100% Corruption Guaranteed

100% Corruption Guaranteed 

          Somalia, a country located at the tip of East Africa, has a history of brutal colonization, anarchy, famine, and civil wars. Currently, even though there is a running democratic government, much fighting still occurs and the Somali people continue to suffer from hunger and insecurity. Somalia’s political corruption causes manipulated elections and a lack of essential societal structure. 

          Somalia is so corrupted that it has been ranked as the “most corrupted country in the world” for more than eleven years by Transparency International, an organization fighting against corruption (Gaffey). It scores only eight out of one hundred points (Gaffey). Greedy government officials steal billions of dollars from their impoverished citizens and foreign aids. With over $246 million government budget, only $0.8 million of that was used for health spending in 2016(Sperber). Other problems such as tribal tensions, terrorist attacks, and famine further prove the urgent need to end corruption in the government. 

          In Somalia, presidential candidates and the members of the parliament use bribery to guarantee their spot in the government, allowing them to stay in power. Tribal elders, who have more power in deciding the winning candidates, are often bribed with at least $10,000 per vote (Gettlemen). Some seats in the parliament even cost more than $1 million in bribes (Gaffey). If anyone bribed by the politicians does not accept the money or reveal the process, they can get killed (Gettlemen). On the other hand, running candidates that refuse to buy off votes have almost no chance of getting a spot in the government. For example, a Harvard University graduate and the first women to run for presidency in Somalia pulled out in the 2017 election because she had to bribe at least 20 senators and members of the parliament in order to even be nominated as a presidential candidate (Gaffey). Since corrupted government officials control the election, they can remove any threat preventing them from these wrongdoings. 

          With all the money taken away by the government officials, no improvement is made to strengthen the basic public services. The Corruption Report, an organization promoting anti-corruption, states that the Somali government does not always have control over the police force. Therefore, many corporations often have to protect themselves from terrorist groups by working with other violent groups or arming themselves (Report). Furthermore, the Somali national army lacks great funding for weapons and adequate living conditions for the soldiers (Report). This allows one of the terrorist groups, Al-Shabaab, to freely do what they like. Just six months ago, Al-Shabaab led a twin-truck suicide bombing attack in the capital, killing at least 320 people and injuring hundreds (Sperber). The government also does not properly educate the youth because there is no education framework or a common core curriculum in Somalia (Hundubey). This prohibits the future generations from improving the country and leads many to crimes. How can this political corruption be stopped? 

          Mohamed Abdullahi was just elected in 2017 as the new Somali president. He first admits the corruption in the government and then promises to fix them as soon as possible (Somalia President). Paul Banoba, the advisor for Eastern Africa at Transparency International says, “The journey to win that fight is steep, and acknowledging the problem is a good step” (Somalia President). However, with Al-Shabaab still attacking innocent civilians, and many countries and organizations backing out on funds because the lack of improvement in recent years, the government and the people will need to work together and make drastic changes to eliminate this corrupted society.

 

Work Cited

Gaffey, Conor. “Five Things You Need to Know about Somalia's Elections.” Newsweek, 13 Feb. 2017, www.newsweek.com/somalia-elections-somalia-president-554028.

Gettleman, Jeffrey. “Fueled by Bribes, Somalia's Election Seen as Milestone of Corruption.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Feb. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/world/africa/somalia-election-corruption.html.

Hundubey, Ahmed. “Corruption in Somalia Is a Crime Against Our Country’s Development.” Horseed Media, 8 Aug. 2017, horseedmedia.net/2017/08/08/corruption-in-somalia-is-a-crime-against-our-countrys-development/.

"In Somalia, Presidential Election Underscores Government Corruption." All Things Considered, 8 Feb. 2017. Global Issues in Context, Accessed 11 Mar. 2018.

Sperber, Amanda. “Out of Tragedy, An Opportunity for Somalia.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 17 Oct. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/10/somalia-shabaab-terrorism-corruption/543123/.

“Somalia Corruption Report.” Corruption Report, Gan, www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/somalia.

“Somalia President: Undeniable There's Corruption in This Government.” Middle East Monitor, 12 Mar. 2018, www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180312-somalia-president-undeniable-theres-corruption-in-this-government/.