Auditor General terminates national theatre restaurant lease

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Auditor General Mohamed Ali has terminated a lease awarded by Information Minister Osman Dube to a private company to operate a restaurant within the precincts of the national theatre in Mogadishu echoing a similar directive by PM Mohamed Roble.

Ali said in a statement Wednesday the minister’s decisions went counter to the laws governing public property and that it was not in the interest of the public.

The AG argued that the Minister violated the 2018 directive by the president on transfer of public land, PM’s directive in 2018 which deals with “Federal Government Agreements with Companies or Institutions” and the AG’s decree on registration of contracts with the Auditor General

“The National Audit Office (NAO) is responsible for the protection of public property and the rule of law to ensure that government agencies manage public resources in the best, most efficient and effective manner,” read part of the statement.

The Auditor General stated that “the Ministry of Information has blatantly violated the system of government and the laws of the land, as the Minister has misappropriated the Ministry’s assets and has no interest in the general public or the Somali arts community”.

But Dube came into his defence Wednesday noting a restaurant was at the national theatre was necessary to provide refreshments for artists and attendees adding the lease was supposed to run for 20 years. Dube added that the government would also generate revenue from the restaurant.

There was a public uproar last week following revelations that Dube had leased out space to a private company to put up a restaurant at the national theatre.