Budget for Fiscal year 2003 Estimated at SL SH 97 Billion with Some Ministries Allotted Highly Inflated Figures
Hargeisa (SL Times): Somaliland's Ministry of Finance has failed to account for how at least 19 billion Somaliland Shillings in government revenues for fiscal year 2002 were spent. According to account statements by the State Accountant General, the amount represented a surplus income over the Sl Sh 88.9 billion previously budgeted for 2002. However, the Ministry of Finance has only acknowledged a surplus of 16 billion shillings out of the 19 reported by the Accountant General’s office.
These discrepancies and others were uncovered earlier this week by Haatuf and the Somaliland Times as the Minister of Finance, Hussein Farah Doodi, struggled to finalize the government’s new budget for fiscal year 2003. The budget, which is expected to be around Sl Sh 97 Billion, will come before the House of Representatives today.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the total of government revenues for 2002 amounted to 105 billions while a figure of 106 billions is indicated in a report by the Accountant General that reveals the total actual expenditure for 2002 as Sl Sh 87,503,459,694 instead of the budgeted Sl Sh 88,852,000,000.
Though the Ministry of Finance concedes that a surplus has been achieved, it yet reports owing private creditors a sum of Sl Sh 7.8 billion as expenditures incurred by the government in 2002.
The Minister of Finance also appears to have violated government financial regulations when he wrote on Feb 1, 2003 to the Bank of Somaliland to honor payment of Sl Sh 20 million for the rehabilitation of the residence of the Minister of Information, Abdillahi M. Duale, a close friend of his, as an advance against "Emergencies Head."
The payment order did not go through the normal accounting procedures but was made in the form of a letter signed by Mr. Doodi, despite prohibitive standing instructions disallowing usage of funds under the emergencies budget line before the month of September.
Allocations for the Ministry of Information under the budget proposal for this year appear to be comparatively quite generous.
According to Mr. Doodi’s plan, the Ministry of Information is to get around 311 million shillings as stationery, fuel and telephone costs, a sum that is roughly equivalent to the total allocations assigned under the same sub-head to the four larger ministries of Interior, RR&R, Commerce and Foreign Affairs put together.
Under a sub-head titled "allocations for outstanding bills", Sl Sh 165.35 million are to go to the Information Ministry against Sl Sh 339.4 million for Ministry of Aviation. The two ministries actually get between themselves the largest and second largest of the funds allocated under this budget line.
It is also unclear why Sl Sh 313.5 million will be granted to the Aviation Ministry as allocation to cover fuel costs against Sl Sh 329 million allotted for the whole police of Somaliland. The way the funds have been appropriated shows fiscal irresponsibility on the part of Minister Doodi and his staff.
For instance, there is no apparent logic in allocating 31 million shillings in telephone expenditure to the obscure Ministry of Industry that occupies one room office in the Maandeeq compound against none for the Somaliland police. This Ministry’s budget allocation for telephones exceeds the appropriations given to the Army, Interior and Custodial Guards (Prisons) added together.
Finance Ministry officials remained non-committal on allegations of corruption directed against them. Frustrated by their lack of response, our sister newspaper Haatuf had in its Monday edition challenged Mr. Doodi to deny a story it ran that day on missing government revenues.
Minister Doodi is expected to appear before the House today to submit a budget of approximately 97 billion Somaliland Shillings or 8 billions more than last year’s. About 58 billions are earmarked as an allocation for salaries and allowances, 13 billions for security forces rations and 3.3 billion as national emergencies with the last budget head being administered by the Presidency.
Allocations to the offices of the President and Vice-President will amount to Sl Sh 3.25 billion and 1.19 billion respectively. Around 18.5 billion shillings will be allotted to other government agencies.
Meanwhile, the Somaliland Times has learned that Minister Doodi is building himself a two-story villa in Hargeisa.
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