Garowe (Sahan Post) – Puntland’s Minister of Information, Mahmoud Aydid Dirir, has issued a warning to travelers heading to Puntland, advising them not to use the Federal Government’s E-Visa system, which he says fails to meet digital security standards and puts applicants’ personal data at risk.
Minister Dirir stated that the system suffers from “clear vulnerabilities,” pointing to a recent cyberattack as evidence of what he described as significant technical weaknesses. He accused the Federal Government of prioritizing revenue collection over the protection of citizens’ sensitive information.
According to the minister, the financial proceeds generated through the E-Visa platform are not transparently managed, as there is no legal framework defining how the funds are administered or shared. Dirir warned that the absence of such regulations could lead to mismanagement and raise concerns about the handling of public revenue.
He further characterized the E-Visa initiative as a “cash-grab project” lacking data-protection mechanisms and operating without proper security backups. The minister claimed that some of the compromised data from the recent breach had already been circulated online, posing additional risks to visa applicants.
The Puntland government’s remarks come as the Federal Government firmly denies the allegations, asserting that claims against the E-Visa system amount to misinformation spread by groups opposed to efforts aimed at modernizing and unifying Somalia’s immigration procedures.
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