Garowe (Commentary) — In Puntland, the line between a government spokesman and a celebrity promoting a product is increasingly blurred. I watched a video clip of Jama Yusuf (aka Deparani) the Spokesman of the Puntland State Presidency, promoting a shop that sells fitness diets. That is a job he could do if he were not on the government payroll.
It constitutes a conflict of interest to use the prestige of a public office to promote private businesses. This lapse in judgement may not bother many people in Puntland, who have become indifferent to embezzlement and political corruption resulting from the concentration of power in the presidency of the Puntland State.
Like other civil servants, Jama Deparani is bound by Article 77 of the Puntland Constitution: “The President, Vice President, Ministers, Vice Ministers and all public officials shall not engage in private business while in office.” He should also adhere to Article 128 on good governance: “Any private interest shall be declared, and steps shall be taken to resolve any conflicts of interest that result from his/her decisions.”
A cynic might point to Article 77 again, which also states: “The President, Vice President, Ministers, Vice Ministers and all public officials shall declare their assets to the Auditor General in the first month of taking office,” and ask: Did President Deni declare his business interests upon becoming President of Puntland in 2019, or again in 2024 when he was re-elected?
Senior officials have reportedly used government authority to buy shares in certain public notaries, whose services received favourable official recognition to sideline other less-connected notaries and denying them opportunities in both public and private sectors.
Political accountability is absent in Puntland. It is a one-man political spectacle. Civil society organisations, dependent on government handouts, are too timid to advocate for the enforcement of constitutional provisions on conflicts of interest in public life. The political system in Puntland is rotten to the core. A government spokesman moonlighting as a celebrity promoting private businesses is merely the tip of the iceberg.
Ali M. F. Hassan is a law undergraduate at a university in Garowe
© Puntland Post, 2025
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