Alarm over alleged misconduct at Somalia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is intensifying, with federal officials voicing serious concerns about the management of donor-backed programmes and the role of the ministry’s Director General, Mohamed Saney Dalmar.
People familiar with the matter say a series of irregularities have emerged in the handling of externally funded projects, including the cancellation of planned activities, delays in paying staff salaries and what they described as pressure on ministry employees tied to an effort to divert World Bank-funded programmes, particularly BOOST-YOU, formerly known as Baxnaano.
Government employees who spoke to Shabelle on condition of anonymity painted a troubling picture, saying the director general had openly declared that he “defies financial management, procurement and accountability standards” set by donors. They urged urgent action to protect the World Bank-funded social protection scheme for Somalia, which they say is now being undermined by the “greed and extortionist attitude” of Mohamed Saney Dalmar, who has allegedly threatened staff with job loss unless they submit to his demands.
Ministry staff also alleged that nearly all active projects, including another social protection initiative known as SAGAL, are now in jeopardy because of what they described as his undisguised attempt “to extort from the projects, or else he would make the employee concerned effectively jobless and unable to carry out their assigned duties”. One staff member said the ministry’s work has “effectively paralysed.” The source added that employees attached to the SAGAL project had yielded to what were described as “his illegal demands because they feared the consequences of refusing”.
Other officials said the director general had publicly claimed he was protected by a “senior government official shielding him from accountability action” and that he had “total freedom to use his authority in doing whatever he is doing now”. According to those accounts, he also warned that no one would be spared unless they complied with his illegal demands, saying he could withhold salaries, block work-related travel or even demote staff.
Mohamed Saney Dalmar’s conduct has drawn increasing scrutiny within the federal government at a time when Somalia has been publicly pledging to strengthen good governance, transparency and accountability in order to build public trust and reassure international development partners.
A senior government official who previously worked with him at the Ministry of Commerce said the director general’s actions could “erode trust in donor-funded programmes, jeopardise accountable governance efforts, and raise concerns among development partners about public resource management.” The official added: “We all knew that this behaviour was his modus operandi during his previous time at the Ministry of commerce and now I see that nothing has changed in his attitude, even in this third ministry.”
Governance experts say Somalia cannot afford fresh scandals involving public officials, especially as the country seeks to strengthen public institutions and preserve the confidence of both citizens and international partners. They argue that transparency, accountability and effective oversight are vital if donor-funded programmes are to be delivered lawfully, efficiently and in the public interest.
One legal expert urged the relevant oversight bodies to launch a swift, independent and impartial investigation into the director general’s conduct and to take corrective measures in line with the law.
