Somali National treasurer announces millions of dollars stolen from government budget
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Somali National Auditor General Mohamed Mohamud Ali Afgoye has released an annual report on the audit of Somali government departments.
These reports cover the revenues of the Somali government both internally and externally and how they are managed, in particular the ministries and departments.
It also contains information specifically focusing on the costs of fighting COVID-19 and how it is managed.
He first said he had inspected 25 government agencies and three embassies this year.
The National Audit Office said in its report that the 2020 budget was $ 685 million and the audit was $ 287.8 million.
He said the cost of the various agencies for which there were no documents showing how they were managed was $ 9.1 million.
He said there was no evidence that all of the expenses had been spent by the 22 agencies investigated by the audit office.
The auditor added that contracts awarded by government agencies that are not registered with the auditor’s office cost $ 31 million.
He also said that his investigation revealed the existence of accounts used by some government agencies outside the central treasury.
He said $ 17 million in foreign aid had not been channeled through the central treasury.
He added Somalia’s embassies and offices abroad received $ 278,000 in revenue that year, which was not included in their financial statements.
He also said that the regional administrations and the Benadir region have not provided information on how they spent $ 78 million from the federal government.
Auditor General Mohamed Mohamud Ali, speaking about his investigation into the management of COVID-19 funds, said the government had received more than $ 51 million in revenue.
He said $ 3.9 million of that money had been given to regional administrations and the Benadir region without any evidence of expenditure.
He added that there was no clear plan to regulate the government’s response to the fight against COVID-19. He said there had been a lack of quarantine and adequate medical facilities despite funding available.
