Somalia

> What Somalia's civil service commission does, who leads it, its budget, the size of the civil service, and the 2026 dispute over open competition for director posts.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/national-civil-service-commission/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## What it does

The commission runs the federal civil service: recruitment, job grades and pay, and conditions of service. In 2026 it trained ministry committees on the government's Civil Service Pay and Grading Policy, which its chairman said would standardise salaries and job grades across the public sector ([SONNA](https://sonna.so/en/civil-service-commission-launches-second-phase-of-training-on-government-pay-and-grading-policy/)).

## Who leads it

Hassan Abshirow Mohamed (also written [Hassan Abshir](/en/people/hassan-abshir-farah/) Mohammed) is chairman ([SONNA](https://sonna.so/en/civil-service-commission-launches-second-phase-of-training-on-government-pay-and-grading-policy/); [Dawan Africa, 5 April 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-civil-servants-to-receive-50percent-healthcare-discount-at-hodan-hospital); [allAfrica, November 2025](https://allafrica.com/stories/202511120045.html)).

## The money

The figures are from the federal Appropriation Act for 2027 as submitted to parliament, where the body is sub-head 012600 under Special Commissions ([Ministry of Finance, Appropriation Act 2027](https://mof.gov.so/storage/documents/2026/11/xihvtskp/Appropriation%20Act%20for%202027%20Submitted%20to%20Parlement.pdf)):

| Year | US$ |
|---|---|
| 2025 (actual) | 1,536,734 |
| 2026 (budget) | 1,697,314 |
| 2027 (proposed) | 1,702,114 |

All federal bodies' budgets are compared on [federal bodies and their budgets](/en/institutions/federal-bodies-and-budgets/).

## How big the civil service is

Sources give different numbers. In April 2026 the commission's chairman put the number of civil servants at about 15,000 across government institutions ([Dawan Africa, 5 April 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-civil-servants-to-receive-50percent-healthcare-discount-at-hodan-hospital)). In September 2026 Finance Minister [Bihi Iman Egeh](/en/institutions/ministry-of-finance/) put the workforce at about 10,000 to 11,000, said the government had not increased it since taking office, and said temporary workers had been counted and screened to stop salaries being paid under several names ([Dawan Africa, 10 September 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-says-it-has-curbed-growth-in-government-workforce)).

## The 2026 dispute over director posts

On 17 September 2026 Prime Minister [Hamza Abdi Barre](/en/people/hamza-abdi-barre/) ordered ministries and agencies to fill department director posts by open competition on merit, starting on 20 September, and told the commission to run the process with his office. A second phase was to cover directors-general ([Dawan Africa, 17 September 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-pm-orders-open-competition-for-director-posts)).

On 23 September 2026 the House of the People voted to annul the decision, by 136 votes to 2 with 2 abstentions, after about 30 members brought a motion. Some members argued that it could cost current directors their posts ([Dawan Africa, 23 September 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somali-parliament-annuls-pm-hamzas-decision-on-open-competition-for-department-directors)).

On 22 September 2026 the Office of the Auditor General issued a notice calling on the commission to respect its constitutional, administrative and financial independence ([Dawan Africa, 22 September 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/auditor-general-urges-civil-service-commission-to-respect-constitutional-independence)); see [Auditor General](/en/institutions/auditor-general/).

## What it reports doing

In April 2026 the commission signed an agreement giving civil servants a 50% discount on care at Hodan Hospital in Mogadishu ([Dawan Africa, 5 April 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-civil-servants-to-receive-50percent-healthcare-discount-at-hodan-hospital)).

## How the work is shared

The [Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs](/en/institutions/ministry-of-labour-and-social-affairs/) leads civil service policy and met the commission in November 2025 ([allAfrica, November 2025](https://allafrica.com/stories/202511120045.html)). [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/) has its own civil service commission ([Somaliland Civil Service Commission](https://csc.govsomaliland.org/articles/tp)).

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