Somali National Army (SNA) - Budget

SIPRI does not have a figure for Somalia's military budget. Military expenditures data from SIPRI are derived from the NATO definition, which includes all current and capital expenditures on the armed forces, including peacekeeping forces; defense ministries and other government agencies engaged in defense projects; paramilitary forces, if these are judged to be trained and equipped for military operations; and military space activities. Such expenditures include military and civil personnel, including retirement pensions of military personnel and social services for personnel; operation and maintenance; procurement; military research and development; and military aid (in the military expenditures of the donor country).

Excluded are civil defense and current expenditures for previous military activities, such as for veterans' benefits, demobilization, conversion, and destruction of weapons. This definition cannot be applied for all countries, however, since that would require much more detailed information than is available about what is included in military budgets and off-budget military expenditure items. (For example, military budgets might or might not cover civil defense, reserves and auxiliary forces, police and paramilitary forces, dual-purpose forces such as military and civilian police, military grants in kind, pensions for military personnel, and social security contributions paid by one part of government to another.)

Somalia's new leaders aim to train and equip a professional army of about 28,000 soldiers, but they are hamstrung by a lack of cash, Abdihakim Fiqi said during a trip to London to drum up donor support. Somalia's armed forces have not received "a single bullet" despite the partial lifting of a United Nations arms embargo because the East African country lacks funds, its defense minister said May 08, 2013. The arms embargo was lifted almost two months ago and we haven't received a single bullet or one single AK-47 or gun. Nothing. Because of lack of resources," Fiqi told the Royal United Services Institute defense think tank in London.

Lack of pay has been a key contributor to low morale. Major General Dahir Adan Elmi, head of the Somalia National Army, said in 2014 that “The Somali government is now ready to pay all Somalia military soldiers their monthly wage. This has really helped us to manage the force because they feel they have a sense of responsibility to their country and for the first time, we can easily relocate the soldiers across the country,” said Major General Elmi. Challenges aside, he insisted: “We are a small force that has just been reborn, but our morale is steadfastly growing, and if the challenges we are facing are to be addressed, then we can do a lot.”

Somalia’s Western backers, including the United States, have been effectively paying the wages of Somali government troops. The European Union recently cut the monthly stipend it pays to AMISOM soldiers. Former defense minister Haji-Faqi said 28 April 2016 that it was vital the support continues. “They need support by the international community because the government financially is not in the position to pay their salaries and to arm their military. And also to lift the arms embargo against the Somali national army,” Haji-Faqi said. Militia integration progressed in 2016, albeit slowly, in line with the integration plan of the Federal Government. Both it and the Somali national army have increased support and enhanced training to address these challenges in Kismaayo. UNSOM and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) were seeking to implement a support package as swiftly as possible for the integration of 3,000 Puntland troops into the Somali national army.

The military stipends project, funded by the Governments of the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, for Somali national army soldiers continued in 2016. During the first half of the year, 18,818 registered soldiers were paid stipends totalling $2.9 million. The regular payment of salaries for security personnel continues to be a major issue, with direct implications for the country’s security situation. Army salaries are estimated to be between 6 and 13 months in arrears, and salaries for the police up to 15 months.