Somalia hands 11 Juba River embankments to Jubbaland districts

On 21 January 2023, Mustaqbal Media reported that the Federal Government of Somalia had handed over 11 rehabilitated Juba River breakage sites to local administrations in Jubbaland State: 4 in Dolow district and 7 in Bardere district.

The same report, which is the only document available on the handover, does not establish what has happened at those sites since that date. It records no post-handover inspection, no maintenance activity and no measured flood outcome. No project value, contract value, contractor, consultant or construction start date is stated, and no primary handover record is cited.

What the report says was handed over

According to Mustaqbal Media, the purpose of the handover was for local administrations to take ownership and continuous maintenance of the rehabilitated infrastructure, described as river embankments, in order to address recurring floods that have affected farming and pastoralist communities. The report states those floods affected more than 500,000 people, without giving a time period or a basis for the figure, and that they destroy farms every year and affect national food production.

The 11 sites are reported to be part of 124 river breakage sites along the Jubba and Shabelle rivers, implemented through the Somalia Crises Recovery Project (SCRP), described by Mustaqbal Media as a flood and disaster recovery and reconstruction project. The report says SCRP is financed by the World Bank via the Federal Ministry of Finance and is co-managed with the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development. No financing amount or agreement details are given, and neither the World Bank nor the ministry is reported as confirming the financing or the handover.

The SCRP Project Implementation Unit is reported to be led by Project Coordinator Ali Haji Adan and Project Co-manager Abdi Tawane. Mustaqbal Media reported that the PIU handed over the 11 sites and advised local administrations to preserve, monitor and maintain them.

Who said what at the handover

Ali Haji, the SCRP Project Coordinator, said according to Mustaqbal Media that the project was developed in response to a request from local communities and coordinated with sector ministries at Federal and member state level and the local administration. He also said, according to the same report, that the investments are hoped to protect community livelihoods from future flooding and to provide a long-term solution to the effects of Shabelle and Juba River flooding. That is a statement of expectation, not a measured result.

State Project Team Coordinator Osman Hassan urged local government authorities, farmers associations and the wider community to take ownership of the river embankments and maintain them, Mustaqbal Media reported.

Bardere District Commissioner Weli Yusuf Abdullahi 'Qorah' said, according to Mustaqbal Media, that reducing river flooding equals increased production and societal stability. Adan Barre Ali 'Adan Madobe', Deputy District Commissioner of Dolow, who Mustaqbal Media reported took over four of the rehabilitated embankments, said the project provided a long-term solution for controlling flood water from the river, which he said is vital for livelihoods.

The report also notes that completion of the 11 sites coincides with the Jiilaal dry spell season, which it says gives farming communities an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming rainy season.

What is not established

The report does not say how many of the 124 sites are completed. It does not provide a project cost, contract value, total project cost, contractor, consultant or construction start date. It does not state whether the 11 handed-over sites are performing as intended, and it does not say the handover addressed or resolved the recurring floods.

Since the report carries a single dated account with no primary handover record, the status of the 11 embankments after 21 January 2023, and of the remaining sites in the 124-site programme, is not established by the available evidence.