"UN investigators whistleblow on the phenomenon of “secret contracting” within Somali Government" 23 October 2014

The Monitoring Group is particularly concerned about the phenomenon of “secret contracting”, which has become a way of doing business for the Federal Government since at least mid-2013 and creates the opportunity for misappropriation. Contracts regarding national public assets affecting the public interest have been signed by government officials but kept highly confidential — from the Somali population, the parliament and, until now, international donors...According to its latest report released to the UN Security Council, the group says neither the process of signing the contracts nor their implementation, including the transparency and accountability of their revenue streams, is subject to public scrutiny or parliamentary oversight...[The] secrecy of contracts creates mistrust and uncertainty in the various regions of Somalia in terms of sharing of natural resources, which will be exacerbated with the prospects of oil contracts, marine resources and other potential mineral extraction from Somali soil.