Breaking Point in Somalia: How state failure was financed and by whom

An expose on high-level corruption cover-ups, financial mismanagement and budget diversions that purposely sustains the status quo of the failed state.

The report raises serious questions about the relationship between the federal government and the international community in Somalia, and the effects of the lack of a harmonized development agenda. The report also raises questions as to the existence of shadow groups – foreign consultants, Islamist leaders (cartels), and domestic/external budget support diversion advisors – secretively exerting unchecked influence in Somalia aimed at serving their own political gains. According to Abdirazak Fartaag, Chief Executive Officer for Fartaag Research and Consulting, “financial failure goes hand-in-hand with security failure, and now political failure in Somalia.”

The issues this report covers:

How the mismanagement of the national budget in Somalia has created a parallel government supported by the Federal Government and the International Community. And how the latter reduced the authority of the federal government by directly funding corrupt non-state actors without the knowledge of the federal government. These corrupt non-state-actors include: IIDA, CRD and SSWC.

Diversion of approximately US $1 billion (86 percent of the total federal budget) that was utilised in illegal programme activities throughout 2013-2015 during the presidency of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The diversions are centralised at the ministry of finance with the president’s two special advisors from Somaliland. The advisors are responsible for domestic revenue diversion and external support diversion. They also provide guidance on the support to be recorded in government accounts, as well as the amounts to be under-scaled or omitted. The special advisors are Ms. Hodan Osman and Dr. Abdisalam Omer (current Minister of Foreign Affairs).

The proven fact that substantial amounts of donor funds have been diverted, although many Western embassies and the UN have repeatedly ignored this. The Head of the EU delegation in Somalia, Michele Cervone d’Urso, former head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, Nicholas Kay, former UK Ambassador to Somalia, Desmond Patrick (Neil) Wigan and the current World Bank Country Director, Bella Bird, and their junior officials appear to be enabling financial diversion in their refusal to accept that this practice in the Somalia government exists.

How president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud relied on foreign consultants (aka “financial network spoilers”) who are strategically spread across all the line ministries/departments/agencies to safeguard the government’s public relationships with the international community. These consultants include: Abyrint, Sahan Research and IDLO.

The failure of international community at rebuilding Somalia calls for new thinking. For 25 years this approach has neglected institutional building, and reconciliation, which should have been their main focus. In order for Somalia to move away from its status of a failed state, there is need to call on the expertise of qualified and experienced professionals who have the capacity to push for change in transforming the Somali society.

It would be prudent to constitute one joint investigative body for all the sectors of the country’s development programmes. The body should be based at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa/Nairobi, as this would provide security and safeguard the investigation reports.

Read the full report

http://fartaagconsulting.com/PDF/BREAKING%20POINT%20IN%20SOMALIA.pdf

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Abdirazak Fartaag
Chief Executive Officer
Fartaag Research & Consulting
Mobile: +254 715 617 214
www.fartaagconsulting.com

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