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West reiterates call on Juba to transparently manage ‘tremendous’ natural wealth

Author: Chany Ninrew | Published: January 12, 2025

A woman roasting sorghum in Greater Pibor (Photo/VOA).

Western governments have expressed concern over what they say is South Sudan government’s “failure to transparently use public revenue” to deliver services and realize the nation’s dream of prosperity, in a joint statement on occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

The governments of Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United States – said the historic agreement was signed with the hope that South Sudanese would enjoy peace, human rights and responsive leaders.

“Sadly, this hope has gone unfulfilled. Despite South Sudan’s tremendous natural resources, the country’s wealth continues to benefit only a small elite,” reads the statement published by the U.S. Department of State.

“For years, the transitional government has failed to use public revenue transparently to pay public sector salaries, ensure access to basic health and education services, or create an enabling environment for sustainable development.”

South Sudan has abundant natural resources and holds one of the richest agricultural areas in Africa, with fertile soils and abundant water supplies.

On top of that, the country has 10-20 million head of cattle, rich fishery resources, abundant minerals and ranks third in sub-Saharan Africa for oil reserves.

However, much of the natural wealth has not been exploited and the government relies almost entirely on oil for the vast majority of its budget revenues, although oil production has dwindled since independence.

The main pipeline pumping crude oil through Sudan for export at the Red Sea was halted in March 2024 due to significant damage caused by the war in Sudan.

This, coupled with multiple crises, signaled an economic disaster for the country and the transitional government struggled to meet its expenditures and civil servants and armed forces were not paid in the year 2024.

In the latest food security assessment, UN agencies have warned of an alarming humanitarian situation in South Sudan in 2025 lean season where more than half the country’s population will go hungry in the lean season.

Oil exports have subsequently resumed on January 8 following Sudan’s decision to lift force majeure on the vital pipeline which had been repaired – with the restart expected to alleviate severe financial strain on the nation.

Displaced people to be hardest hit by hunger amid growing food crisis: UN

South Sudan was ranked the second most corrupt country in the world along with Syria and Venezuela as Somalia topped the list, according to Transparency International’s 2023 corruption index which classes 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.

The country has remained in that position for the last two years, after beating Somalia as the most corrupt in 2021.

The Chief Justice of South Sudan Judiciary Chan Reech Madut acknowledged in December 2024 that no institution in the country is free from corruption as the country marked International Anti-Corruption Day.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission said his agency’s fight against corruption is being frustrated by a lack of funding and the continued protection of corrupt officials from prosecution.

During the CPA signing between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM) and the former Islamic regime in Khartoum, the southern liberation movement’s leader Dr. John Garang De Mabior pledged to rebuild the war-ravaged south using the existing wealth.

In his famous speech to the world in Nairobi, Dr. Garang pledged that the SPLM would use wealth in diversity as a source of national cohesion and strength.

He stressed that the SPLM would implement social, political, and economic development strategies and programs that include using oil money to strengthen agriculture as the engine of growth.

The ruling party also pledged to take towns to the people in the countryside through rural small-town planning and rural electrification.

However, eight years after Dr. Garang’s death and two years after the independence, South Sudan descended into a devastating civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and forced millions into exile.

Further, the joint statement underscored that corruption and mismanagement of natural resources are rampant in South Sudan.

It added that the transitional government has not taken the steps necessary to create the conditions for peaceful and credible elections, as well as fostering the civic and political space needed to give the people of South Sudan a voice in their country’s future.

“We renew our call on the transitional government to act with urgency to meet its long overdue commitments so that South Sudan can finally realize the CPA’s promise of peace and prosperity for all its citizens.”

 

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