Friday, June 01, 2012
WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -There are discrepancies in the amount of foreign donations received by Somalia and that reported by the government, a report states.
A report from the World Bank states the Somali government hasn't accounted for much the funding it received in 2009 and 2010.
Report author Joakim Gundel told Voice of America that auditors determined Somalia collected at least $94 million in 2010 but reported $11 million.
"There is a discrepancy in what comes in and there's a lack of accounting of how money has been spent," he said. "So that opens naturally a big question mark for sure."
Abdirizak Fartaag, a former public finance official in Somalia, reported last year there was evidence that officials in Mogadishu had mismanaged funds.
The World Bank report suggested the interim government in Somalia, which has the support of the United Nations, lacks any real system of accounting and lacks key transparency protocols.
International delegates are at a conference on Somalia in Turkey this week, the second such meeting this year. Somalia is preparing to end a transitional period for its government as it struggles to gain dominance over al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida affiliate that controls parts of the country.
Source: UPI