Somalia: FMS Posts ministries suspend ties with Hassan Sheikh's administration over graft

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Federal Member States [FMS] through their Ministries of Posts and Communications suspended ties with the federal government of Somalia over what they term as "rampant" graft, in a statement issued on Wednesday that could potentially ruin the relationship between the two entities.

In the statement, the FMS ministries claimed the Ministry of Posts, Communications, and Technology was clandestinely managing the World Bank Digital Integration project. Valued $80 million, the project is set to kick off in the next few weeks and was meant to benefit regional states.

The ministries alleged that the parent ministry in Mogadishu had recruited its own employees and other foreign elements ostensibly to benefit from the mega project, and efforts to resolve the matter have been futile due to non-commitment from the Federal Government of Somalia [FGS].

On the spot is the patent ministry boss Jamac Hassan Khalif who they blame for severing ties between the states and federal government, adding that he has been working on the project without involving states which are major stakeholders.

The minister, the noted, has managed to singlehandedly run the show by canceling several meetings, suspending all workshops for states, and transferring them to the Federal Ministry. They now want federal leaders to immediately intervene and rescue the situation.

Three months ago, the federal states through their finance departments suspended cooperation with the government of Somalia over "serious violation of agreements" but the matter would later be solved following the National Consultative Council meeting in Mogadishu.

In Somalia, the federal system allows the central government to work closely with federal member states including but not limited to sharing of resources. Somalia adopted the federal system in 2012 but implementation at times has proven futile due to rigidity in the central government which at times starves states in terms of development.

GAROWE ONLINE