Archbishop Benjamin Paul Yugusuk. (-)

A religious leader is calling on the transitional government to prioritize fighting corruption and mismanagement of public resources and to end impunity by political leaders for such malpractices in the year 2025.

In his New Year message, Dr. Paul Benjamin Yugusuk, Archbishop of Central Equatoria Internal Province of Episcopal Church, said South Sudanese expect their government to give them the guarantee for an end to mismanagement of their resources and impunity for such acts.

Yugusuk also suggested good governance, rule of law, and accountability by public leaders as well as protection of human rights, and an end to illegal land dealings.

“As we celebrate the new year, we continue to remind our leaders that our people simply want guarantees that will enable them to live in peace with one another and to live a decent life,” he said.

“They expect the transitional government to give them the guarantee that will enable an end to corruption and mismanagement of public resources, an end to impunity, an end to ethnicity and ethicized politics.”

South Sudan was ranked as the second most corrupt country in the world along with Syria and Venezuela as Somalia toping the list, according to Transparency International’s 2023 corruption index.

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the globe by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

The country was ranked 177th out of 180 countries after scoring 13, out of a scale of 100, while Somalia scored 11 and plunges to the bottom of the list for the second year in a row. South Sudan beat Somalia as the most corrupt in 2021.

On December 9, the Chairperson of South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission said its fight against corruption was being frustrated by a lack of funding and the continued protection of corrupt officials from prosecution.

The Commission had been evicted from its office space so many times due to accumulated rental fees and the institution’s staff are currently working from their homes.

The Chief Justice of South Sudan Judiciary Chan Reech Madut – addressing the same event – also acknowledged that no institution in the country is free from corruption in the country.

Justice Madut pointed out that corruption exists in all institutions across the country, and emphasizes the urgent need for collective efforts to address the issue.

He stressed the importance of learning from the experiences of other countries in combating corruption and urges workshops to sensitize the public.

Meanwhile, the cleric said the South Sudanese people are yearning for the realization of the values which the country fought for during the struggle for independence.

“It is my prayer that this year, and in the years to come, we will be able to “sing the songs of freedom with Joy” God bless South Sudan.”

Dr. Paul Yugusuk further stated that it is possible for the country to achieve inclusive development opportunities for all citizens and regions.

“It is important to remind ourselves that the blood of our people was shed for several years so that we could among other achieve. One is political pluralism or multiparty democracy.”

“The other is equal opportunity for development for all citizens and regions. Three, freedom and liberty. Fourth, freedom of speech, conscience, and independent media.”