Auditor General exposes errors in Somalia's skewed expenditures

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The weak avenues in Somalia's suspicious expenditures in government operations have been exposed by Auditor General Mohamed Ali, in his latest 2019/20 report, which shows various gaps that government departments have failed to account for in their expenditures.

Mohamed Ali, the Auditor General investigated 35 government agencies and found 246 errors from financial reporting, asset management, expenditure, and departments failing to register contracts with his office, something which could raise serious accountability questions.

The report comes amid claims from the opposition that the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo is keen to use public resources for campaigns that are ongoing. The country is expected to hold parliamentary elections from this month.

In some of the notable suspicious errors, the office of Somali PM made payments of $163,806.49 to some companies without adequate supporting documents and the Office of the President did not have an approved policy and procedures on storage and accounting for the assets, the report noted.

The report further reveals suspected corruption at the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs of the Federal Government of Somalia. 21 visas out of the 115 meant for service providers were given to MPs, Ministers, and other people to attend the Hajj of 2019/20 contrary to the deal with KSA.

Also, 57 companies providing Hajj services paid $1,742,100.00 into the 5 private bank accounts out of which the $1,167,065 was remitted to the Central Bank while the balance of US $ 575,000.00 was kept in commercial or private banks. This raises questions about the prudence in the financial management of the country.

Further, about 55 percent of Somali government ministries, departments, and agencies failed to submit annual financial statements in the financial year 2019, the office of the Auditor General said in his annual report. He, however, did not delve into the circumstances surrounding the delays.

Somalia has been battling dubious spending some of which have at times forced major financial donors to freeze or suspend aid, something which forced even the Ministry of Defense to come with the biometric register of the Somali National Army [SNA] following the US decision to suspend aid.

But even now, the report shows that $12.2 million could not be accounted for, something which could further heighten political temperatures in the country. President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo is serving his first term but has shown interest in defending his seat later in February next year.

GAROWE ONLINE