UNPOS implements transparent and accountable payment exercise for Somali Police Force

15 Aug 2011

UNPOS implements transparent and accountable payment exercise for Somali Police Force

Owing in part to a $10 million package provided by the Government of Japan, the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), succeeded in implementing a payment exercise to disperse monthly stipends to the Somali Police Force.

Working through UNDP, UNPOS began quickly dispersing funds on 29 July at the rate of 300 police a day. To date, 1,120 police officers have happily received stipends for the last six months.

"I am pleased that the stipend payments were able to meet the needs of the police officers during the month of Ramadan and to support the morale and discipline within the Somali Police Force," said Jonathan Sandy, co-chair of the Police Technical Working Group and Chief of Security Sector Development (SSDO) at UNPOS.

To facilitate the process, the Joint Security Committee Police Technical Working Group established a subcommittee for monitoring, oversight and verification of the payments. The subcommittee, named International Verification Team, is composed of representatives of AMISOM, the European Union (EU), UNDP and UNPOS. Daily situation reports ensure that payments to the Somali Police are dispersed in a transparent and accountable manner.

"My counterpart, Somali Police Commissioner General Sharif Shekuna Maye, is extremely pleased that his men are receiving their stipends. We hope that the international community will continue to support our efforts in strengthening the Somali Police Force," Mr. Sandy said.

The Somali police officers are tasked with carrying out security duties in the areas controlled by the Transitional Federal Government and are currently working on the implementation of the new security plan for Mogadishu following Al-Shabaab's withdrawal on 06 August 2011. To date, 3,077 police have been trained under the international umbrella with support and assistance provided by the UN, the EU, AMISOM and others.