“A number of prominent Merchants refuse to pay taxes” Samale
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By: Yusuf M Hasan
HARGEISA (Somalilandsun) – The government will not increase civil service salaries until the near future.
According to the minister of finance Mr Abdiaziz Samale the central coffers are currently engaged in ensuring that armed forces salaries are adjusted as per their ranks that will be formalized beginning 15 December 2012.
The finance minister revealed this at a program hosted by the Somaliland national TV station where members of the public are availed the opportunity to query ministers on a diverse subjects and issues.
While responding to a question related to the failure of his ministry in effecting civil servants the 40% salary increment which is included this year’s national budget the finance minister Abdiaziz Samale could only stammer thus meander round a proper answer.
After the dawdling minister Samale who entered upon a lengthily discourse of where central coffers are derived from also informed that a number of major companies are not paying taxes as is required.
As per the salary he informed that the proposed salary augmentation by 40% was a political policy of the administration and shall be most likely be effected during the next financial year because most of the projected funds were utilized for other imperative developments in
The finance minister further attributed the civil servants salary increments failure to urgent plans pertaining to the readjustment of armed forces salary scaling necessitated by the imminent rankings of officers that entails payment on rank as opposed to current system where salary is uniform.
The minister further attributed the non percentage increase on salaries within the civil service to the budgetary year still ongoing, said he,
“Despite having assumed this portfolio after the budget was completed, the financial year is still due thus planned activities are still ongoing”
On the same breath the country’s chief financial officer who informed that the budget he took over was not factual but an estimate of $1.6 went on to detail where the earning of the central coffers were to be derived from, being:
• 70% from Customs department
• 20% from Income Tax &
• 10% from government ministries meant to cover public debts accrued within the year.
Mr Abdiaziz Samale went on to explain that his ministry has managed to amass the projected figure by 100% without incurring any debts so far despite the lacklustre tax payment of major private companies.
This meandering by the finance minister is perplexing considering that he has managed to accumulate the projected budget figures by 100% yet he is at the same time unable to avail civil servants their 40% pay rise which was in the budget projections.
The 2012 national budget was prepared under the stewardship of former finance minister Mohamed Elmi Hashi whom Samale replaced earlier this year.
