Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Businessmen are said to be angered by new rules that require all incoming items to go through security checks.

They say goods could be destroyed by Islamist insurgents if they have to wait in the port to be checked.

The port, which reopened in 2006 after 15 years of dereliction, is now guarded by African Union peacekeepers.

A long line of ships is currently waiting to dock outside the port.

'Taxless society'

Traders fear their goods will be destroyed by militants or ruined by the weather - it is the rainy season in Somalia.

The businessmen have to pay the proper taxes Abdirahman Omar Osman Treasury minister Road trip to Islamist heartland

But Treasury Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman told the BBC's Somali service the goods would be put into warehouses for safekeeping.

"The businessmen have to pay the proper taxes and afterwards the goods will be be released," he said.

"All these steps are government procedures and the government had consulted with the business community."

Analysts say during 18 years without a central authority, businesses have not had to pay tax.

The UN-backed government controls only a few key areas of Mogadishu with the help of African Union peacekeepers.

Much of the rest of south and central Somalia is in the hands of hard-line Islamist groups.

Correspondents say the port has been refurbished in the past two years, and is increasingly busy bringing in food aid and other supplies.

After nearly two decades of anarchy and conflict, some three million people - about half the population - need food aid, donors say.

The port has largely been safe from pirates, who threaten vessels sailing in the busy shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden.

Source: BBC, Nov 03, 2009

shanta @ 11/5/2009 6:03 PM EST  It depends. If the situation remains chaotic, greater is the temptation to steal money. And most certainly frustration facilitated by the political impasse will allow the individual to retain much of the money believing that next person in charge will take it- so I might as well take it now prevails in a chaotic situation as this.

somalipeace10 @ 11/5/2009 8:41 AM EST  The condition is appropriate in all the areas under the control of the government and some money can be spent there. What is the obstacle of giving a soldier his salary, when you have the resources? However, if a commander choses to use the money for his private purpose , as usually happens, then the whole blame is on the corrupted individuals. We all know that the former prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, bought a very expensive villa in Nairobi using millions of dollars donated by Saudi Arabia for reconciliation, can we blame the environment, or it is plain theft? We all know that former cronies of warlord Abdulahi Yusuf all live comfortably in Nairobi and Dubai with millions to spend, while they has nothing when they joined his government, can we blame the situation? The answer is no. In Mogadishu, government controls several districts, they can start to spend the money on the needs of the people instead of spnding on themselves, and some of them stealing it. There are little secret between Somali people, everyone knows who gets what and where it is spent. Instead of trying to justify corruption and mismanagement, let us praise any good thing that is done and condemn any bad thing like corruption. I hope we can agree on that principle.

shanta @ 11/4/2009 2:51 PM EST  In order to dispense these meager funds, shouldn’t the condition be appropriate and permissible? Given the limited assertion of control by the current government and daily attacks carried by the forces against the establishment of government in Somalia, then how will this government implement the require changes, when in fact, it finds itself under the extreme circumstances to defend itself?  You don’t ask a starved person to work first, and then eat later?

fiqicigaal @ 11/4/2009 1:38 PM EST  Iam racking my brains to think of a failed state like Somalia that is able to collect tax without confrontation from all sorts of criminals. I think it will take long time to set up a Somali strong government though there continues to be a gradual improvement in the government than its infant days. There is apparently still a lot of corruption in the government and i think a big reason for this is because Somalis still have this anti-government mindset.

somalipeace10 @ 11/4/2009 11:18 AM EST  It is evident that businessmen who use the port and the airport pay a lot of money but that money ends up lining some of the pockets of the corrupted officials. Everyone knows that thsi government and the ones before it only control/led few blocks, but my argument is that they can use the revenue collected to better the lives of the people who live in these pockets and show that they can provide services to the people. However, when some individuals use all the money withour spending a dime on the population, one can wonder will it have made any difefrence if they controlled the whole country. The fact of the matter is that if you cannot provide services to few districts you will not be able to provide it on a grandeur scale. The dispute is not paying or not paying "taxes", but some individuals want to levy more for their benefit without any apparent reason or need. If the three million dollar collected now are put into good use , more can be demanded or asked, but if the three milliion is siphoned off, they have no right to ask for more.