Report reveals how senior ministers concerned in unlawful fishing in

Report reveals how senior ministers involved in illegal fishing in Somalia

NAIROBI, Kenya – A report released by Global Initiative has implicated senior Somali government officials in facilitating lucrative illegal fishing along the Indian Ocean coast, in what could spark a political storm in the country, which is already underway. electoral.

The explosive report titled “Illegal Fishing in Somalia and Capture of State Institutions” revealed that the country’s Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Abdullahi Bidhan Warsame, and State Minister of Finance, Mohamud Hayir Ibrahim, are at the forefront of illicit trade.

This now gives a clear look at how unregulated illegal fishing in Somalia has reached high levels, giving cartels operating primarily in federal states and the federal government huge sums of money that are supposed to benefit the locals.

According to the report, civil servants are well connected within government cycles and some take advantage of weak government institutions to break laws, sometimes without the knowledge of state governments.

There is no clear fishing law in Somalia and the opaque formula for revenue sharing between FGS – Federal Government of Somalia and FMS – Federal Member States have often left a leeway which is exploited by the officials in charge. to serve the public. Sometimes back, an agreement was signed between the two entities, which allowed Mogadishu to control up to 30 percent of fishing agreements.

Despite the existence of a huge disconnect between FGS and FMS, the administration of Mogadishu has been largely linked to the impunity perpetrated in the fishing sector, including the licensing of certain companies which have problems of integrity in federal states, including Northeastern State.

According to a Somali businessman involved in the fishing industry, Minister Ibrahim would protect the interests of fishing companies at the federal level.

In addition to issuing catch and health certificates, the FGS Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources also continued to approve and legitimize fishing licenses issued by Northeastern State during the administration of Abdiweli to trawlers, even though trawling is illegal under Somali law.

The report adds that the fishing licenses were signed and stamped by the Director General of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Mohamoud Sheikh Abdullahi Abdirahman in October 2020.

FGS officials involved in the report have yet to issue a reply. Somalia has already signed treaties on fisheries, the most notable being Ethiopia. It was here that FGS agreed to control 30 percent of the fishery, but the lack of a clear law often led to clashes between FGS and FMS.

The global body concludes the 57-page report by giving a series of recommendations, which it insists if followed, Somalia can resuscitate the struggling fishing sector that has the potential to generate foreign income for the country.

AXADLETM

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