Meeting on streamlining country revenues concludes in Kismayo, Jubbland

Conference on how to make more efficient the methods of revenue collection between the federal financial ministry and its regional counterpart member states have been concluded yesterday in Kismayo, Jubbaland state.

The meeting which took 4 days started on 16th December was presided by finance minister Beyle and present were his deputy Abdullahi Sheikh Ali Kolo’ow and their counterparts from the regional member states and raised matters on country fiscal prominently among them forming a united taxation, economic growth, financial income, equitable sharing of natural resources and reforming agreements.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Mohamed Kamil, the director in the state finance ministry of Jubbaland noted several issues that were agreed upon largely based on working together on federal and regional levels, removing federal states business barriers, passing suggestions from the financial technical committees, strengthening the financial ministers’ meeting on November 3, 2015, proposing for a national meeting, sea port custom taxation, good administration and promoting national financial transparency, endorsement of issues from the technical financial cooperation committee regarding the management of revenues and condemnation of the legality of SOMA agreement.

Removing barriers

Director Kamal noted “the need for creating cooperation between the federal government and member states and removing business barriers for the smooth flow of merchandise for economic growth, passing suggestions from the financial technical committees and supporting and strengthening the financial ministers’ meeting on November 3, 2015.”

Proposals and appeals

The forum also proposed the “need proposing for a national meeting on sharing natural resources like fishery revenues and analyzing the sea port custom taxation.

They called upon for a national conference on natural resource sharing. “They appealed for federal and state financial and fisheries ministries to converge on a national meeting countrywide to discuss on how to share the revenues on fishing.”

The financial ministers also “tasked the technical financial cooperation committee to analyze the acceptance of the method of collecting revenues based on sea port customs.”

Condemnation

The forum condemned the legality of the agreement known as SOMA agreement and suggested the rectification on the agreement in line with the Geneva Law of 1961.

Soma Oil and Gas Holding Limited (Soma), an extractive company has secured a unique and potentially lucrative contract to exploit a dozen offshore oil and gas blocks off Somalia’s Southern and Central Coast which a contract was signed to this effect on August 6th 2013 under the administration of former president Prof. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Currently tax collection in Somalia is not one that is interconnected in a united way under one umbrella.

The conference was organized by the federal finance ministry.

Goobjoog News