A research was ordered in 2012 by the recently re-established Somali Development Bank (SDB) to compile a list of all national property holdings in Mogadishu. Independent consultants created a public property mapping report with the precise GPS positions of each property, its current state, to which government branch it belongs, and who and how it is now being used with images. A 3,800-page report including all of this data is available in the SDB.

According to the consultants, the government owns 62% of all recorded land deeds in Mogadishu, measured in square metres (m2). Additionally, the consultants advised that selling merely 10% of these assets at the time's market value would generate about USD 2.5 billion, which could be applied to infrastructure restoration initiatives. Ironically, a year after signing the New-Deal for Somalia, the government requested 2 billion USD from the international community for its economic recovery plan (ERP) with outcomes of less than 10%.

As per today, an estimated 30% of the public properties recorded by the SDB has been transferred into the hands of few individuals and/or companies. In monetary terms, where the property values have been more than doubled since 2012, we are talking about 10’s of billions of dollars in the hands of individuals known to me as ‘Somali Oligarchs’. A growing number of public lands are being identified, its civilian occupants forcibly removed by security personnel, and given to oligarchs every day.

But one thing is certain: legally speaking, if an elected president by an indirectly elected parliament is able to distribute national wealth to individuals, then the following indirectly elected president will also be able to nationalise any government property in addition to the billions the oligarchs have invested in development.  Putin did in Russia, but regrettably, there is no Somali Putin on the horizon.

In contrast, the oligarchs will undoubtedly take steps to ensure that a president of their choosing is in office at all times. After all, we have seen MPs spend more than a million dollars to get elected, proving that they dominate the parliament.

By: Jacfar Jimcale is an  Energy Expert in Somalia  and can be reached at: [email protected]