This handout photo released by the African Union-United Nations
Information Support Team and taken on May 25, 2012 shows African Union
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) soldiers and commanders walking down the
road between Afrgoye and Baidoa after arriving in the town of Afgoye
town to the west of the Somali capital Mogadishu.
Photo/AFP PHOTO
Friday, October 18, 2013
The Sierra Leone government has vehemently denied ‘fraudulently’ deducting salaries of its troops serving in Somalia.
The
allegation was made by an unnamed serving soldier believed to be part
of the 850 troops deployed as part of the African Union peacekeeping
mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
It comes amidst tension
already created by Al-Shabaab terrorist threat caused by the deployment,
and the Defence ministry say the controversy sparked by a divisive
journalist was meant to stifle the government`s efforts.
The
soldier, whose complaints were aired on a contentious weekend talk show
by David Tamba Bayoh, alleged that they were deducted $200 (Ksh16,800)
in violation of the agreed terms with Defence ministry and top military
officials.
He also alleged that soldiers have had to bride senior military officials to be selected as part of the peacekeeping contingent.
Defence
Minister (Rtd) Major Palo Conteh called the allegations “false” and
said the only deductions from the troops` salary was used for
justifiable operational purposes by the government and the Defence
ministry and is in line with what`s agreed with the troops.
According
to the Defence ministry, $10M is remitted annually for the soldiers`
salary by the United Nations which bankrolls the AMISOM operation.
Each
soldier, it said, is entitled to $828 per month; that`s after deducting
$100 as their monthly allowance and $200 used for “operational cost”.
US$728 is accordingly lodged in the personal accounts of the troops every month.
When
they return at the end of their tour of duty, each serving soldier of
the AMISOM team will be expecting a total of $1,028 in their account.
That is well over the life savings of most in the military.
To ensure a near equitable distribution of the opportunity, the defence ministry says it rotates the troops on a yearly basis.
This
means the next contingent of the Sierra Leone AMISOM troops is
currently being prepared for deployment early next year, according to
sources.
But in the past some have complaint that
soldiers who complied with monetary demands of their seniors have stayed
on even when their term was over.
The aggrieved soldier also alleged that they were deprived of sufficient food supply.
The
ministry said the allegations were unfounded and meant to create
confusion among families of the soldiers deployed in an already
dangerous war zone.
The government has been struggling
to calm fears of terrorist threats over the now much criticized decision
to deploy the troops in Somalia.
“The report was
unfortunate and purely meant to demoralise the gains made by members of
the peacekeeping operation in Somalia and efforts put together by the
ministry and government to lift the flag of Sierra Leone to the top,”
said the Defence Minister.