

Somalia: Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism – Press Release (26.08.2020)







Elections slated for November delayed due to COVID-19.
NEW YORK, United States of America, August 21, 2020 – With elections slated for November delayed due to COVID-19, Somalia is at a critical juncture, the top United Nations official in the country told the Security Council on Thursday, pressing federal and state leaders to agree on voting modalities, and bolster the capacity of forces which are meant to assume full control of national security, next year.
“We understand that there are strongly held divergent views among the leaders and political tensions are high in this pre-electoral period”, said James Swan, Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). “Yet, it is precisely during such moments that it is most necessary for the nation’s leaders to engage in dialogue.”
He described the current dilemma to ambassadors, whereby Parliament must be elected through universal direct suffrage, according to the Provisional Federal Constitution.
However, the Constitution also stipulates that Parliamentary elections must be held every four years – meaning that elections are due by the end of this coming November. It is impossible to satisfy both of these requirements, he said. Broad agreement is needed.
Leaders convene
In an effort to reach a compromise, Somali leaders convened in Dhusamareeb this week, he said, commending President Mohamed Abdillahi Mohamed “Farmajo” and the presidents of the Federal member states of Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West for their participation. “It is incumbent on Somalia’s leaders to rise to this moment in history and pursue agreement in the national interest”, he asserted.
Upsurge in al-Shabaab attacks
On the security front, he described a “worrying upsurge” in al-Shabaab attacks, particularly in Mogadishu, drawing attention to the 16 August assault on the Elite Hotel and an unquestionable need for “hard security” operations to counter the group.
Indeed, Somalia is to take the lead on its security matters in 2021, he said, and while Federal authorities have completed a concept note for updating the transition plan, force generation has faced setbacks in meeting 2020 projections, owing to COVID-19.
Floods, drought, locust swarms compound pressures
On the humanitarian front, he described recurring cycles of floods and drought, compounded by desert locusts and COVID-19, stressing that more than 5 million people – one third of Somalia’s population — still require aid, and that the $1 billion Humanitarian Appeal is funded at around 50 per cent.
He expressed hope that the new Government and Prime Minister, once appointed, will accelerate the reform agenda for national development.
“Progress in Somalia requires a long-term commitment to governance, justice, respect for human rights, and inclusion of women, youth, and minorities to build the nation”, he said.
He also raised objections, in line with other senior UN rights officials, to a bill introduced in Parliament titled, “The Law on Sexual Intercourse Related Crimes”, which would violate protections against child marriage and forced marriage, as well as international human rights commitments to which Somalia is party.



More than 150,000 Somalis have been forced to flee their homes since late June, including some 23,000 in the last week alone.
GENEVA, Switzerland, August 7, 2020 – This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Yaxley – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
More than 150,000 Somalis have been forced to flee their homes since late June, including some 23,000 in the last week alone, due to flash and riverine flooding in the Southern regions of Somalia. Rapid assessments indicate that communities in Hirshabelle and South West States are amongst the worst hit. The year has seen extreme flooding, displacing over 650,000 people across the country since the beginning of the year.
Many of the newly displaced are now living in overcrowded, makeshift shelters constructed from old clothes, plastic bags, cardboard and sticks in already dire IDP sites. Such shelter provides little protection from the harsh weather, and leaves families exposed to increased risk of crimes like robbery and rape.
Food is in short supply and many are going hungry with rising malnutrition in children, leaving them at risk of starvation. In some areas, basic food items, particularly milk and vegetables, have increased in price between 20 and 50 per cent.
Sanitary conditions are poor and access to medical care scarce. Health partners warn of risk of diarrhoea, vector-borne diseases, respiratory-tract infections and other communicable diseases rapidly spreading amongst the displaced population. While there has been no reported major COVID-19 outbreak, testing remains extremely limited and congestion and unsanitary conditions are risks for wide-spread transmission. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has been providing core relief items such as blankets, jerry cans and plastic sheets, as well as shelter and cash to thousands of affected families. Distributions will continue in the coming days and weeks, reaching a total of some 70,000 people facing heightened vulnerabilities, including women, female/child headed households, disabled persons, the elderly and ill, and vulnerable members of the hosting community.
UNHCR’s assistance is reaching some of the worst affected regions across Banaadir, South West, Hirshabelle, Jubbaland, Puntland, Galmaduug. The Federal Government of Somalia has also responded to the floods, including in recent weeks setting aside USD 500,000 to address the floods in South West state. Despite these interventions, however, more humanitarian support is needed to address insecurities in food, water and sanitation, emergency shelter and health services.
More people risk being displaced as flooding is likely to continue in certain regions. According to the latest flood advisory report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Shabelle River’s water levels will continue to rise due to heavy rains.
The latest floods point to a worrying pattern where extreme weather conditions are increasing in frequency and intensity. Prior to June 2020, flash floods and riverine flooding caused by seasonal rains displaced more than 450,000 in the country. With floods in 2018 and 2019 displacing 281,000 and 416,000 persons respectively, the flood-based displacement figures demonstrate a rising year-to-year trend. Somalia’s re-occurring climate related emergencies result in devastating impact on communities who heavily rely on farming and livestock for their livelihood.
The surging flooding and displacement take place against the backdrop of Somalia’s ongoing fight to curtail the spread of Covid-19, which has a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable, including the displaced. The Government of Somalia, UNHCR and humanitarian partners continue to work in IDP settlements across the country to provide displaced communities and vulnerable hosting communities with medical equipment, protective personal equipment (PPE), hygiene and sanitation support, and cash assistance. UNHCR urges landlords in the country to uphold a moratorium on evictions in these extremely challenging circumstances.
Urgent support is needed from the international community to support the relief efforts. UNHCR has so far received just 33 per cent of the USD154.4 million needed for its humanitarian efforts in Somalia, including for an estimated 2.6 million IDPs and 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers being hosted in the country.

“Our young people think about nothing more than love affairs and pleasure. They spend more time attempting to seduce and dishonor young women than in thinking about their country’s welfare. Our women, in order to take care of the house and family of God, forget their own. Our men limit their activities to vice and their heroics to shameful acts. Children wake up in a fog of routine, adolescents live out their best years without ideals, and their elders are sterile, and only serve to corrupt our young people by their example.” – José Rizal, Noli Me Tángere
Pardon my French, but no sane person or collective, even organizations and governments really lose millions upon millions of dollars. They are spending it and hiding the recites. It is that simple. It isn’t like a pseudo-science or science fiction for that matter. It is just blatant misuse of funds and trying to covering up the tracks that are left behind. Because, suddenly without any effort, the money just vanish.
I understand when people are losing small change, some shillings, some notes of a certain value. Nevertheless, not in the millions. Neither the sudden lack of effort of not explaining how it went. Because this amounts of money doesn’t evaporate or go bad as old food. It is cash money and when it is gone, it is because it is spent on something.
“The Somalia Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget has released a new statement alleging mismanagement of funds at the Ministry of Finance. In the report, it was revealed that about $42M is unaccounted for and the Finance Ministry headed by Minister Abdirahman Beilleh, has not been able to provide any reason or explanation on how the funds ‘disappeared’. Of the funds unaccounted for is $20 million which is part of a $50 million budgetary support from Saudi Arabia granted to the Somalia government in the year 2017 According to the report the funds have not been indicated in the 2018 budget” (Hiiraan Online – ‘$42M Missing from Somalia’s Ministry of Finance Accounts’ 22.11.2018).
This stories are getting old on me, the knowledge that the ones on high, the ones above the Ministry of Finance. Most likely knows the deals and arrangements, but they are untouchable, they have traded these funds and siphoned them to their side-projects or even side-dishes for that matter. Who knows, if they have entities abroad outside Mogadishu and Somalia. They might have investments in Kampala, Addis Ababa or even Nairobi.
This money can flied anywhere and to anyone. As the Ministry of Finance has no proof, no bill or no transactions paper to protocol the spending. That is lax financial control and should make both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), very very proud!
However, this is a proof of how the Villa Somalia is spending money like there is no tomorrow. Surely, the President Farmaajo and Prime Minister Kheire knows where these funds has gone. However, hey will not confess. They will not drop an LP like Usher with their confessions and tell their stories of cheating. Even if it would have been healthy, because their recordings are valued about $42m USD, I am no fat-cat, but that is good money. You can buy a lot of property and own big-businesses with that sort of cash-flow. No doubt. Peace.






The events unfolding in the last few days, including the divisions among the stakeholders, ahead of the upcoming presidential election in Somalia’s South West State, have the potential to lead to violence. The United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) calls on all parties and stakeholders to work together to ensure that this Somali-owned electoral process proceeds in accordance with the established rules and avoids any behaviour which may lead to conflict or undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
“With this election being the first in a series to be held around the country – both at the regional level next year and national level in 2020 – there is a real need to set the precedent for credible and peaceful electoral processes,” said the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Haysom. “I note that Somalia’s international partners had expressed similar hopes and concerns in November 2016 during the country’s federal parliamentary elections, when it called on all stakeholders to collaborate in ensuring a positive outcome.”
“I am confident that, in keeping with their tradition, Somali leaders will find a solution, through dialogue, to the issues surrounding this electoral process. An electoral process that is transparent, enjoys broad consensus on the rules governing its conduct, and is free from irregularities can only promote widespread acceptance of the results, and avoid violent confrontations at or after polling,” added Mr. Haysom, who also serves as UNSOM’s head.
The regional assembly of South West State is due to hold a presidential election on 17 November. Similar votes will take place in the Federal Member States of Puntland and Jubaland in 2019.