Somalia foreign ministry shuts down after electricity cut over unpaid bills

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs suspended operations on Sunday after electricity to its headquarters was disconnected over months of unpaid utility bills, according to Shabelle TV, bringing the ministry’s day-to-day activities to a standstill. Quoting members of the ministry’s staff, the broadcaster reported that the ministry had failed to pay its electricity […]

Jul 20, 2026 - 09:30

Somalia foreign ministry shuts down after electricity cut over unpaid bills

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs suspended operations on Sunday after electricity to its headquarters was disconnected over months of unpaid utility bills, according to Shabelle TV, bringing the ministry’s day-to-day activities to a standstill.

Quoting members of the ministry’s staff, the broadcaster reported that the ministry had failed to pay its electricity bills for several months, prompting the power utility to cut electricity services.

The outage halted operations across the ministry, staff said. Official overseas travel by ministry personnel was also suspended after the ministry allegedly failed to settle outstanding payments owed to travel agencies.

According to ministry staff, the operational shutdown followed the Ministry of Finance’s failure to release the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s operational budget because of financial constraints and declining foreign financial assistance.

The funding shortfall reportedly left the ministry unable to meet routine financial obligations, leading to the suspension of electricity services and disrupting its normal operations.

Neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Ministry of Finance immediately commented publicly on the reported shutdown.