GAROWE, Somalia, August 22, 2015 (Garowe Online)-Religious leaders warned Puntland government in northern Somalia against printing new bank notes in a meeting with a standing committee within Puntland parliament, Garowe Online has learned.

Prominent clerics shared the public’s concern over potential counterfeit Somali shilling which could further weaken the state’s ailing economy and purchasing power of already vulnerable families.

The discussion between Islamic scholars and parliamentarians has reportedly been prompted by reports of likely haul of fake currency.   

President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali’s administration is allegedly weighing to print new currency at note printing plant in Bossaso port city as part of pays for disgruntled security forces.

Well informed source tells Garowe Online that clerics advised the government to be frugal and spare state funds since more revenues are generated than it had been in the past.

Puntland economy plummeted to low in 2008 after many private plants proliferated at an alarming rate. Nevertheless, religious scholars played a pivotal role in the closure of illicit businesses.

Permanent parliamentary commissioners quashed possible deployment of United Nations protection squad in Puntland in blow to a suggestion agreed by Ali on August 17. 

GAROWE ONLINE