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Biometric payment systems improves conditions for soldiers in Somalia


Tuesday August 6, 2019

 

Moving to a biometric payment system for military personnel has markedly improved the reliability of soldier pay and revealed 10,000 ‘ghost soldiers’ according to a report by AFP. The Somali government is now registering fighters from an allied militia and identifying injured and older soldiers for retirement.

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Personnel fingerprints and iris scans are kept in the staff database and are checked for disbursing payment directly to staff bank accounts, replacing the previous system of ‘middlemen’ or army commanders who had given out pay while skimming off for themselves.

The 10,000 non-existent soldiers, some of whom had been real but had deserted, made up around a third of the strength of the army. According to Strategy Page, offending commanders have not been prosecuted but some have lost their jobs. Militia leaders are now resisting their fighters having their biometrics captured as this would cut them out of the payment system.

Somalia is creating a foundational ID system with help from Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

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