Mohammed Dhaysane
Sunday February 19, 2023
Members of Somalia's parliament voted unanimously on Saturday to donate 20% of their February salaries to victims of the twin earthquakes in Türkiye.
The parliament session, which was presided over by the second Deputy Speaker Abdullahi Omar Abshir, was held in Mogadishu's heavily fortified Villa Hargaisa and was attended by 150 lawmakers.
Abshir proposed that members of parliament vote after meeting with Speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur, who also agreed to participate in the ongoing relief campaign for earthquake victims in Türkiye.
"The executive branch of government, businessmen, and other government institutions have already participated in the campaign, and now it is our turn," he told the parliamentarians.
Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre had earlier announced that the government would contribute $1 million to the relief campaign and formed a committee to collect donations from other institutions.
On Friday, Somali Bankers Association Chairman Ahmed Shirwa announced a $3 million donation on behalf of the business community.
Furthermore, two private institutions in Somalia have donated 4 million Turkish lira (approximately $212,430) to Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).
More than 39,000 people have been killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye, according to official figures.
The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras province and struck 10 other provinces -- Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.