{"id":663381,"date":"2026-05-11T07:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T07:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/663381\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T07:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T07:22:08","slug":"its-like-we-went-bankrupt-overnight-poorest-somalis-suffer-as-piles-of-worthless-shillings-mount-up-somalia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/663381\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s like we went bankrupt overnight\u2019: poorest Somalis suffer as piles of worthless shillings mount up | Somalia"},"content":{"rendered":"

As US troops withdrew from Somalia<\/a> in the spring of 1994, a teenaged Muse Omar Jama began working as an exchange trader in Mogadishu\u2019s Bakara market. More than three decades later, he still does the same job, but wonders for how much longer.<\/p>\n

Jama, 49, sits in a plastic chair in the one-room office he shares with other traders. The auto-rickshaws speed by outside, but inside is quiet; the noise of bargaining has faded and the traders exchange few words between themselves.<\/p>\n

Their battered metal safes, filled with millions of Somali shillings, are closed and locked. The paper fortunes inside have suddenly become worthless. \u201cIt\u2019s like we went bankrupt overnight,\u201d says Jama.<\/p>\n

Last month, fed up with greasy, ripped and aged banknotes, a handful of traders in Mogadishu decided they would no longer accept them. Soon businesses, shops and even bus drivers were following suit, and the decision quickly spread to regions outside the capital.<\/p>\n

double quotation markMillions are going to suffer. More families will be pushed into povertyMuse Omar Jama<\/p>\n

The impact on prices was immediate, pushing up everyday expenses such as groceries, medicines and public transport. A small bag of powdered milk, for example, more than doubled in price.<\/p>\n

Amid global food price rises<\/a> and Somalia\u2019s ongoing drought, poor people are bearing the brunt of the effects of an economy that is becoming completely \u201cdollarised\u201d.<\/p>\n

Somalia is one of the most remittance-dependent countries in the world. The diaspora sends billions annually \u2013 primarily in US dollars. These remittances flow into the economy via informal money-transfer operators, known as hawala in Arabic. The heavy presence of international bodies in Somalia \u2013 such as the UN, aid organisations, foreign forces and security firms \u2013 has further reinforced the use of US dollars.<\/p>\n

Somalia has not printed any banknotes since 1991, when the then government of Siad Barre was overthrown, the central bank ceased to operate, and the country gained the infamous title of \u201cfailed state\u201d. In the following years, the 1,000 Somali shilling note, the highest-value bill, became the only officially recognised money in circulation.<\/p>\n

In the absence of an agreed unified currency amid factional conflict and politics \u2013 the breakaway territory of Somaliland launched its own shilling \u2013 the US dollar and phone transfers have become increasingly commonplace. Soon the only regions that accepted shillings were Mogadishu and some towns and districts in the country\u2019s south.<\/p>\n

With no new banknotes printed for years, many businesses will not take banknotes as they are in such poor condition. Photograph: Mohamed Gabobe<\/p>\n

Before last month\u2019s revolt from businesses, people from all walks of life would come to Jama\u2019s office at Zoobe junction to exchange their shillings for dollars via mobile money, or vice versa, cashing in mobile remittances for Somali shillings.<\/p>\n

Now, just like hundreds of thousands of others who are not paid in dollars through banks, Jama\u2019s life has been turned upside down.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to the rejection of the Somali shilling, I was able to make enough to cover the basics such as rent, electricity and water,\u201d says Jama. He now walks the three miles (5km) to work because he cannot use shillings on the bus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rejection of the Somali shillings has hurt poor people the most, even the beggars. They used to be given a couple of thousand Somali shillings by passersby and for them, it was a form of survival that helped them purchase food and small goods but now the notes they have are worthless,\u201d Jama says.<\/p>\n

Jama says he now struggles to cover his basic needs and must walk into Mogadishu each day as the bus will no longer take shillings. Photograph: Mohamed Gabobe<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they come to me trying to exchange their Somali shillings for mobile money in dollars, I have to turn them away because my safes, shelves and tables are already full of Somali shillings that I\u2019m unable to exchange for US dollars anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

double quotation markI have to turn them away because my safes, shelves and tables are already full of Somali shillings I\u2019m unable to exchange<\/p>\n

On 4 May, dozens of exchange traders staged a protest, waving wads of the old banknotes as they walked through the streets of Mogadishu, shouting: \u201cSomalia is the only country without a currency.\u201d Jama was too disillusioned to join them. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem like things will ever be the same again. Our currency is dead and so is our way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asha Ali Ahmed, 39, who sells vegetables at what used to be her mother\u2019s market stall in Mogadishu, has similar concerns. \u201cWe were raised off the earnings from this vegetable stand,\u201d she says. \u201cI would take the Somali shillings to [the farming town] Afgoye to buy vegetables, then return to Mogadishu and sell them in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now farmers refuse to accept the shillings and request payments in mobile money instead, increasing vegetable prices. \u201cVegetables were already expensive because of the drought,\u201d she says. \u201cThe rejection of the shilling only exacerbated our situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asha Ali Ahmed at the stall she took over from her mother. She says the switch to mobile money has pushed up the price of produce. Photograph: Mohamed Gabobe<\/p>\n

Somalia is enduring a dire drought that has caused widespread crop failures, raising food prices and disrupting livelihoods. According to the World Food Programme, nearly a third<\/a> of the country\u2019s population, 6.5 million people, face severe hunger, and 2 million children under the age of five face acute malnutrition.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people who bought vegetables from my stand were people that could only afford to make purchases in shillings. Paying with mobile money means they have to pay more, and most can\u2019t afford to,\u201d says Ahmed.<\/p>\n

In a televised press conference, the federal government announced<\/a> that the rejection of the Somali shilling would constitute a crime and ordered traders and businesses to continue accepting it.<\/p>\n

But Jama and others doubt the ruling can be enforced by the fragile state. \u201cThe government\u2019s decree to save the shilling is good but we need action to back the directive. There are no police, or anyone for that matter, helping us,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would help would be [for the government] to go to businesses and hold people accountable for refusing to accept the Somali shilling. Even fines would help,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Jama leans back in his chair. Across the street, guards stand watch behind mounted machine guns at the ministry of foreign affairs. \u201cMillions are going to suffer,\u201d he says quietly. \u201cMore families will be pushed into poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As US troops withdrew from Somalia in the spring of 1994, a teenaged Muse Omar Jama began working…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-663381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}