Somali Parliament enacts a nearly billion-dollar budget for 2022

The outgoing finance minister faced tough questions from the MPs over why he did not submit audits to the parliament over the budgets of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 during the term of the 10th parliament.

News Keydmedia Online
30 June 2022

MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Federal parliament of Somalia on Thursday has overwhelmingly approved a nearly $1 billion budget for the financial year 2022 at the third reading that saw a heated three-day debate.

The $918.7 million national budget was enacted in a joint Lower and Upper Houses of the parliament sitting after 204 lawmakers voted in favor, 2 rejected and 2 abstained, according to the Speaker of the lower house Aden Madobe, who co-chaired with Abdi Hashi.

During the three-day debate, the parliamentarians grilled the minister of finance Abdirahman Dualle Beileh over $ 193 million reportedly missing from the Government’s coffers and budget expenditure.

The outgoing finance minister faced tough questions from the MPs over why he did not submit audits to the parliament over the budgets of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 during the term of the 10th parliament.

This year’s budget exceeds $247.7 million compared to 2021’s $671 million, thanks to the international donors, including IMF and World Bank which provided hundreds of millions of US dollars to Somalia.

The approval of the new budget comes three days after minister Beileh rejected to heed a summon by the auditor general’s office to answer questions over fraud during former president Farmajo’s tenure.

Somalia is ranked by the transparency international as one of the world’s most corrupt countries due to the widespread lack of accountability and the weak governance and judicial systems batted by the war.

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