By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – Rumours alleging the central government coffers in Hargeisa are empty have been termed as being based on misinformation.
This was stated by the Somaliland Finance minister Ms Zamzam Abdi Aden in Hargeisa where she revealed that her ministry has ceased all under the table payments that are not budgetary allocations.
“In fact the central coffers have sufficient funds to run public expenditure for the next six months” said Ms Zamzam adding that a rumour of funds unavailability was works by people who used to receive regular and unallocated payments.
Attributing the fattened coffers to cessation of irregular payments as well as enhanced revenue collection the finance minster told those used to handouts from her ministry not to waste their energies in pursuit as the said is now a thing of the past.
The financed minster who swapped to finance from her former education ministry docket earlier in the year has not only criss-crossed the country in a revenue collection campaign but is currently negotiating the replacement of US dollar as the currency of use by E-money service providers as a prelude to institutionalizing the local currency as only legal tender n ‘Somaliland.
Having performed superbly in her capacity as education minster citizens are optimistic that Ms Zamzam who is incidentally the first woman to hold the office of finance minster in Somaliland will manage to reduce public funds misuse drastically.
