President Irro of Somaliland has issued a decree establishing a ministerial committee to oversee security reforms in the country. The committee, chaired by the Minister of Defense, who lacks prior experience in the security sector, has drawn criticism due to the limited security expertise among its members.
The committee includes the Ministers of Interior and Security, Finance, Fishery Development, and Presidency, as well as the President’s Security Advisor. While the Advisor possesses security knowledge, concerns have been raised about the lack of experience within the committee as a whole.
This appointment follows the recent change in leadership within the police and military. President Irro’s campaign platform emphasized the need for security force reforms, but the public response to the committee’s composition and the appointment of a former military operations commander as the new police chief has been met with disappointment from many of the advocates of police reform.