Mo Farah Urges UK Government to Show the Political will to Keep the Somali Remittance Lifeline Open

23 September 2013
Content from a Premium Partner
Dahabshiil (Dubai)
press release

Mo Farah, double Olympic and World Champion, has joined over 75,000 campaigners petitioning Barclays and No. 10 on the looming remittance crisis in Somalia and urged the UK Government to show the political will to force Barclays Bank to grant an extension by keeping open the bank accounts of the remaining four large UK remittance companies serving Somalia and the Horn of Africa.

With only a week to go, Mo Farah today made the following plea to Barclays, the UK Government and the international community:

“I welcome the international support being given to build on the momentum of progress in Somalia, the country of my birth. Unfortunately we are now just one week away from a new humanitarian catastrophe in the country. Remittances have played a crucial role for my family and the Mo Farah Foundation and their sudden cessation will have serious and avoidable consequences, bringing increased hardship, insecurity and instability to the Somali people.

“Around 40 per cent of people in Somalia depend on remittances to buy basics like food, medicine and other life essentials. Cutting this lifeline will be a disaster for the Somali people, both in the Somali regions and in the UK. It is not just the personal remittances that families send back – this will impact all the major aid organisations operating in the region, including my Foundation, which rely on these businesses for paying their staff and running their programmes.

“That is why I am joining the many organisations and charities in again asking Barclays to reconsider its decision or at least grant an extension. Whilst a Ministerial Roundtable to consider this action (originally scheduled for 16th September) has been convened for 8th October, this will be too late if Barclays has already shut the accounts on 30th September.

“I reiterate my plea to the UK Government and international community to give their full support to resolving this issue. Too many people, both in the UK and in Somalia, will be tragically affected if a solution isn’t found.
“I also urge people to join me in signing the on-line petition calling for Barclays to reconsider its decision.”

The Department for International Development is leading a cross-government effort to find a solution that will enable Somali money service companies to stay banked and keep serving NGOs and expat Somalis who send small sums back to family in Somalia. DfID was due to host a government roundtable on 16 September which was cancelled at the last moment. The rescheduled date, 8 October, has caused incredulity amongst campaigners and aid experts given it comes over a week after Barclays’s deadline.

A long-term solution has been developed by SOMSA (the Somali Money Services Association), backed by the Federal Government of Somalia, the Central Bank of Somalia, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Council of Ministers. This solution will be shared with the Government and Barclays this week.

There is a workable solution to hand. All that’s needed is a short extension to put it in place by Barclays to enable it to be implemented.

For further information please contact Project Associates:

Rebecca Davies +44 (0)7714 137 131 or rebecca.davies@projectassociatesltd.com
Celine Cheung +44 (0)7703 680 521 or celine.cheung@projectassociatesltd.com

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