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JIGJIGA, Ethiopia, November 6 2026 – Jigjiga, the capital of Ethiopia’s Somali Region, plans to collect 8 billion birr (about $48 million) in taxes this year to fund development projects, the city’s mayor said.
Mayor Shafi Ahmed Moallim told the regional broadcaster SRTV Somali on Thursday that tax collection was the backbone of the services the administration provides.
“No country, region or state has developed through debt and aid,” he said. “Bringing in water and building roads require an adequate budget.”
The mayor said Jigjiga was among the fastest-growing cities in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. He said more than 5,400 houses were approved last year, including more than 250 multi-storey buildings of up to 15 floors, and that the city’s built-up area had grown from 7,000 to 14,000 hectares in less than five years.
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He attributed the growth to security and political stability in the region and to infrastructure development. He said the city had only 15 km of asphalt roads seven years ago and now has more than 52 km.
Among upcoming projects, the mayor said water from seven wells drilled under the Waaji project is expected to reach the city in December, while a 20 km pipeline is being laid to bring water from the Fafan area.
He said six neighbourhoods would be connected to electricity in the next three months, followed by six more within six months, and that new roads would be built and the city’s seasonal river turned into a tourist site.