Somalia: Former president alleges loss of COVID-19 donations to black market in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia - In what could yet again ignite tensions between the Government and opposition bigwigs, Somalia's ex-President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has sensationally claimed that medical aid meant to fight Coronavirus are being swindled into the black market in Mogadishu.

Somalia has been receiving medical aid from a number of international partners, ostensibly for the fight against COVID-19, which has ravaged the war-torn nation. Besides medical supplies, the country has been receiving financial support including $137 million from the World Bank.

Turkey, the UAE, the US, Qatar, and the UN have been among key contributors, with also Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma donating medical supplies worth millions. As of Thursday, Somalia had recorded 1,594 cases, of which 211 had recovered and 61 succumbing to the infection.

But it's the sensational claim of smuggling these donations which could not dominate Somalia politics, following the allegations that most of the products were finding a way to market illegally within the streets of Mogadishu.

In his speech on the Occasion of Eid-al-Fitr on Saturday in Mogadishu, Ahmed, who served as president during the Transitional Government from 2009 to 2012, said some of the donations had been sighted within the streets but did not give tangible evidence to substantiate the allegations.

"It seems that several medical supplies donated by friendly governments to Somalia are not being used properly. Some of them were seen in the market, that is not good," said the former leader, who has been at loggerheads with federal leader Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo in recent months.

According to Ahmed, who was recently picked as the chairman of the Forum for National Parties [FNP], a conglomerate of six opposition parties, his office had received reports that the donations were being smuggled. However, he did not link any institution to the alleged scandal.

The Federal Government has been handling dispatched of the donations across all member states including secessionist Somaliland. Banadir region leads to the number of infections followed by Puntland and then Somaliland, the head department said.

But the incriminating allegations come just a week after Attorney General Mohamed Mohamoud revealed that his office was investigating alleged corruption within the health department. He did not mention the amount of money alleged to have been stolen.

So far, he said, over 20 senior health officials have been arrested, their bank accounts frozen with police seizing incriminating evidence in the form of fake receipts, payment slips, and cheques used to satisfy the fraudulent activities.

"The Office of the Attorney General is handling a corruption case which started from the Ministry of Health and later spread to other ministries and top government officials," he said in a rare press conference.

"We've detained more than 20 officials including directors within the Health Ministry, heads of government departments and project coordinators, consultants and staff from private firms working with Ministry of Health," he added.

Last month, authorities in Somalia arrested Abdullahi Hashi, the Director-General of Ministry of Health and Mohamud Mohamed Bule, who had been in charge of finance in the department after failing to account for millions of aid money. They are the first major arrests in the ongoing probe to unearth missing funds.

And Ahmed now wants the government to put emphasis on building special hospitals for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, with the figure expected to rise exponentially in the coming days. Martini Hospital is the only known isolation facility within the country.

"We are aware that many people died at Martini hospital for lack of care," he added, urging local doctors to join hands in fighting the pandemic, which has so far seen infection of 5 million people will an additional 350,000 deaths worldwide.

With almost a dysfunctional healthcare system, Somalia has struggled to contain the disease, a fact manifested in the rate of infections. The war-torn nation leads with both infections and deaths across East and Horn of Africa.

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is among high profile leaders expected to challenge Farmajo in the much anticipated December polls.

Last week, African Union [AU] Mission chief in Somalia Francisco Madeira told the UN Security Council that the preparations for the polls are ongoing despite the raging Coronavirus pandemic.

GAROWE ONLINE