Photo File: Ahmed Yusuf Dirir, Auditor General
HARGEISA–The Auditor office of Somaliland says that many officials who are implicated of graft are in custody.
Hon. Ahmed Yusuf Dirir, the Auditor General reveals that many more officials are expected to be put behind bars for corruption allegations in Somaliland. Mr. Ahmed has also announced that his commission came up with a new strategy to overcome the corruption stigma which has become a cancer to Somaliland society. The Auditor has asserted that there are eight corruption probe which are underway at the moment. Mr. Ahmed has further disclosed that there are officials who are in detention in Hargeisa and Berbera and who are facing a prosecution for the alleged graft. He also stated that there is a new strategy in place which will allow citizens to report either via a website or the televisions. The country which has been independent for 27 years still is believed to be one of the nations where corruption is prevalent. The dismissed chairman of Public Account Committee of the national house of assembly, Hon. Nasir Ali Shire, said that the committee conducted a rigorous probe into the corruption allegations that they have read the report in front of the house. All of the graft allegations that PAC revealed was based on the final report of the national budgets in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Mr. Nasir has added their investigation has targeted certain areas which disclosed the widespread corruption against former ministers including public works and the coordination council. He also made clear that they have visited the projects which were not completed in Hrageisa, Borama and Burao. They have seen with their naked eyes that these projects were corrupted by certain ministers who were named in the report. The revamp of prison in Borama and Shullac stadium in Hargeisa were not completed after having said that the ministries have spent much money and still they are not accomplished. The irony is that PAC chairperson said that they contacted the auditor office for corrections into the previous national budget for probing. The auditor general has refuted with the strongest possible terms that PAC did not stay in touch with him but was following the unfolding corruption probe via the broadcasting media.
