The President of the Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mohamud Abdikarin Ali, was accused of using extrajudicial authority and often abusing his power following years of manipulating and corrupting the office.
Gabayre who was elected on 8 March 2017 is prepared for re-election in the upcoming polls on 8 March 2023, but at what expense?
The Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a trade lobby group, is set to elect its leader and a sham process is underway that will ultimately re-elect Gabayre as the president of the Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the next term.
During his role as the president of the chamber, Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliate group, infiltrated the chamber and the entire business sphere in Somalia as a result of Gabayre’s poor leadership.
Al-Shabab also forced the chamber to pay extortion money which will aid the group’s terror activities. Further reports confirm that the Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry pays more than $5M of tax (extortion) money to Al-Shabab.
In early 2020, Somalia’s intel agency, National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), arrested Ahmed Abdullahi who was appointed by Gabayre as the head of the Chamber in Banadir region.
NISA accused Ahmed of having deep links with Al-Shabab. This has flared turmoil among the chamber’s board of directors, citing concerns over Gabayre’s poor and destructive leadership.
MISMANAGING UN-FUNDED DEVELOPMENT PROJECTSÂ
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) funded a productive sector development program that was intended to support small-scale businesses in Beledweyne district in Somalia’s Hir-Shaballe State.
Gabayre manipulates the implementation of the project and often quarrels with the state authorities as he uses extrajudicial authority to undermine his critics.
Recently, he clashed with HirShabelle Min of Commerce and industry over the appointment of the state changer and commerce agency.
Gabayre claims he is the mere authority to appoint the head of the state trade lobby group as he intends to install a puppet that will secure his re-election bid.
