In this its entirety, the report furnishes the grim realities in Somalia.  It characterizes the current Somalia conflict as a “…”hybrid warfare”: a combination of conventional capabilities, irregular tactics and formations, as well as indiscriminate violence, coercion, and criminal disorder — compounded … by the interference of regional powers”.  It paints Southern Somalia as “a patchwork of fiefdoms controlled by rival armed groups — a political and security vacuum in which no side is strong enough to impose its will on the others”.    These arms groups though organized along “a superficial ideological overlay”, the report recognizes that the current crisis that bedevils the efforts of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) as one of incapacity “to contain a complex insurgency that conflates religious extremism, political and financial opportunism, and clan interests.”   Accordingly, “despite infusions of foreign training and assistance, government security forces remain ineffective, disorganized and corrupt — a composite of independent militias loyal to senior government officials and military officers who profit from the business of war and resist their integration under a single command”, the report argues.

At the regional and international contributions to the current violent conflicts in Somalia, this report alleges Yemen and Ethiopia as the Primary sources of arms supplies in violations of arms embargo imposed on Somalia in 1992. The report further outlines “United States, Uganda, and other parties” as key arms contributors to the beleaguered TFG.   According to the report, Eritrea is also alleged as a key provider of “political, diplomatic and possibly financial support” to the many of insurgent groups battling the current TFG.  

With regards to the TFG, the report vindicates the perception of many Somalis, both inside and outside the country, that this TFG, as other previously UN-backed stillborn transitional national governments, is a corrupt entity poised to exploit the misfortunes of Somalia for personal gains.   In an unprecedented manner, the report outlines, with great specific details, how government Ministers and members of its parliament utilize their official positions in what can only be described as human trafficking purposes.   These allegations, though vehemently denied by the TFG leadership, are, to many Somalis, at the tip of culture of corruption, mismanagements, and convenient misguiding of international opinions that have plagued this government and many of its predecessors.   Knowing full well of how the perceptions of these factors have contributed to the lack of genuine public support for its predecessors, the current TFG have yet to implement a transparent governance strategies.  A year after it was formally established, it has yet to furnish to its citizens and the world the details of it is fiscal policies, its expectations of internal revenue resources and international contributions, and more importantly the expenditures of these revenues. There appears to be no independent or governmental authorities that has/have mandate to ensure/report how this government spends/utilizes many of its internal revenues or the direct international funds provided to them (however inadequate).     

In a press statement released from the Office of Prime Minister and a press conference given by the current President, the top leaderships of the government are united in their rejection of the key elements of the UNG report critical at them and have characterized the findings as baseless and politically motivated smear campaign.  Two of the three Ministers accused of fraud and corruption - the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Fisheries, Mr. Abdirahman Ibrahim Adan Ibbi and the Minister of Constitutional Affairs, Madoobe Nunow Mohamed – also came out with similar statements without addressing the core of the issues they were accused.   Mr. Madoobe Nunow Mohamed, whom the report characterized as a “repeat offender” of an alleged Visa fraud, did make a statement of admission that some delegations of the Independent Federal Constitutional Commission (IFCC) indeed did not return from a training workshop held in Germany.  It is unclear whether these non-returnees were officials of this important Commission or “private individuals masquerading as ministry officials or relatives of the Minister” as the report alleges.  For instance, did Mr. Nunow’s own son fraudulently participate in the said training workshop as a member of the IFCC delegates with the intension of disappearing and seeking asylum in Europe? Is Mr. Nunow’s son a member of the individuals he admitted not to have returned to Somalia upon the completion of the training workshop?  These are simple and verifiable questions that Mr. Nunow must answer to if his rejections of the report are to carry any weight. Equally, Mr. Abdirahman Ibrahim Adan Ibbi and Ms. Fowsiya Mohamed Sheikh must answer to the substances of their alleged involvement in similar Visa frauds and human trafficking. 

Under article 33 of the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC), the Parliament is duty bound and required to discharge the functions (among others) to “(h) Investigate any matter of public interest” and moreover, “(i) Hold public hearings”.  In the interest of good governance and accountability, the current members of the parliament must investigate and hold these ministers accountable in a public hearing as per their sworn duties and a matter of public interest.   The Executive Branch of the Government, particularly the Office of the Prime Minister, must also undertake independent investigations about the alleged misconducts and practices of fraud of members of the Council of Ministers.   The findings of this investigation must be made available to the public and individuals found to have committed actions unbefitting of a government official must be removed from his/her duties.

The IFCC is an independent and important commission mandated by the current TFC (Article 68, passage 3a) with the expressed purpose of drafting a new constitution for Somalia. The charter also instructs the government to “request the International Community to provide both technical and financial support” to the efforts of IFCC as well as a National Census and internationally supervised National Referendum on the new Constitution. The UNDP-coordinated training workshop in Germany, in which Mr. Nunow stands accused of defrauding the allocated Visas for the Somali delegations, was part of the international communities’ efforts in assisting Somalia with constitution-building activities during this transition period.   The alleged exploitations of these efforts for human trafficking purpose, by a Minister “charged with the task of implementing Constitutional and Federal affairs” as per the TFC, is a reprehensible misconduct, at best, or a criminal offence that this government cannot afford to sweep it under the rug.   It undermines the creditability of this important commission, not to mention it violates the goodwill and faith of the donor countries and international institutions whose support, both in expertise and finance, this commission and government cannot fulfill its stated duties.   Therefore, it is important that this government takes these fraud allegations and all-the-too-common perceptions of corruption and mismanagements of public institutions and funds very seriously and takes appropriate action before it is too late.   Doing anything less will surely confirm the prevailing perception of façade government, as many of its predecessors, made up of unscrupulous bunch of misfit-bandits.

Abdiwahab A. Musse, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
E-Mail:mussea@gmail.com

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