The cash that Arab states are offering Somali politicians is doing little for regional stability
Mogadishu's troubled Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has taken another knock with a report by the head of the Public Finance Management Unit, Abdirazak Fartaag, revealing that at least US$72 million in cash donations from Arab countries to Somali politicians had not been audited. The report detailed cash donations of over $75 mn. to government politicians in 2009-10. Only $2.8 mn. went into an audited account. Libya was the top donor, with $26 mn. According to the report, Sudan gave $21 mn., the United Arab Emirates $21 mn. and Oman $3 mn. ‘If the government says I am lying, let them open their records,’ Fartaag told reporters. The United Nations’ mandate for Somalia’s weak government expires in August, although some leaders may be forced out before that if the row is not resolved (AC Vol 52 No 1).
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