Ngor Kolong Ngor, South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission Chairperson. (Photo: Courtesy).

The Chairperson of South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission said its fight against corruption in the country is being frustrated by a lack of funding and the continued protection of corrupt officials from prosecution.

The Commission has 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.

Speaking during a workshop to mark International Anti-Corruption Day, Ngor Kolong Ngor underlined the challenges his office faces and called for urgent action to address these issues.

He explained how corruption has harmed the country, with public funds meant for services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure often stolen or misused.

According to him, the Commission struggles to carry out its work due to limited funding and ongoing impunity for corrupt practices.

Ngor said that many corrupt officials are still not punished for their actions, making the fight against corruption even harder.

“When the people understand the impact of corruption, they are more likely to resist corruption practices and embrace the moral will to all others accountable,” he said.

“There are issues of impunity. Everybody is aware. The most corrupt officials enjoy impunity, and it is time now to stop this. We must engage in continuous in public education, and we have department that will handle this issue.”

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.

Mr. Ngor is encouraging the transitional government to provide more funding and resources to the Commission.

“The Anti-Corruption of South Sudan have the power to investigate effectively and prosecute the cases of corruption we have that power. Our real issue or what we are facing is there no fund.”

“If there is a fund, I and our team have the right to prosecute them before the law of court and now you are seeing the Chief Justice is here with us, we have the role to formed a court for anti-corruption in whole South Sudan.”

Mr. Ngor praised President Kiir for signing anti-corruption laws but added that more must be done to enforce them.

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.