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South Sudan government dismissed UN report The country’s ruling elites are accused of plundering tens of millions of dollars from the treasury, calling them victims of the “international movement.”
Last week, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan stated that it had misappropriated “astonishing” funds and other wealth from public coffers and resources—more than $73 million since 2018, in less than two months.
It warned that plunder could disrupt the already fragile peace process of the world’s newest country, which has been struggling to escape from a five-year civil war after independence in 2011.
It stated in a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva: “This plundering also continues to fuel political competition among elites, is a key driver of ongoing conflicts, violations and serious crimes, and endangers the prospects for sustainable peace. “
South Sudan fired back on Monday. Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro dismissed the report, saying it was “an international movement… against [South Sudan’s] government”.
Lomulo told Agence France-Presse: “These organizations are sponsored to avoid seeing the political stability in South Sudan. They will shift from one thing to another, from human rights to corruption, and from corruption to other aspects.”
“This country is a sovereign country… If the government is mismanaged, only the people of South Sudan can hold this government accountable, not external forces.”
The Minister of Cabinet Affairs of South Sudan, Martin Elia Lomuro, rejected the report, saying it was part of an “international movement… opposition.” [South Sudan’s] government’ [File: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters]The United Nations reported that the figure of US$73 million was only a small part of the total amount of looting, adding that in 2012, President Salva Kiir admitted that the ruling elite of South Sudan had misappropriated more than US$4 billion.
It stated that its investigation revealed that politicians, government officials, international companies, military personnel and multinational banks were involved in these “crimes.”
The committee accused South Sudan’s elite of deliberately adopting a “highly informal” oil revenue collection system without independent supervision and transparency, which led to misappropriation of public funds.
“The same flawed and opaque processes for contract payments, purchases and revenues were illegally operated to transfer non-oil revenues,” it said in a statement. Press release Thursday.
In one case, the Ministry of Finance illegally paid a sum of money to Sudanese businessman Ashram Seed Ahmed Al-Cardinal in May 2018, which “accounted for 21.6% of the total budget of’Use of Goods and Services’ and’Capital’ in South Sudan throughout 2018. /Expenses in fiscal year 2019,” it said.
‘Not far from the truth’
Human rights activists support the report and call on citizens to raise sharp questions with the country’s legislators.
“Oil money is flowing…but it doesn’t reflect [in] The lives of the people in this country, so the report is not far from the truth,” Boldenbolt, executive director of the rights group Fearless South Sudan, told AFP.
“I will urge the people of South Sudan to understand their financial situation.”
This poor country, along with Somalia, ranks last in Transparency International’s corruption index, and is almost entirely dependent on oil revenues.
After the ceasefire in 2018 and the power-sharing agreement between Kiir and his rival, Rick Machar, who turned his deputy, the peace process showed little sign of progress.
The report stated that it has identified several persons suspected of human rights violations and economic crimes, and their names will be passed on to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for possible investigation or prosecution.
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