It is the first time a Somali government official has admitted there is widespread corruption within public sector institutions that the current and previous administrations have failed to suppress.

“If one dies and you change him with brother in a vacant position, that is corruption. If we carefully consider, as Somalis we do corruption on daily basis; what we talk about are all corruption,” Somalia’s finance minister Abdirahman said.

“Corruption is not about stolen money and we should change all those [bad customs].”

Over the past years, Somalia has been ranking world’s most corrupt nation and reverse in efforts to contain it, has led its partners to cut budget support to the government of president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, whose attempt to extend his term in office stoked violence and clashes between rival army factions in the capital Mogadishu in April.

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Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known as Farmajo, was one of the leaders invited to a Turkey-hosted Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which is scheduled to open on Saturday and was also planned to meet with his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta at the sidelines of the summit.

Over the past few days, there have been efforts spearheaded by Turkey and Qatar to host a meeting between Kenyan and Somali leaders after the countries had earlier agreed to restore ties, though row over Indian Ocean maritime border still seems to be raging.

Farmajo has taken the decision due to ongoing plans for his reelection as Somalia heads to the polls within 60 days after the country’s leaders reached a deal on May 27 to end months-long stalemate, Caasimada Online website reported, quoting senior officials as saying that a political earthquake sparked by UN report indicating presence of Somali troops in Ethiopia’s Tigray and recruits subjected to slavery conditions in Eritrean training camps are also among key reasons behind the cancellation of the outgoing president’s trip.

Growing reports of soldiers deployed in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and Somali recruits “enslaved” after being taken to Eritrea for military training are likely to tarnish Farmajo’s image amid his reelection bid, local political analysts say.

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“When I met the Ethiopian leaders in February they really used this kind of language, that they are going to wipe out the Tigrayans for 100 years and so forth,” EU special envoy Pekka Haavisto said.

He added that the language “for me referred to very serious human rights atrocities and crimes as well”

Haavisto’s remarks come following appalling human rights abuses, including mass killings of civilians, gang-rapes of women and destruction of property carried out by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops in Tigray region.

EU special envoy visited Addis Ababa in February to try to dissuade Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed from pursuing a war to cleanse northern Ethiopia of Tigrayan rebels and urge him to provide aid organizations unfettered access to the region. He now calls for international action to stop an ethnic cleansing campaign launched by Ethiopian authorities.

“We have to react because it looks like ethnic cleansing,” he added.

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