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“A city’s progress should be measured not only by rising buildings, but by whether its people can live with dignity.” Liban Hassan Mohamed
The City of Two Realities
Every morning, Mogadishu wakes with ambition. Shopkeepers open their doors, graduates look for work and entrepreneurs build businesses. Construction gives the impression of a city moving forward.
But there is another Mogadishu: the mother struggling to afford food and medicine, the graduate unable to find decent employment, and the displaced family without reliable access to clean water, sanitation or healthcare.
These realities exist side by side. Why has Mogadishu’s economic potential not translated into better lives for more of its people?
Unemployment, insecurity, drought, displacement and decades of conflict all contribute to poverty. But we must also ask whether public institutions are turning the city’s resources and opportunities into better lives.
Poverty Is More Than an Empty Pocket
When we talk about poverty, we often focus on household income and the ability to afford basic necessities. Those questions matter, but they do not tell the whole story.
A family may earn an income and still struggle because clean water, healthcare and education are difficult to access. A graduate may have the skills to start a business but face complicated procedures and limited access to finance.
In Development as Freedom, economist Amartya Sen argues that development should expand people’s freedoms and opportunities, not simply increase national income. This idea is particularly relevant to Mogadishu. Development should mean more than new buildings and busy markets. It should mean that people can access education, receive medical care, find decent work and participate in decisions affecting their communities.
Without effective institutions, the benefits of economic growth can remain out of reach.
Good Governance Must Be Felt by Citizens
Good governance can sound like a phrase reserved for conferences and official speeches. For ordinary people, however, it is something they experience every day.
It is the difference between a hospital that provides reliable treatment and one where patients struggle to receive basic care, or a municipality that uses revenue to improve roads and sanitation and one where residents cannot see what their contributions achieve.
Poorly managed public funds have visible consequences: schools lack facilities, health centres lack equipment and neighbourhoods struggle with waste management. Wealthier families may find private alternatives; poorer families often cannot.
Accountability is essential to reducing poverty. Municipal budgets and procurement processes should be transparent, projects should deliver measurable results, and citizens should be able to question public spending without being treated as political opponents.
Clear and fairly applied rules also encourage businesses to invest, expand and create employment opportunities.
The Graduate Who Cannot Find a Job
Mogadishu’s young population is one of its greatest resources. Universities graduate young Somalis every year, yet many struggle to secure decent employment.
Sometimes the problem is not a lack of qualifications. It is the importance placed on personal or political connections. A graduate may meet every requirement for a vacancy and still feel that someone with the right contacts has a better chance.
Advice from elders and experienced professionals is valuable. The problem begins when personal recommendations carry more weight than education, experience and ability.
Why should a young person spend years at university only to discover that employment depends more on who they know than what they know?
Public institutions and private employers should advertise vacancies openly, explain the requirements and select candidates through fair competition. Elders have an important place in Somali society, but their influence should help young people access opportunities rather than make employment dependent on personal relationships.
A degree should give young people a fair chance to compete.
The government should support vocational training, simplify business registration and help small and medium-sized enterprises create jobs without unnecessary barriers.
The People Often Left Behind
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Any serious discussion about poverty must include internally displaced people. For families forced to leave their homes because of drought, conflict or other emergencies, displacement means losing much more than a place to live. It can mean losing employment, property, social networks and access to basic services.
Displaced families need more than shelter: children need schools, parents need livelihoods, and everyone needs healthcare, clean water and sanitation.
Women, people with disabilities and residents of underserved neighbourhoods must also be included. Local authorities should listen to communities when deciding which areas need roads, drainage, water or other essential services.
Mogadishu Has the Potential to Do More
Mogadishu has significant advantages: its coastline, commercial networks, entrepreneurs and diaspora connections.
The fishing industry illustrates this potential. Despite Somalia’s long coastline, the sector lacks adequate storage, processing, transport and market access. Better cold-storage facilities, equipment and clear regulations could help fish reach more markets, support business growth and create jobs.
Similar opportunities exist in agriculture, construction, technology, education and healthcare. The lesson from countries that have developed successfully is clear: ambition and plans are not enough. Institutions must turn decisions into tangible results.
What Should Change?
Mogadishu needs practical reforms that people can see and measure.
First, public officials must be accountable for their performance and integrity. Municipal authorities should explain how revenue is collected and spent so residents understand which services their contributions support.
Recruitment should be based on qualifications and performance, not personal connections. The government should also support job creation through vocational education, small businesses and private investment.
Finally, essential services must receive serious attention. Education, healthcare, clean water, sanitation, roads and waste management are not luxuries. They are the foundations of a decent life.
These changes will not end poverty overnight. Somalia’s challenges should encourage realistic reforms, not serve as an excuse for inaction.
The Real Measure of Development
We celebrate new buildings, announce initiatives and publish ambitious plans. But these cannot be the only measures of progress.
Can a mother in Mogadishu afford medical treatment? Can a graduate find work without relying on personal connections? Can a small business operate under clear rules? Can a displaced family send its children to school and access clean water? Can residents understand how their municipality spends the money it collects?
These everyday questions reveal whether development is reaching ordinary people.
Mogadishu does not lack hardworking citizens, ambitious graduates, business owners or economic opportunities. What it needs is a stronger connection between its potential and the institutions responsible for serving its people.
Poverty reduction cannot depend on economic growth alone, international assistance or families struggling to survive on their own. It requires responsible leadership, accountable institutions, fair opportunities and public services that work.
The real test of good governance is not how comfortably officials sit in their offices. It is whether the people outside those offices can live with dignity.
Mogadishu’s future should not be measured only by how high its buildings rise, but by how far its people can rise with them.
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Liban Hassan Mohamed is a public relations professional and university lecturer.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Dawan Media.