Somalia: PM orders finance ministry to release funds for flood prevention as $2.6M go missing

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire has ordered the finance ministry to release funds towards mitigation of perennial floods in Beledweyne town of Hiran region, his office said in a statement, amid mounting allegations of embezzlement of donor money meant for the same purpose.

The funds, Khaire said, should be "immediately" channeled to the central town, which has been the epicenter of floods in Somalia for a couple of months now. The office did not however, reveal the amount set aside for the mitigation of the flash floods.

In November last year, over 60,000 people were displaced from the town in located in central Somalia with dozens succumbing, authorities had said, after River Shebelle broke its banks, the worst tragedy in as many years according to Food and Agricultural Organization.

But even after the tragedy, the region has been exposed to flash floods in recent weeks, due to ongoing rains within the country. The flash floods have literally destroyed livelihoods among other things, sweeping of cash crops and livestock, which are solitary source of income for residents.

The decision to release the funds, the PM's office noted, was arrived after a task force team presented a report on the raging rains which have caused havoc within Somalia. Children and women are the most affected by the floods, UN had said

"The PM Hassan Ali Khaire has instructed the finance ministry to facilitate the costs for the joint efforts by FGS and the public to avert the recurrent floods in Beledweyne," Khaire said in a tweet, giving hope to thousands of disillusioned families.

More often than not, the PM has single handedly managed disasters in Somalia, placing his office as the central coordination center. This is even happening now as the country confronts harsh reality of Coronavirus pandemic.

Although the PM did not give a specific timeline for the release of the funds, he works closely with Abdirahman Duale Beileh, the country's finance minister, under whose government the Horn of Africa nation has witnessed radical financial reforms.

The swift action comes just hours after a section of Beledweyne flood prevention committee has accused federal government of Somalia of failing to account for close to $2.6 million mainly donated by the People's Republic of China and Djibouti towards mitigation of floods in the region.

But despite the money being donated ostensibly for helping to avert humanitarian crisis, sources intimate, authorities are yet to handover, seven months after the tragedy, which also destroyed livelihoods among them food crops in the region.

Haji Osman Dhagahow, the chairman of Beledweyne floods rescue committee, told Voice of America on Friday that the only assistance dispatched to the region by the federal government was 600 sandbags, which were delivered recently.

While the locals are directing fury to the federal government, Dahir Amin Jesow, a Somali MP, told the media that HirShabelle President Mohamed Abdi Waare should be held responsible for the missing funds.

He said: "The real culprits are not at the Prime Minister's office. They are in the office of our regional President Abdi Waare. He should come out clean over this. We can't have people mismanaging funds for their selfish interests."

When the region was plunged into floods last year, dozens of opposition leaders led by former Presidents Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud spearheaded efforts to distribute humanitarian aid to the affected families.

The federal government seems to have resuscitated it's efforts to help thousands of people affected with the floods, given it's recent donations to Puntland after flash floods also engulfed Qardho town, leaving at least six dead and scores missing.

For the past few months, Somalia has been entangled in serious crises, which have affected generally the lives of people. The COVID-19 pandemic, floods, inter-clan conflicts and perennial Al-Shabaab havoc top the list, officials said.

This year, the country is set to hold it's first ever universal suffrage polls, but the escalating crises risks necessitating of postponement, which could create a political crisis. Already, neighboring Ethiopia has cancelled August polls due to Coronavirus outbreak, a move which infuriated opposition factions.

GAROWE ONLINE