By Dalmar:
Mohadishu, Somalia –
The official spokesman of the Somali Prime Minister, Hamza Abdi Barre, announced that several ministers of the Somali government, including the Finance Minister, Dr Elmi Mohamud Nur, have been relieved of their duties.
The newly appointed ministers are as follows:
- Bihi Iman Egeh has been appointed the new Minister of Finance.
- Mohamed Elmi Ibrahim has been appointed Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.
- Abukar Jaylaani Sheikh has been appointed Minister of Religious Affairs.
- Sadad Mohamed Nur Aliyow has been appointed Minister of Interior and Federal Affairs.
The new ministers have been instructed to assume their duties immediately after taking their oath.
A sequel to Friday’s events
The appointments come in the aftermath of a Friday incident. The (now dismissed) Finance Minister, Dr Elmi Mohamud Nur, faced humiliation after being pushed to reverse his decision to suspend two high-ranking ministry officials. These officials, hours earlier dismissed by the Minister, had allegedly been involved in serious corruption-related allegations.
The Minister faced mounting pressure in the hours that followed the issuance of the dismissal decrees, ultimately compelling him to reverse his decisions. As the Somali Digest learned from reliable sources, the pressure originated from the Prime Minister and the President of Somalia, who forced the Minister to backtrack his decision and issue a new one.
Government’s fake anti-corruption show-off
Critics have long argued that the government’s display of an anti-corruption scheme to the world is fake and politically motivated. The swift reinstatement of the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Finance is an illustrative example of that, as their reinstatement occurred without a proper investigation into the serious corruption-related allegations. Instead, the Minister was forced to take them back in – only hours before facing his own firing.
