Somalia ranked world's most corrupt nation

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The federal government of Somalia has been ranked as one of the most corrupt nations in the world, in what could give the option impetus to criticize the government of the outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.

For the last four years, Farmaajo has been accused of grand corruption, at times forcing members of the international community to call for fiscal discipline in the Horn of Africa nation.

Somalia's budget is largely financed by members of the international community, who have been pushing for state-building in the country. For three decades, Somalia has been largely unstable.

According to figures released by Transparency International, the corruption index increased from 10 points in 2016 when Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was in charge to 12 points in 2020 under the reign of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.

Transparency International says the country's corruption rank increased fr 176 in 2016 to 179 in 2020, further showcasing the lack of fiscal discipline in the country. Government institutions have been linked to the loss of public resources.

In 2020, the United States temporarily stopped financing Somali National Army [SNA], citing several instances of theft. However, the military has since embraced biometric identification of staff, further making it easy to detect fraudulent payments.

Under the period of review in 2016, African Development Bank adds, Somalia's exports decreased from $632 million in 2016 to $133 million. The Gross Domestic Product also decreased from 3.7 in 2016 to 1.5 in 2020.

Consequently, this means Somalia is also one of the poorest countries in the globe, with most citizens living below $1 a day. The country is also struggling with calamities such as drought and famine along with the Al-Shabaab menace.

The World Bank has defined extreme poverty as people living on less than $1.90 a day, measured using the international poverty line. The country has been ranked in that category, further showing how the economy has declined over years.

In Somalia, despite an increase of government revenue of 243% when compared 2012-2016 to 2017-2020 [past administration to current administration period], Extreme poverty has increased from 59% in 2016 to 63% in 2021. This is mainly due to double tax and lack of government-supported projects and job creation programs.

GAROWE ONLINE