The Somali terror group Al-Shabaab is using an entrenched system of taxation to fund their activities by collecting money and commodities even in areas not under their control.
A new report from the Hiraal Institute in Mogadishu stressed that as ISIS grows in Somalia they’re competing for tax collections with Al-Shabaab, which remains the biggest collector.
Al-Shabaab collects non-monetary taxes, such as livestock, through its Zakawaat Office and cash through its Finance Office. The first leader of the Zakawaat office was fired for giving collected commodities to the poor. The Finance Office was built “from a ragtag, informal, highly inefficient office to become the most ruthless collection entity in Somalia.”
“AS is financially self-sufficient; however, its expenses are ballooned by recurring payments to hundreds of officials and local influencers, many nominally in charge of areas not controlled by the group. The group has however managed to raise emergency funds to keep itself afloat, and has never failed to pay its fighters and administrators,” the report states.