The Parliamentary Ethics Committee has announced that they have sufficient evidence to proof that the former minister of public works and housing Mr.Ali Mohammed Hassan (Ali Marehan) in collusion with Al Baraka Construction Company fleeced the government in construction of the Burao Correctional Facility which has now been pending despite of their promise to finish the project within two years but has not yet been competed even after the lapse of the two years.
The anti-corruption and ethics committee held a press conference to inform the public of their findings. The committee confirmed that more than $400,000 of public money is an accounted for since the invoices and receipts do not add up. According to letter signed by the former minister which the anti corruption committee produced during the press briefing.
The committee said “Following up the president order we have decided that the land that was given to Dahabshiil Group should be revalued and then the proceeds of that money should go to the completion of the Burao Prison.
The land in question measures 103*30 meters and costs $927,000. The minister stated in his letter that $350,000 was discounted for the government and $577,000 was the amount of money handed to the construction company to construct the Burao prison. In another document the minster states that the $350,000 was used to buy land for the original settlers of the aforementioned government land that belongs to the Somaliland Police. On the other hand Dahabshiil group revealed that it built the news houses for the settlers.
The chairman of the parliamentary watchdog committee for anti corruption and ethics Hon. Nassir Ali Shire confirmed that the Burao Prison saga is shrouded in secrecy which shows there is more than meets the eye.
Members of parliament present at the press conference confirmed that they will not leave any stone unturned until all stolen government assets are accounted for, they promised to be vigilant in embarking on these investigations.
Horn
