Somaliland Is Building Water Assets—but Who Will Maintain Them?
A completed dam is not a successful project if nobody is responsible when it fails.
Construction is accelerating
The World Bank-supported Barwaaqo programme has advertised multiple Somaliland water-infrastructure lots covering hafirs, sand dams, shallow wells and related works. Communities named in current procurement notices include Bali-Jilaal, Kal-dhadhaab, Daray-Godle, Il-Carmo, Karin-Shabeel and Fiqi-Aden.
These projects address a genuine national vulnerability: unreliable water access increases displacement, livestock losses and local conflict during dry periods.
The neglected question begins after completion
Development projects frequently measure contracts signed and structures completed. Communities experience a different test: whether the facility still works after pumps fail, sediment accumulates or local management disputes emerge.
Every project should identify the legal owner, maintenance budget, fee system, drought-access rules and responsible technician before construction concludes. Women and pastoral communities must participate in management because they often bear the greatest cost when systems fail.
WARYATV Assessment
Somaliland should require a five-year maintenance and performance plan for every donor-funded water asset. Authorities should publish location, contractor, cost, capacity, completion status and responsible management committee.
A broken water facility is not merely a technical disappointment. It can force migration, destroy livestock value and create competition between communities.
The national objective should move from counting completed structures to measuring reliable water delivered throughout the dry season.
