EDITORIAL: Why is President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud’s Cabinet Quietly Endorsing a New €35 Million Loan?

On 24th August 2025, Garowe Online published this article informing the Somali people that the European Investment Bank (EIB) is weighing a loan of up to €70 million to Somalia’s Development and Reconstruction Bank (SDRB), marking the first such financing since 1980. The move comes less than two years after Somalia secured $4.5 billion in debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

Now Garowe Online has received additional information indicating what appears to be a significant financial decision — that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud (HSM) and his Cabinet have quietly endorsed a first tranche €35 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The same article noted that a high-level EIB delegation was scheduled to visit Mogadishu in September to conduct due diligence on the Somalia Reconstruction and Development Bank (SRDB) — a bank reportedly led by two individuals who are close family members of President HSM. That visit took place, and the due diligence process has been concluded.

In an unusual turn, on 30th October 2025, the Ministerial Cabinet meeting endorsed the €35 million loan, but the meeting agenda and official minutes published by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) make no mention of it.

This omission raises serious and legitimate questions: Why was such a significant financial decision excluded from the public record? What motivation might the President’s administration have for handling this matter quietly?

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What This Means for Somalia

The close affiliation between the SRDB leadership and President HSM raises concerns around governance, transparency, and the potential for nepotism.

The lack of public disclosure regarding the Cabinet’s endorsement has the potential to undermine public trust and fuel further political and financial uncertainty.

If these funds are managed without proper oversight and institutional safeguards, Somalia risks taking on liabilities that future governments — and ultimately the Somali people — will be forced to bear.

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So, the Key Question Is:

Why is President HSM’s Cabinet hiding this? Is it a benign attempt to fast-track reconstruction financing, or is it a red flag signalling that a key public decision is being taken without proper democratic or institutional checks?

Either way, the people of Somalia deserve to know.