Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the People’s Assembly of the Republic of Somalia, Dr. Abdulhay Hashi, revealed that, since August 2022, he had informed the US State Department, the US Embassy in Mogadishu, and a number of members of the US Congress, in addition to the US Inspector General’s Office, of the existence of what he described as systematic corruption, embezzlement, and gross mismanagement within the operations of the World Food Program (WFP) in Somalia.
The Somali official explained that the reports he presented included detailed documents and actionable information, in addition to a practical road map aimed at stopping the transfer of food aid funded by the United States away from those who deserve it. He added that these warnings were met for more than two years by ignoring or underestimating their seriousness. In fact, according to him, it came to questioning his motives, instead of holding accountable the Somali officials and senior World Food Program employees involved in these violations, which led to the continued theft of food intended for the most vulnerable groups. twice as many as the Somali people.
The member of parliament announced that he welcomed any serious action by the American authorities to stop these violations, stressing that the problem is not new, and that warnings about it had been repeatedly and officially issued previously. The Somali official confirmed that he is currently in Washington and is ready to provide a comprehensive and immediate briefing to the concerned authorities, which includes a summary of the evidence and an executable practical plan to end what he described as corruption networks linked to humanitarian aid.
