Somali Auditor General Mohamed Ali Afgoye
Somalia is the world number one corrupt country
Mogadishu, Somali Times, The report, which is a first in the country presents an accountability challenge across the government and the executive as virtually all institutions could not account for funds used. “Receipts of external assistance for the year ended 31 December 2018 was understated by US $ 18,386,732,” the report says, adding some of the funds were held in offshore accounts and outside the Treasury Single Account. Out of $20 million Saudi Arabia grant disbursed to the Federal Government for the accounting period, only $6 million found way into the Treasury Single Account with a whopping $13 million not captured by the Financial Management Information System
According to the Auditor General Mohamed Ali Afgoye, annual accounts presented for audit considered only transactions of bank accounts that were in the Treasury Single Account and excluded those transactions in bank accounts that were not in the Treasury Single Account. The unaccounted funds were held outside.
The report also paints a picture of opaqueness in the management of public funds. All government ministries, the Banadir Regional Administration and the Federal Parliament did not submit their accounts for audit. The Accountant General’s office, which is tasked with preparing financial statements for audit too did not submit its accounts for auditing, the report says.
Several ministries spent money running into thousands of dollars either without supporting documents or lack of valid contracts, the report says. The Ministry of Finance could not adequately account for $142,000 because of lack of supporting documentation while Foreign Affairs made payments up to $852,000 to Somali embassies abroad but with no supporting documents. others are telecommunications, $78,000, Ports, $48,000, and Health,
Both the Lower House and Senate, which two did not submit their accounts made an unauthorized reallocate of about half a million dollars. The unauthorized internal reallocate at the Lower House amounted to US $362,000.00 while the Senate made similar reallocate totaling $145,500.