Somaliland: Exclusive Interview with Chairman of Good Governance and Anti-Corruption

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Somaliland: Exclusive Interview with Chairman of Good Governance and Anti-Corruption

HARGEISA — Somaliland Chairman of Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Commission Ahmed Mohamed Madar recently sat down with Somalilandpress for an exclusive interview. Mr Madar began by saying the country’s local government are well known for rampant corruption cases and the community at large was fed-up with the administration that is in charge of running the daily tasks. He affirmed that councils were the most corrupted institutions in the nation and as a watchdog they were watching them closely.

 

Mr Madar spoke about the birth of his agency the first in the country which came to existence after President Silanyo was sworn-in in July 2010. He said that during the presidential campaign the president Silanyo promised to fight corruption by establishing the country’s first corruption watchdog.

 

The chairman said that Kulmiye Party leadership has lived up to its pledges and as a result his commission was established by the President.

“Once the commission was formed, the next step was to establish the governing body of the commission and it was submitted to the Council of ministers and parliament for approval,” Mr Madar said.

“There were shortcomings when it came to government ministries, agencies and commissioners cooperating together to tackle existing corruption problems and defects within the system,” he recalled.

 

Mr Madar pointed his fingers at local councils saying they were widely practicing corruption and yet do not use adequate risk controls such as audits. He argued that common council functions – land sales, inspecting businesses, issuing fines and receiving cash payments – give more opportunity for fraud than other state agencies and government ministries. He added they were most prone to dodgy dealings.

“Local councils in the country are the starting point of our democracy and multiparty system. They are the longest serving body in the country and an accusatory finger is pointed at them. Apart from righting the wrongs and straightening good governance, they are the most corrupted institutions in the country. An action is required from the ruling administration to clean-up the mess. People at large are fed up with them. The forthcoming local council elections might also offer a solution.” He called for reforms and management controls including audit plan, fraud control plan and risk management process.

 

When the Chairman was asked about the work they have done so far, he responded by saying his organization was currently building offices, recruiting and training staff. He said one of the obstacles they faced was the fact that the watchdog had no voice and most of their employees were junior who needed training. Mr Madar said the commission did not have resources to fully conduct its job. The only capital that the commission is working with at the moment is meager funds from the government.

 

Mr Madar concluded with the interview by saying regulation governing his commission was before the parliament for review and he was optimistic it will come into effect.

[N.O.R.F]

A good start. I'm getting fed up with every department saying they need more funding though. How much does it cost to put a clear, well defined audit strategy in place? One man's time for a week and some printing paper!

[Carafaat]

Human Capital is expensive though.