Yusuf Mohamed Abdi
Yusuf Mohamed Abdi | |
|---|---|
| Yuusuf Maxamed Cabdi Raage | |
| Minister of Finance of Somaliland | |
| In office December 2017 – 10 November 2018 | |
| President | Muse Bihi Abdi |
| Preceded by | Zamzam Abdi Adan |
| Succeeded by | Saad Ali Shire |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Kulmiye Party |
| Education | Master's degrees in public administration, public finance, and international trade facilitation and development |
Yusuf Mohamed Abdi (Somali: Yuusuf Maxamed Cabdi Raage), also known Rage (Raage) is a Somaliland politician who served as Minister of Finance from December 2017 to November 2018 and later held positions including membership in the Higher Education Commission and the Central Council of the Kulmiye party.
Biography
Yusuf Mohamed Abdi is from the Garhajis clan.[1]
Yusuf Mohamed Abdi has been described as holding three master's degrees: public administration, public finance, and international trade facilitation and development.[2]
Before becoming Minister of Finance, Yusuf Mohamed Abdi had 18 years of work experience at Somaliland's Ministry of Finance and Accounting.[3] He worked in Somaliland's Ministry of Finance from a clerk (karaani) up to serving as a head of customs (maamule kastam).[2]
Finance Minister
In December 2017, Yusuf Mohamed Abdi was appointed Minister of Finance in Somaliland. He formally took over the post from his predecessor Zamzam Abdi Adan.[4] He was described as the youngest Minister of Finance to date.[3]
After becoming Minister of Finance, he set out three main priorities: personnel reforms including replacing officials who had served since 1992, setting budgets based on revenue rather than spending, and increasing tax revenues.[2]
In April 2018, Yusuf Mohamed Abdi denied claims that taxes had been increased on essential consumer goods and said the government was working on measures to address inflation.[5]
In July 2018, Yusuf Mohamed Abdi praised and honored staff from the inland revenue (land tax) department in Awdal after the region's tax collections rose to second place nationwide, behind the Maroodi Jeex region.[6]
In August 2018, Yusuf Mohamed Abdi dismissed many Ministry of Finance advisers from the previous administration and appointed six new advisers.[7]
In early November 2018, a dispute emerged between the Minister of Finance and the Auditor General over administrative authority and oversight within the Ministry of Finance, centering on disagreements about decision-making processes and the limits of ministerial intervention in the Auditor General's office; the debate highlighted tensions between ensuring effective executive management and safeguarding the institutional independence of financial oversight bodies.[8] On 10 November 2018, Yusuf Mohamed Abdi was dismissed as Minister of Finance and reassigned outside the cabinet to the Higher Education Commission (HRC); he said he was satisfied with being removed from the council of ministers, pleased with his new role, and thanked President Muse Bihi Abdi for previously appointing him to lead the finance ministry.[9] Regarding his dismissal, Commerce and Industry Minister Mohamoud Hassan Saad said it was not due to personal conflict or political maneuvering, but rather stemmed from problems in administrative procedures and decision-making within the Ministry of Finance, where organizational tensions had intensified.[10]
Post-ministerial activities
In October 2021, Yusuf Mohamed Abdi issued a statement calling for legal action against individuals he accused of treason for participating in Somalia's electoral process under the name of Somaliland, including a group claiming to be a Somaliland election commission, self-styled Somaliland traditional elders, participants who put themselves forward as “Somaliland representatives” for Somalia's Upper House, and politicians who organized and incited the effort.[11]
In January 2024, Yusuf Mohamed Abdi welcomed the Somaliland–Ethiopia agreement on access to Somaliland's coastline, praising it as beneficial to both countries.[12]
In October 2024, a wave of resignations by government officials was reported, including Yusuf Mohamed Abdi, who was a member of the Higher Education Commission and a member of Kulmiye's Central Council.[13] As many as 160 people left the ruling Kulmiye party, and Yusuf Mohamed Abdi was among those who resigned during that period.[14]
References
- ^ "Halkan Ka Akhri Sida ay Beelaha Somaliland U Kala Heleen Xubnaha Loo Doortay Golaha Dhexe ee Xisbiga Kulmiye" [Read Here: How Somaliland Clans Shared the Members Elected to Kulmiye’s Central Council]. Qurbejoog (in Somali). Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ a b c "Wasiirka Horumarinta Maaliyaddu Mudane Yuusuf Maxamed Cabdi Raage Waa Xidig Godkiisii Helay" [The Minister for Financial Development, Mr. Yusuf Mohamed Abdi Raage, Is a Star Who Found His Place]. Somaliland Nation (in Somali). 13 June 2018. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ^ a b "Wasiir Yuusuf Ma Ruxmo !" [Minister Yusuf Will Not Be Shaken!]. HargeisaPress (in Somali). 15 August 2018. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ^ "Wasiirka Cusub Ee Maaliyadda Yuusuf Maxamed Cabdi Oo Xilka La Wareegay" [Somaliland’s New Finance Minister Yusuf Mohamed Abdi Officially Takes Office]. Berberatoday.com (in Somali). 20 December 2017. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ^ "Wasiirka Maaliyadda Oo Beeniyay In Cashuur Lagu Kordhiyay Maceeshada" [Finance Minister Denies Tax Increases on Essential Goods]. Wargeyska Dawan (in Somali). 30 April 2018. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ^ "Gobolka Awdal Ayaa Ka Cashuur Badan Togdheer, Wasiirka Maaliyadda" [Awdal Collects More Tax Revenue Than Togdheer, Says the Finance Minister]. Somaliland Today (in Somali). 12 July 2018. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ^ "Wasiirka Maaliyadda Oo Xilal U Magacaabay Masuuliyiin Uu Ka Mid Yahay Guddoomiyaha Golaha Dhex Ee Xisbiga Kulmiye" [The Finance Minister Appoints Officials, Including the Chair of Kulmiye’s Central Council]. Somaliland Today (in Somali). 18 August 2018. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ "Halkee ayuu salka ku hayaa khilaafka car iyo wirta ah ee u dhexeeya Wasiirka Maaliyadda iyo Xisaabiyaha Guud? Mase banaan tahay inuu Wasiirku faro-galin maamul ku sameeyo xafiiska Xisaabiyaha keebaa?" [What Is the Root of the Sharp Dispute Between the Minister of Finance and the Auditor General? Is It Appropriate for the Minister to Administratively Intervene in the Auditor General’s Office?]. Somaliland Today (in Somali). 8 November 2018. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ "Former Finance minister is happy with being dismissed from the gov't". Somaliland Standard. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
- ^ "Wasiirka Wasaaradda Ganacsiga iyo Warshadaha ee Somaliland oo daboolka ka qaaday sababihii Wasiirkii Hore ee Maaliyadda xilka looga qaaday iyo dhacdooyin cajiib ah oo uu ka sheekeeyay" [Somaliland’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Explains the Reasons for the Dismissal of the Former Finance Minister and Recounts Notable Incidents]. Somaliland Today (in Somali). 15 November 2018. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ "Ex-Wasiir Yuusuf Raage oo ku baaqay in tallaabo Sharci laga Qaado Afar Kooxood oo uu Khiyaamo Qaran ku eedeeyey" [Ex-Minister Yusuf Raage Calls for Legal Action Against Four Groups He Accuses of Treason]. Oodweyne News (in Somali). 5 October 2021. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ "Somaliland Waxa u soo hoyatay guul taariikhi oo aynu naawilaynay 32 sanno – Wasiirkii Hore Maaliyadda Somaliland Yuusuf Maxamed Cabdi" [“Somaliland Has Achieved a Historic Victory We Have Sought for 32 Years” – Former Somaliland Finance Minister Yusuf Mohamed Abdi]. Oodweyne News (in Somali). 2 January 2024. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ "Madaxda ka tagtay xilkii ay xukuumadda/xisbiga Kulmiye u haysay" [Officials Who Resigned from Posts Held Under the Kulmiye Government/Party]. Qaran News (in Somali). 25 October 2024. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ "160 xubnood ayaa iska casilay Kulmiye iyo xukuumaddiisa muddo bil gudaheed ka yar" [160 People Resigned from Kulmiye and Its Government in Less Than a Month]. Qaran News (in Somali). 30 October 2024. Retrieved 2025-12-13.