Somali Social Republic (Kingdom of Italy)

Somali Autonomous Social Federal Republic Soomaaliya Banaan Hantiwadaagga Bulshadeed Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka الجمهورية الاتحادية الحكم الاجتماعي الصومالي Repubblica Sociale Autonoma Federale Somala
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Qolobaa Calankeed
Location of Somalia
Capital and largest city	Mogadiscio
Official languages	Somali Arabic Italian
Religion	Islam
Demonym(s)	Somali
Government	Fascist Republic
• Chief of Republic	Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
Establishment
• Italian Somaliland	1889
Area
• Total	660,857 km2 (255,158 sq mi)
Population
• 2014 estimate	13,105,895
Driving side	right
ISO 3166 code	SO

Somalia, officially the Somali Autonomous Social Federal Republic, is an Realm of the Italian Empire and its only Republic, located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Empire of Ethiopia to the west, Principality of Eritrea to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and British Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Climatically, hot conditions prevail year-round, with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.

Somalia has an estimated population of around 13.1 million. Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis, who have historically inhabited the northern part of the country. Ethnic minorities are largely concentrated in the southern regions. The official languages of Somalia are Somali, Italian and Arabic. Most people in the country are Muslim with the majority being Sunni.

In antiquity, Somalia was an important commercial hub. During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali states ruled over the regional trade, including the Ajuran Empire, the Adal Sultanate, the Warsangali Sultanate, and the Geledi Sultanate. In the late 19th century, through a succession of treaties with these kingdoms, the British and Italian empires gained control of parts of the coast and established the colonies of British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. In the interior, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan's Dervish State repelled the British Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region, before succumbing to defeat in 1920 by British airpower. The toponym Somalia was coined by the Italian explorer Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti. Italy acquired full control of the northeastern, central and southern parts of the area after successfully waging the so-called Campaign of the Sultanates against the ruling Majeerteen Sultanate and Sultanate of Hobyo. British and French occupation lasted until 1953, yielding to Italian-led full unification after the African War.

Geography

Somalia is a Realm of the Italian Empire located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by the Empire of Ethiopia to the west, Eritrea to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Somali Sea and Guardafui Channel to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. With a land area of 660,857 square kilometers, Somalia's terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Its coastline is more than 3,650 kilometers in length, the longest of mainland Africa.

In the far north, the rugged east-west ranges of the Ogo Mountains lie at varying distances from the Gulf of Aden coast. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. Geology suggests the presence of valuable mineral deposits.

Somalia is separated from Seychelles by the Somali Sea and is separated from Socotra by the Guardafui Channel.

History

The first unified political concept of Somalia begins with the Italian annexation. In 1953, following the African War, Somalia was enlarged with Birtish Somaliland and French Djibouti. Pursuant to the "Somalization" policy, in 1979 Mohamed Siad Barre (Somali: Maxamed Siyaad Barre) became the first Somali Chief of Republic of Somali origins.

In early 1990s a prolonged series of revolts and insurrections led by Mohamed Farrah Aidid took place. Revolts caused harsh Italian repression. In 1993 the Somali Crisis broke out in its violence and quickly evolved in a civil war.

Since late 2000s, Somalia has been affected by an Islamic insurgency led by Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (Arabic: حركة الشباب المجاهدين‎; Ḥarakat ash-Shabāb al-Mujāhidīn, Somali: Xarakada Mujaahidiinta Alshabaab).

Ethnic groups

Somalis constitute the largest ethnic group in Somalia, at approximately 80% of the nation's inhabitants. They are organized into clan (Beel) groupings, which are important social units; clan membership plays a central part in Somali culture and politics. Clans are patrilineal and are typically divided into sub-clans, sometimes with many sub-divisions. Through the xeer system, the advanced clan structure has served governmental roles in many rural Somali communities. Somali society is traditionally ethnically endogamous. So to extend ties of alliance, marriage is often to another ethnic Somali from a different clan.
Non-Somali ethnic minority groups make up about 25% of the nation's population. They include Italians, Afar, Bantus, Bajunis, Eyle, other Ethiopians, Persians, French and Britons.
Italians are most present in Oltregiuba (Alto and Basso Giuba), in Medio Scebeli and in Benadir. Britons are present in Nordovest and in Adal, while French are the fourth ethnic group in Gibuti.

Society

The Somali society is traditionally based on the Clan structure: there are six clan groupings (legally recognised as Tribes), several Clans and multiple subdivisions of these Clans, which vary according location and social sector.

Alongside the traditional layer of the Somali society, and interacting with it, the modern stratification is deeply influenced by government personnel wielding authority.

Clan structure

Certain tribes and their clans are traditionally classed as noble clans and are called "Samaale", referring to their nomadic lifestyle, in contrast to the sedentary Sab who are either agropastoralists or artisanal castes. Both Samaale and Sab are the children of their father "Hiil" whose is the common ancestor all Somali clans.

Except in their relations with members of hostile or inferior groups, the Samaale are fiercely egalitarian but consider themselves superior to settled Sab Somalis. The Sab maintain a layered society that accords status to different groups according to their origin and occupation. The lineage has a territorial dimension among the settled agriculturists.

The two noble clans are Darod and Dir. Of these, the Dir are regarded as descended from Irir Samaale, while the Darod have separate agnatic traditions of descent through Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti.
A few clans in the southern part of Somalia and Ogaden (Ethiopian region inhabited by ethnic Somalis) do not belong to the major clans, but came to be associated with them and were eventually adopted into one of their confederations. The Digil and Mirifle (Rahanweyn) are agro-pastoral clans in the area between the Jubba and Shebelle rivers. Many do not follow a nomadic lifestyle, live further south and speak Maay, a related language.
A third group, the occupational clans, have sometimes been treated as outcasts because they could only marry among themselves and other Somalis considered them to be ritually unclean. They live in their own settlements among the nomadic populations in the north and performed specialised occupations. Minority Somali clans include the Gaboye, Tumaal, Yibir, Jaji and Yahar.

Clans role in the power structure

In Somalia, the clan system and its traditional authorities form a key pillar of the State. The Somali Social Republic holds a Beel system of governance that recognizes kinship as the ‘organizing principle’ of Somali society. In principle, governance is exercised through a power-sharing coalition of clans. Furthermore, traditional authorities are institutionalized and empowered. The importance of clans is evidenced by elections, where clans often vote nearly unanimously for ‘their’ candidate.

However, the clans power ends when it enters or is likely to result in endemic or mass violence. The State and the Somali Gendarmerie are often ready to intervene, disarm battling clan and related Militia units, and impose resolutive negotiations.

Samaal Somalis

Among the Samaal, there are three points of unity and division at which political solidarity most frequently emerges: those of clan, primary Lineage group, and dia-paying group.
The political and economic business of any functioning segment in Samaal society was managed by a council called Scir, which included all the adult males in the group. Each member might speak and take part in deliberation.
The lineage pattern remains intact among Samaal cultivators, and they define themselves in terms of their lineage affiliation although the community also commands loyalty.

Samaal clans

Among the Samaal, clans were the largest political units, most of which have heads known as Soldaan (sultan) or Bokor. A Samaal clan head's functions are mostly honorary and ceremonial.

The number of clans within a tribe varies, but their numbers average roughly 100,000 people in the twentieth century. Clans are associated with a given territory, essentially defined by the circuit of herding migration but having unspecified boundaries, so that the territories of neighboring clans tend to overlap.

A Samaal clan keeps careful count of the generations between living members of the group and the ancestor for whom it has been named: the greater the number of generations, often implying substantial internal segmentation (many subclans or lineages), the greater the clan's prestige, which was validated by the numbers and power usually associated with generational depth and segmentation. Some ancient clans, however, dwindled, and found it necessary to attach themselves to other clans of the same or another clan-family.
Clans living in contiguous territories sometimes join in confederacies. Confederacies were constituted by related clans (perhaps tracing their descent to the same wife of a remote ancestor), but the decision to enter into a confederacy was historical and not automatic. The purposes of the entity were enumerated in a treaty or contract, often set down by a religious figure.

Sub-clan Lineages

Within a Clan, each generation may represent the point of origin of a Lineage (Somali: Nasab; Italian: Lignaggio). Clans are segmented into Primary Lineages (Somali: Nasabka fasalka koowaad; Italian: Lignaggio di I classe), whose genealogical depth ranges from twelve to fourteen generations. These Primary Lineages are in turn segmented into secondary and sometimes tertiary lineages. The political (and sometimes the economic) relevance of a clan or lineage of a given genealogical depth varies with context.

Primary Lineages might contain two or more dia-paying groups. If, however, a Primary Lineage lacks the manpower to constitute its own dia-paying group, it might join with another such group to form one.

Similarly to clan dynamics, sub-clan lineages, detached from the main body of their clan, make alliances with the clan in whose territory they are living.

Dia-paying group

In Somalia, the Dia is the traditional-legal compensation for any blood-related act. The Dia-paying group is an alliance formed by related Lineages within a clan by means of a contract (Heei), traditionally oral but filed in written form with district officials since the colonial era. The contract explicitly states the rights and duties of members of the group with respect to the burdens of payment and the distribution of receipts of blood compensation when the parties were members of the same or different Dia-paying groups. In the case of a homicide the Lineages of the group shared in giving or receiving a specified portion of the compensation.
The lineages constituting a dia-paying group are often Second-class Lineages; that is, the ancestors of each of them are fewer than the twelve to fourteen characteristic of Primary Lineages.
In the case of offences requiring the payment of a smaller compensation, sharing still occurrs within the Dia-paying group, but in minor cases the Giffo-paying group alone might be involved. A smaller but still substantial portion (the Jiffo, italianised as Giffo) is given or received by the relatively close kin of the killer or the deceased, that is, by an agnatic group descended from a common ancestor three or four generations back.

Both Dia-paying and Giffo-paying groups are important units of social and economic organisation aside from their stated purpose. They function as mutual aid groups in times of economic hardship or other emergencies. Among the nomads, membership range from 300 to more than 5,000 men.

Sab Somalis

The Sab Somalis are composed of the Digil and Rahanweyn tribes.

Sab clans

The social structure of the Sab resembles that of the Samaal because it is putatively based on descent groups. However, blood purity is less regarded. Sab clans are confederations of lineages and include persons originating in all Somali tribes as well as assimilated peoples. They came into being through a pact or promise between the original founding segments, one of which, of Sab Somali origin, was dominant. The name of the Sab segment became the name of the clan. The descendants of that dominant lineage often constitute only a relatively small core of the clan. The constituent lineages of the clan, whatever their origin, tend to have much shallower genealogies than the Samaal.

The manner of formation of Sab clans led to the development of recognised social inequalities, sometimes marked by differences in physical appearance owing to stratum endogamy. Each stratum in a community consisted of one or more Lineages. The basic distinction is that between nobles and Habash. In Geledi, darker-skinned nobles have the precedence over Arab-descent nobles.

Sab clans live within clearly marked borders. The entire clan (or large subclan) often constitute the Dia-paying group in relation to other clans. Clan affairs were handled by leading elders called Gobweyn who had assistants called Gobyar. Clans, and sometimes large lineages, have government chiefs appointed by government authorities.

This clan authority is represented in the political structure via the basic levels of the Somali Fascist Party, the community councillors, etc.

Gember

Many clans are subdivided into three subclans, called Gember. Clans and subclans usually had single heads. Clans or subclans were subdivided into Lineages that reckoned three to five generations from ancestor to youngest member.

Sab Lineage

The lineage is the important economic unit. It traditionally owns land and water rights, which the head men distribute to individual lineage members.

Each of the lineages (of perhaps 300 to 400 persons) has its own set of elders and constitute a Dia-paying group and were bound in a common contract for rates of compensation and other matters. Each lineage further controls specific segments of the land and allocates to individuals as much land as a given family could cultivate.

Bureaucratic structures and their allies

Alongside the Clan structure, the political-governmental personnel wields a different form of authority, which interacts with authority of Clans or of Lineages.

This group includes the representatives of the national government (the subelite): the district commissioner, the judge, the secretary to the municipality, the subordinates of some of these, teachers, and the Gendarmerie, etc. All this personnel consists of outsiders. Administrators do not serve in their home territories and are therefore not linked by kinship to the better-off Somalis in the local private sector.

The apex of a local hierarchy in a rural settled area consists of the higher (and to some extent mid-level) representatives of the state. Included are regional and local administrators, managers of state farms and agro-industries, technicians, and highly skilled workers. They exercise not only political but also economic power greater than that of the wealthy merchant or large landholder.

At the apex of society in Mogadiscio (and nationally) because of their incomes and the power they wield, are the highest officials of party and government. Below the ministers and directors general but well above the clerks of the bureaucracy were other high-level administrators and the executives and skilled personnel.

Occupational groups have over the decades evolved into the foundations of the working and business class and, as such, they represent a government-aligned Corporatist group. The merchant class, while not being formally separated from their own Lineages or Clans, have divergent interests and tend to support government also by inserting their children in the bureaucratic structures.

Languages

Somali, Italian and Arabic are the three official languages of Somalia. The Somali language is the mother tongue of the Somalis. It is a member of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family.
In addition to Somali, Arabic is an official national language in Somalia. Many Somalis speak it due to centuries-old ties with the Arab world, the far-reaching influence of the Arabic media, and religious education. Italian is widely used and taught.

Religion

The major religion in Somalia is Sunni Islam. There is a small Christian community in Somalia mainly living amongst Somali Muslims in Mogadiscio. Additionally, some ethnic minorities in the southern part of the country practice traditional faiths.

Most residents of Somalia are Muslims, the majority belonging to the Sunni branch of Islam and the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence, although some are Shia. Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam, is also well-established.

Islam is the state religion of the Somali Social Republic, and Islamic Sharia is a basic source for national legislation. The costitution also stipulates that no law that is inconsistent with the basic tenets of Shari'a can be enacted. The adherence to the principles of regulation of public life dictated by the Koranic codes is one of the cornerstones of Somali politics; nonetheless, the Wadaddo, religious figures with civil authority in the villages, have lost many legal skills compared to the past, in favour of public officials appointed to the government of local authorities. However, Christianity and other religions are specially protected.

Christianity is a minority religion in Somalia, with no more than 1,150,000 practitioners, grossly coincident with the European population across the country, but with small Coptic components (0.53%). There are a Coptic Prelature and three Catholic Dioceses immediately subject to the Holy See: Gibuti, Rocca Littorio and Mogadiscio.

Less than 0.1% of Somalia's population in 2010 were adherents of traditional or folk religions. These mainly consist of some non-Somali ethnic minority groups in the southern parts of the country, who practice animism.

Politics and government

Somalia is a Fascist Federal Republic, where the Guulwade-and-Chief of Somalia is head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed corps of Somalia. A selected Chief of Government is head of government's day to day operations; in the Government of Somalia, Ministry of Italian Immigration, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defence are the most important portfolios. The Chief of Somalia also has the authority to pass and veto laws. In each State, the Chief Minister is by appointed the ruler upon the recommendation of the Chief of Somalia.

The bicameral National Assembly of Somalia is the national parliament of Somalia, consisting of Corporatist Council (lower house) and Assembly of the States (upper house), whose members are elected to serve four-year terms. The parliament proposes to the clans assembled the President and elects Speaker of Parliament and Deputy Speakers. Legislative power is divided between federal and state legislatures. Each state has a unicameral Legislative Assembly.

The national court structure is organised into three tiers: the Constitutional Court, Federal Government level courts and State level courts. The Chief of Somalia appoints any Federal tier member of the judiciary. He also selects and presents potential Constitutional Court judges to the National Assembly of Somalia for approval. If endorsed, the Chief of Somalia appoints the candidate as a judge of the Constitutional Court. The five-member Constitutional Court adjudicates issues pertaining to the constitution, in addition to various Federal and sub-national matters. Somali law draws from a mixture of three different systems, civil law, Islamic law and customary law.

Beyond the legal features, two groups contend for power: a constitutional faction and a clan faction. The constitutional faction consists of Italians and Somali urban strata. The "statists" are led by the senior State leaders. Opposed to the constitutional group are elements from the most powerful clans. A third and excluded faction is the islamist movement: despite being militarily defeated, it still presents a significant yet shadowy factor. A particular area it the Southern Somalia (Oltregiuba), where the thriving farming is run by some clanic networks but where Italians have been pouring since the late 1980s. To complicate things, the Oltregiuba is the northern area of operations of the Al-Shabab islamist movement.

Justification of Somalia

The unified Somalia is justified because it is presented as the political tool in order to enforce an Imperial union (i.e. a spiritually-based union) among the different States and clans of Somalia. The Somalian government, therefore, is seen as dominant due to universal values, higher than material economy and labour (regulated through corporatist bodies) and than political-territorial interests (regulated through the Constituent States).

Government

The Government is led by the Guulwade-and-Chief of Somalia and, during his absence, by the Prime Minister.

• Prime Minister: Osman Worsamo;
  • Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Commission;
• Minister of Italian Immigration: Lorenzo Ricci;
  • Directorate of the Somali Development Corps;
• Minister of Interior: Gabriele Borgio;
• Minister of Defence Abdullahi Said;
• Minister of Justice and of the Conservation of the Xeer: Bashir Salat;
• Governor of Mogdadiscio: Alessandro Balbi;
• Minister of Infrastructures: Abdirrazaq Farah;
  • Directorate of Water and Sewerage;
• Minister of Economic Activities: Yusuf Aden;
• Ministry of Agriculture: Abdullahi Farey;
  • Directorate of Assisted Irrigation;
• Minister of Religious Affairs: Osman Iyoò;
  • Directorate for Religious Endowments;
• Minister of Maritime Economy: Abdullahi Warsame;
  • Directorate of Fishery;
• Minister of Health: Omar Hashi;
  • Service for Social Welfare;
• Minister of Education: Ali Hussen;
  • Directorate for Higher Education;
• Secretary of the Somali Fascist Party: Hasan Farey.

The Ministers are often restricted to administrative rather than policy responsibilities. Ministers are in effect senior functionaries with the necessary education and experience to superintend day-to-day government operations.

Somali Fascist Party

The Somali Fascist Party (Somalian: Xisbiga Faaris ee Soomaalida; Arabic: الحزب الفاشي الصومالي al'Ḥizb al'fashi al-ṣūmālī; Italian: Parito Fascista Somalo) is the ruling party of the Somali Social Republic.

The Somali Fascist Party is a Fascist and Somali party, but also includes Islamic socialism, national socialism, left-wing nationalism and Pan-Somalism teachings in its ideology. The Pan-Somalism leads to close cooperation with the Ogaden People's Party (Somali: Xisbiga Dadka Ogaadeenya X.D.A.; Italian: Partito del Popolo dell'Ogaden P.P.O.) due to the prevailing Somali ethnicity in the Ogaden Province. The cooperation is mainly on cultural matters, but also other issues are dealt with, such as clan policty and agricultural cooperation affairs.

The Somali Fascist Party tends to function as a political force transcending clan lines, but in reality power is concentrated to three clans. The party developed back in 1976 an its own intelligence branch, Baadhista xisbiga, which works parallel to the O.V.R.A. branch and the local M.V.S.N. branch.

The Somali Fascist Party is the only legal party in the Somali Social Republic; no other party or political organisation may be established. The Somali Fascist Party has supreme authority of political and socio-economic leadership in the Somali Social Republic. In the Party there is a Central Council of 75 members and a National Directorate of five members. The components of this last branch are all military.

The Constitution introduced in 1979 affirms the official and exclusive standing of the party as the "supreme authority of political and socio-economic leadership" in its capacity of "civil militia at the perpetual service of the Duce".

National Social Organisations controlled by the Somaly Fascist Party are:

• National Federation of Somali Fascist Trade Unions
• Somali Youth of the Lictor
• Somali Fascist Women's Organization

Military

The Somali Gendarmerie and the Somali National Republican Guard are the military forces of Somalia. Headed by the Chief of Republic in his capacity as Commander in Chief, they are constitutionally mandated to ensure the nation's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Somalia within the Italian Empire.
Both the Somali Gendarmerie and the Somali National Republican Guard are supported by the Somali Militia for National Security (Somali: Maleeshiyo Soomaali Amniga Qaranka ee, M.S.A.Q.; Italian: Milizia Somala per la Sicurezza Nazionale, M.S.S.N.). The Somali Militia for National Security is a paramilitary organisation based on sub-clan militias and on urban neighbourhoods. The M.S.A.Q.. has both Regional and State commands and oversees the Somali National Republican Guard.

Education

In Somalia schools closely follow the Italian pattern. All schools teach Italian as a separate subject and there are several Italian-language schools. Italians in Somalia attend Italian schools but also the upper layers of Somalis. Coranic Schools are organised under the guidance of the Libyan Islamic University of Bengasi.

Post-secondary education

In 1954, the Italian government established the post-secondary institutions of law, economics, and social studies in Mogadiscio. These institutions were satellites of the University of Rome, which provided all the instruction material, faculty, and administration. All the courses were presented in Italian. In 1959, institutes of agrarian sciences, medicine and civil engineering were established in Mogadiscio and in Gibuti as satellites of the University of Rome. In 1960 the first institute of Somali Literature and Language was established as a satellite if the Italian African Studies Institute.

In 1963 the University of Somalia (Università della Somalia) was established as an independent university, with seats in Mogadiscio, Hargeisa and Gibuti, under the Italian Ministry of National Education. All the courses were presented in Italian, but some also in Somalian language.

In 1979 the Somali Ministry of Education was established, and the University of Somalia became its university division. In the following years the University of Somalia expanded its seats. By 1995, the University of Somalia had seats and facilities in Berbera, Bosaso, Chisimaio, Gibuti, Mogadiscio, Merca and Genale, Rocca Littorio and Villabruzzi. In 2003, the University of Somalia was reorganised and renamed National University of Somalia (Jaamacadda Qaranka ee Soomaaliya Università Nazionale della Somalia). Nowadays courses are still presented in Italian save for literature ones.

In 1981 the Directorate for Higher Education of the Education Ministry and the Higher Professional Institute (Machadka Xirfadda Sare Istituto Professionale Superiore) for post-secondary non-university education were established.

Social welfare

The Social Welfare Service (Adeegga Daryeelka Bulshada; Servizio Assistenza Sociale) is the state-run social welfare agency of the Somali Social Republic.

The Social Welfare Service was founded in May 1999 in Garoe by then-Governor of Nogal Qaaje Shido. The following year, it was extended to the whole country. The Social Welfare Service provides medical, educational and counseling support to vulnerable groups and individuals, such as the disabled, the blind, orphans, and widows of Somali soldiers.

The Social Welfare Service is overseen by a Board of Directors, which consists of religious scholars (ulema), businesspeople, officials of the Somali Fascist Party and traditional elders. The Social Welfare Service is headed by Hussein Mohamed Mohamud, who was appointed to the position by presidential decree in 2018.

Apartheied legislation

The Somali Social Republic has a full legislation set in order to allow a permanent discrimination between Italians and other nationalities. The centrepiece of the legislation is the combination between citizenship rights and nationality rights. All Somali citizens must have a separate national identity, usually Italian or Somali, but or potentially also Arab or one of other nationalities actually present in the Italian Empire, or even other ones. With different “national rights” superior to citizenship rights and reserved for Italian and Somali nationalities, the result is those of providing equal rights to all citizens, but not equal national rights.
The legislation also crucially includes a provision to allow the establishment of communities for Italians only, usually existing neighboroughs of large cities, but also small villages.

Administrative divisions

Regions of Somalia

With regards to local governance, Somalia is a Federal republic. Five States, predating the European conquests, still are its constituent entities:

• Gibuti;
• Sultanate of Migiurtinia (also known as Paese di Punt);
• Sultanate of Obbia;
• Dervish state;
• Sultanate of the Geledi.

Two Federal Territories are directly administered by the central Government:

• Federal Territory of the Northern Coast (comprising ancient kingdoms and the former British Somaliland);
• Federal Territory of Mogadiscio (comprising the national capital city and its surroundings, i.e. Benadir Region).

Governance of the States

The governance of the States is divided between the central government and the state governments, while the Federal Territories (Northern Coast and Mogadiscio) are directly administered by the central government. The specific responsibilities of the central and the State governments are listed in the Constitution of Somalia. Any matter not set out in the Constitution can be legislated on by the central government. The central government is permitted to legislate on issues of land, Islamic religion and local government to provide for a uniform law between different states, or on the request of the state assembly concerned. The law in question must also be passed by the state assembly as well.
The two federal territories were formed for different purposes: Mogadiscio is the national capital and the Northern Coast is the union of extinct States. The Federal Territories fall under the purview of the Ministry of the Interior, and the Government of Somalia legislates on all matters concerning the territories. Somaliland sends two to the Assembly of the States, while Mogadiscio sends one. Mogadiscio is administered by the Municipality of Mogadiscio, headed by an appointed mayor which also is the Benadir Governor, while Somaliland is administered by an appointed Governor.

Traditional leadership

Somalia has five provincial houses of traditional leaders, who enhance the cooperative relationships within the overall government. The institution, status and roles of traditional leadership, according to customary law, are recognised by the Somali Social Republic: the recognition determines a substantial independence of these rulers from the legal system of the Somali Social Republic. Similarly, the central Government acknowledges the critical role of traditional leadership institutions, particularly in relation to the rural-development strategy. It therefore remains committed to strengthening the institution of traditional leadership.
Each Constituent State has a hereditary ruler as titular head of state and an executive Chief Minister as head of government. The rulers of Gibuti, the Geledi, Migurtinia and Obbia are styled Sultans, whereas the ruler of Dervish state is titled King. Each state has a unicameral legislature called Golaha ee Gobolka, whose members are elected by clans heads. The state leader of the Somali Fascist Party in Golaha ee Gobolka is usually appointed Chief Minister by the Ruler. Each state sends two members to the Assembly of the States, the upper house of the federal parliament.

Regions of Somalia

For central administrative purposes, Somalia is officially divided into nineteen Regions (Gobollada, singular Gobol), which in turn are subdivided into Districts. Somali Regions are modelled on Italian provinces.

Districts (Somali: Degmo) are proximity bodies. In Ghedo, Bacul, Hiran and Sool, Districts primarily serve as reference point for herding-related services.

The Nineteen Regions of Somalia

No.	Gobol	Coat of arms	Capital	Governor	State	Notes
1	Basso Giuba		Chisimaio	Buraale Obsiye	Geledi
2	Alto Giuba		Buale	Cilmi Askari	Geledi
3	Ghedo		Garba Harre	Mario Parcinuzzi	Geledi
4	Bai		Iscia Baidoa	Alessandro Baldoni	Geledi
5	Bacul		Oddur	Muxumed Kaahiye	Geledi
6	Basso Scebeli		Merca	Alberto Nivali	Geledi
7	Benadir		Mogadiscio	Paolo Benito Frontini	Federal Territory of Mogadiscio	Benadir is part of the Federal Territory of Mogadiscio, i.e. it is part of the Federal Government. The Benadir administration coincides with the Municipality of Mogadiscio.
8	Medio Scebeli		Villabruzzi	Kowtame Raage	Geledi
9	Hiran		Belet Uen	Qaaje Seed	Obbia
10	Ghelgudud		Dusa Mareb	Faarax Mowliid	Obbia
11	Mudug		Rocca Littorio	Suudi Warsame	Obbia
12	Nogal		Garoe	Qorax Sharmarke	Migiurtinia
13	Bari		Bosaso	Shaacir Xiireey	Migiurtinia
14	Sool		Las Anod	Marcello De Celis	Dervish State
15	Sanag		Erigavo	Garaar Caynab	Dervish State
16	Tug Dair		Burco	Kaafi Dirie	Federal Territory of the Northern Coast
17	Nordovest		Hargeisa	Benito Tamburri	Federal Territory of the Northern Coast
18	Adal		Borama	Maxamed Shido	Federal Territory of the Northern Coast
19	Gibuti		Gibuti	Italo Mincucci	Gibuti

Somali Development Corps

The Somali Development Corps (Italian: Corpo di Sviluppo Somalo, C.S.S.), also known as "The Corps", is a state-owned enterprise and subdivision of the Somali Militia for National Security in Somalia's Sultanate of the Geledi. The C.S.S. operates towns, where it provides prisons, healthcare, policing, judiciary, and education, and has stakes in numerous publicly traded companies. It is extensively involved in economic, political and military affairs of the Geledi, being called a "state in a state". It is overseen by the Ministry of Italian Immigration, though the organization enjoys significant autonomy. The Corps is in some ways a separate colonizing force from the Somali Social Republic, one that is even less accountable to the Somali people.

The C.S.S. was established in 1985 under the orders of the Italian leadership, and developed sparsely populated areas in its early decades, taking the model of the traditional system of setting military units in frontier areas. It established its economic dominance over the Geledi afterwards, also being responsible for maintenance against the black independentism, and Islamic extremism and terrorism. In its history, the C.S.S. has built farms and towns, provided land and employment, and re-settled Italian immigrants in what has been called a campaign of assimilation.

The primary means by which the Corps is able to accomplish its goal of Italianisation is by facilitating the large-scale migration of Italians into Southern Somalia by establishing pockets of territory inhabited, settled and colonised exclusively by Italians.

The C.S.S. is able to achieve construction of Italians-only towns and villages through a unique governing system, referred to as “Unified Regiment and Settlement”. Under this system, the Regional government is cut out of the town/village management; the city is approved by the central government itself, and administered by a Regiment of the Corps. The Governing Commissioner of the town is also the Regimental commander. Thus, the “Unified Regiment and Settlement” system vests power over the towns in the corresponding C.S.S. Regiment. In case of a larger town, the governing system is referred to as “Unified Brigade and City”.

The C.S.S. is a key actor in the Italian colonisation of the Southern Somalia. A key feature of the C.S.S. is its paramilitary militia, made up of local Italian settlers who are in the Geledi as part of the C.S.S. to “develop” the region and fortify its international borders “with a gun in one hand and a pickaxe in the other.” This militia has been deployed several times in support of Militia's security operations in non-C.S.S.-administered areas of the Geledi. The various militia emergency response teams of the Corps are an important force in maintaining stability and handling emergencies in Southern Somalia.

The Corps' taxation and general land use are under the jurisdiction of the relevant departments of the Sultanate of the Geledi. The C.S.S. administration, economy, and finance are managed by the Ministry of Italian Immigration; the C.S.S: manages its own internal administrative and judicial affairs in accordance with national laws. The C.S.S. has been described to operate as a de facto Region-level governmental entity.

Organisation

The Somali Development Corps is a Directorate General-level institution under the Ministry of Italian Immigration and the Chief Minister of the Sultanate of the Geledi. It has administrative authority over small and medium-sized cities, settlements and farms in the Geledi.

C.S.S. is headed by three leaders: the Director-General, a Commander ranking Major General, and a Political Secretary of the P.N.F., all appointed by the central government of Somalia. Each Brigade replicates this tripartite leadership. The Corps Command is located in Chisimaio. The organisation system of the Somali Development Corps mainly consists of three-level management systems:

• Corps
• Brigade
• Regiment.

The Corps is subordinated to both the Ministry of Italian Immigration and the Sultanate of the Geledi. The Corps' administrative departments and the Brigades affiliated to the Corps are Region-level units. Each C.S.S. Brigade corresponds to a Region of the Sultanate of the Geledi, and are in themselves of sub-Regional rank, i.e. subordinated to the Region government and to the Corps.
Brigades administer Regiments, which are areas and towns included at District level and Regiment-level farms and ranches. Regiments replicate the relationship to a District-level. The Regiments affiliated to Corps' departments and to Brigades are District-level units. The working departments of the regiments are subordinated to the Districts.
As of 2022, the C.S.S. consists of 6 Brigades, subdivided into 17 Regiment-level agricultural farms, as well as 439 industrial and commercial enterprises.

Directorate General

The Directorate General of the Somali Development Corps is subdivided into several Services, each ranking as a territorial Brigade. In turn, Services are subdivided into Offices (Regiment-level):

• General Affairs Service of the Somali Development Corps
  • Archives Office
  • Ethnic and Religious Affairs Office
• Propaganda and Cultural Service
  • Press and Publication Office
  • Office of the Spiritual Civilization Construction
• Public Security and Prison Service and Gendarmerie Command
• Judicial Affairs Service
• Emergency Management Service
• Policy Research Service
• Organization and Establishment Service
• Science and Technology Service
  • Network Security and Information Technology Office
• Inspection Office
• Development and Reform Commission
  • Grain and Material Reserve Office
  • Commerce Office
  • Market Supervision and Administration Office
• Civil Government and Development Service
  • Education Office
  • Finance Office
  • Health Office
  • Human Resources and Social Security Office
  • Poverty Alleviation and Development Office
  • Local Financial Supervision and Administration Office
• Natural Resources and Ecological Environment Service
  • Water Conservancy Office
  • Fisheries Office
  • Agriculture and Rural Affairs Office
  • Forestry and Grassland Office
• Transportation Service
• State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission
• Statistics Service

The Military Command of the Somali Development Corps, which is organized at the Divisional level, performs the responsibilities of the military administration, such as military service mobilization, reserve formation, militia work, etc.

Economy

Somalia has a healthy informal economy, based mainly on livestock, port services, credit institutions companies and telecommunications. In last years there has been substantial private investment in commercial activities; this includes trade and marketing, money transfer services, transportation, communications, fishery equipment, airlines, telecommunications, education, health, shipbuilding, construction and hotels. Fincantieri is the main multinational company and owns and operates a major naval shipyard in Mogadiscio. Wind energy industry thrives especially in the South and in Bari and Nogal.

The republican government has never tried to change the economic and social relations of the territory in great depth, even with the nationalization of the major enterprises and their operation on corporatist mechanisms. Somalia has a large-mesh economy, in which relations of economic power and political authority are controlled to a significant degree by a clan system. Therefore the Somali clans retain room to maneuver especially in the field of trade and private property. However, the general direction of the production is firmly in the hands of the government.

Following the economic crisis of 1980s-1990s, the country's GDP per capita as of 2012 is $515. About 21% of the population lives on less than 1 US dollar a day, with around 24% of those found in urban areas and 54% living in rural areas. However, subsistence is ensured by an informal/customary economy based on barter and non-monetary transactions and by clan-based solidarity mechanisms.

As of 2014 there are some major financial institutions:

• Banca Italo-Somala/Baanka ee Italy iyo Soomaaliya;
• Salaam Somali Bank;
• First Somali Bank;
• Banca Commerciale Italiana;
• Banco di Mogadiscio;
• Bangiga caalamiga ah ee Soomaaliya;
• Banca Nazionale del Lavoro;
• Cassa di Credito Agrario e Minerario;
• Società Nazionale d'Etiopia;
• Società Creditizia per l'Industria.

In Somalia, the Italo-Somali ruling classes have pursued for decades a policy aimed at building a solid farm economy, capable of avoiding the degradation of land and society. Somalia's anthropic environment, or at least its fertile areas, is characterised by small plantations of a family nature; Sugar cane, syrup, alcohol and tropical fruit are produced. Waterworks of some importance have allowed over the decades to extensively extend the cultivable areas.

Agriculture

Agriculture in Somalia is a major employment activity and is the largest economic sector in the country. It contributes more than 55% to the Somali GDP from domestic distribution and exports to other parts of the continent and Europe. Agricolture also employs 50% of the workforce. Livestock alone contributes about 35% to GDP and more than 45% of export.
Somalia's agricolture consists of both traditional and modern production, with a marked shift in favor of modern industrial techniques.

Herding

Camel, sheep and goat herding are the main types of local pastoralism, particularly in the northern part of the country. Livestock include the Somali goat and Somali sheep. The animal is mainly reared for meat production, and is a major export of the Somalian economy, particularly to the Arabian peninsula.
Somali trade has increasingly challenges Australia's traditional dominance over the Gulf Arab livestock and meat market, offering quality animals at competing prices. The export infrastructure are operated by the Somali Government, while farmlands are sold or otherwise exchanged only with the Ministry approval. Usually only Somalis and Italians are allowed to purchase farmlands. Most livestock is exported through the northern ports of Bender Cassim, Berbera and Mogadiscio. Each of these ports also has an animal quarantine facility in Mogadiscio.
The State-owned Compagnia Nazionale di Manifattura di Prodotti Animali, based in Rocca Littorio but with facilities in the North, has some of the highest quality natural skins and leather manufactured goods on the continent. The firm exports a little over 90,000 tonnes of hides and skins every year from Bender Cassim and Rocca Littorio to the Italian Empire and Italy, as well as India, Pakistan, Turkey and China. Burco and Rocca Littorio are home of advanced livestock markets, which can accommodate more than 2,000 merchants each.

Farming

Somalia's farming areas are concentrated in the southern part of the country, in the Gedo, Medio Giuba, Basso Giuba, Basso Scebeli, Medio Scebeli and Hiran regions. The Giuba River and Scebeli River pass through these provinces, rendering the soil more conducive to crop cultivation than the comparatively arid north.

Principal crop exports include bananas; sugar, sorghum and corn are also products for the domestic market. Imports of goods total about $460 million per year. Exports total about $570 million annually. Small scale intensive farming also exists, mainly operated by the Italian population.

Both Oltregiuba and Scebeli River basins are naturally fertile and irrigation ehnancement efforts have been pursued since 1920s. Other areas are subject to the drip irrigation, in particular coastal areas between El Der and Eil, as well as regions between Eil and Gardo. Subsurface drip irrigation uses permanently or temporarily buried dripperline or drip tape located at or below the plant roots. Areas drip-irrigated have the farms grouped together within Territorial Agricultural Consortia. These Consortia, mostly run by Italians and by Italian Somalis, are overseen by the Directorate of Assisted Irrigation of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The heart town of Somali farming is Genale, Basso Scebeli, a few kilometres away from Merca. In this city there is the seat of the Government Experimental Farm, the historic driving force of economic development of the Somali agricolture, and still a leading centre of innovation.

There are several policies enforced in order to ensure water security. Some of these are drilling deep wells, massive desalination through the State Desalination Plants, reusing treated sewage for farming, finding and fixing leaks early, engineering crops to thrive in onerous conditions, making efficient toilets mandatory, and pricing water to discourage waste.

The Ministry of Infrastructures is responsible for maintenance and expansion of waterworks. Its Directorate of Water and Sewerage is the Somali water authority. The Directorate is part of the System of Water and Sewerage of Italian East Africa and is coordinated by the Italian Ministry of Infrastructures through the Directorate-General for Infrastructures and Logistics of the Ministry of Imperial Affairs.
The Directorate of Water and Sewerage includes a Consultative Council. The Council is composed of senior representatives of the Ministries of Economic Activities, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Interior, as well as of representatives of producers (owners and workers), suppliers (owners and workers) and consumers.

Fishery is mainly for exportation (both in Italy and in other Realms of the Italian Empire) due to the reduced size of the internal market. Main fishing towns are Alula and Capo Guardafui in Bari Region, Migiurtinia. Other important fishing centres are Coriolei, in Basso Scebeli Region, Geledi, and Eil, in Nogal, Migurtinia. Fishing is assisted by a specialised branch of Società Creditizia per l'Industria and by the Directorate of Fishery of the Ministry of Maritime Economy.

Transportation

Roadway map of Somalia

Somalia's network of roads is 40,100 km long. As of 2010, 22,608 km streets are paved. The 1,750 km A-1 highway connects major cities in the northern part of the country, such as Gibuti, Hargheisa, Berbera, and Bender Cassim; the A-4 highway connecting Bender Cassim and Bereda is 450 km long; the 2,500 km A-2 highway connects Bereda, Rocca Littorio, Obbia, Muqakoori, Mogadiscio, Merca, and Chisimaio.

The Somali Civil Aviation Authority (Italian: Autorità Somala per l'Aviazione Civile, A.S.A.C.; Somali: Hay'adda Duulista Hawada ee Soomaaliya, HaDuHaSo; Arabic: الهيئة الصومالية للطيران المدني al'Hayyat al'Suwmaliat al'Tayaran al'Madanii, usually shortened in al'Hayyat) is Somalia's national civil aviation authority body. It was established in 1997, by splitting the Italian East Africa Civil Aviation Authority (Autorità per l'Aviazione Civile in Africa Orientale Italiana, A.A.C.A.O.I.).

62 airports in various cities across Somalia accommodate aerial transportation; five airports have international airport status. Major airports in the nation include the Benito Mussolini International Airport in Mogadiscio, the De Vecchi International Airport in Hargeisa, the Littorio International Airport in Chisimaio, the Siad Barre Airport in Iscia Baidoa, and the Italo Balbo International Airport in Bender Cassim.

Alongside the Italian Airlines, Somali Airlines (established in 1967) is the subsidiary flag carrier of Somalia. There are some private carriers with capitals owned by both Somali and Italian people, such as the Aerolinee Oceaniche Italo-Somale and the Aviazione di Somalia.

Possessing the longest coastline on the continent, Somalia has several major seaports. Maritime transport facilities are found in the port cities of Mogadiscio, Bender Cassim, Brava, Berbera, Chisimaio, Dante, Gibuti, Merca. All major Somali seaports are connected to Addis Abeba by rail.

Ports of Candala, Las Gorei and Isis are mainly used for support to other ports.

Somalia possesses the a large merchant fleet registered in the Somali Naval Registry. It consists of 15 oil tankers (average size 2000 tons), 20 bulk ore carriers (average size 20000 tons), and 250 other crafts with average tonnage of 5000 to 10000.

See also

• Italian Empire (Kingdom of Italy)
• Somali Gendarmerie (Italian Empire)
• Somali National Republican Guard (Italian Empire)