Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE US State Department said on January 7 that it has suspended all U.S. assistance to Somalia’s federal government over allegations that Somali officials destroyed an American-funded warehouse belonging to the World Food Program and seized 76 tonnes of food aid intended for impoverished civilians.
“The Trump Administration has a zero-tolerance policy for waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance,” the department said in a statement.
“The State Department has paused all ongoing U.S. assistance programs which benefit the Somali Federal Government,” it said.
“Any resumption of assistance will be dependent upon the Somali Federal Government, taking accountability for its unacceptable actions and taking appropriate remedial steps.” The suspension comes as the Trump administration has ratcheted up criticism of Somali refugees and migrants in the United States, including well-publicized fraud allegations involving child care centers in Minnesota.
It has slapped significant restrictions on Somalis wanting to come to the U.S. and made it difficult for those already in the United States to stay.
It was not immediately clear how much assistance would be affected by the suspension. The U.S. had provided $770 million in assistance for projects in Somalia during the last year of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, but only a fraction of that went directly to the government.
An official said Somalia had long been “a black hole of poorly overseen U.S. assistance” and that the Trump administration is taking steps to terminate fraud-prone programs there.