Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 21:24:00 +0200
UN alleges illegal arms trade, corruption rampant in Somalia
By KEVIN J KELLEY
Posted Saturday, October 18 2014 at 16:14
In Summary
Public assets
* The Monitoring Group expresses particular concern about a system of
"secret contracting" on the part of the federal government.
* "Contracts regarding national public assets affecting the public
interest have been signed by government officials but kept highly
confidential - from the Somali population, the parliament and, until now,
international donors," the report says.
Governance in Somalia remains riddled with corruption, a new United Nations
report says. It alleges that vast amounts of donor aid and port revenues are
being stolen while some arms shipments intended for security forces have
been diverted into the black market in Mogadishu.
The UN report also accuses a prominent Somali businessman, who has acted as
an advisor to the country's president, as being involved "in the leakage of
weaponry to Al Shabaab and other forces beyond the army."
It names Musa Haji Mohamed "Ganjab" as the presidential advisor who has been
involved in diverting arms supplies to Al Shabaab. In a comment quoted by
the Reuters news agency, Mr Ganjab denies the allegation "in the strongest
possible terms." He adds that he has never been involved "in any way in the
trafficking of arms to anyone."
The Islamist insurgent group is assessed in the report as still strong
despite strategic strikes by the United States against its leaders.
These attacks have yielded short-term gains, "but significantly failed to
diminish Al Shabaab's operational capacity," says the report. "There is no
current evidence that they have the potential to 'degrade and destroy' Al
Shabaab."
The report cites Shabaab's "Badru Nairobi Operation" - the attack last year
on the Westgate Mall - as evidence of the group's potency and its strategic
alignment with the Al Qaeda network. The Westgate slaughter was "conceived
in Somalia, planned from a United Nations refugee camp and executed from
Eastleigh in Nairobi," the report says.
It adds in a footnote that the UN Monitoring Group "remains extremely
concerned at the use of United Nations camps as safe havens and staging
grounds for Al Shabaab operations. Since its mandate in 2010, it has
observed an increased Al Shabaab presence, exploiting such camps for terror
activities."
Political circumstances changed in Somalia in 2012 with the establishment of
a federal government, but the report warns that corruption has in some cases
made things worse. Up to 80 per cent of government funds are being diverted
and used for "partisan agendas that constitute threats to peace and
security," the eight-member Monitoring Group finds.
In addition, at least 35 per cent of revenues generated by the port of
Mogadishu "cannot be accounted for," the report says. It also cites
"continued diversion of humanitarian assistance by state actors (including
the security forces) non-state armed actors (including Al Shabaab), staff of
humanitarian agencies, private contractors and criminal entities."
The Monitoring Group, which operates under the auspices of the UN Security
Council, expresses particular concern about a system of "secret contracting"
on the part of the federal government.
"Contracts regarding national public assets affecting the public interest
have been signed by government officials but kept highly confidential - from
the Somali population, the parliament and, until now, international donors,"
the report says. It notes that this absence of accountability "creates the
opportunity for misappropriation."
The federal government has also failed to comply with the terms of a
modified arms embargo set forth by the Security Council in 2013 and adjusted
earlier this year, the 482-page report adds.
The loosening of the embargo enables the Somalia government to import
weapons for the exclusive use of its security forces. A Security Council
resolution stipulates that these weapons must not be made available to any
other entities.
About 13,000 weapons of various types and 5.5 million rounds of ammunition
have been or will be delivered to the federal government in accordance with
these terms, the report says. "Some of the weapons and ammunition have been
diverted to arms markets in Mogadishu," it said.
In a portion of the report focused on Somali piracy, the Monitoring Group
makes note of the steep reduction in such operations in the past few years
but warns that the underlying causes.
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/image/view/-/2491076/medRes/853589/-/maxw/60
0/-/9k0ughz/-/alshabaab.jpg
Some arms shipment meant for security forces have found their way into the
black market. PHOTO | FILE | AFP
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)