Who are the "13 most corrupt" South Sudanese officials?
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By Justin Ambago Ramba
September 18, 2011 — It is no secret that one of the outstanding
political changes in Africa which more than not is attributable to the
post 9/11 US foreign policy shift is the coming of South Sudan into
the central stage of the world politics. Nobody knew that the fate of
this people who led one of Africa’s longest liberation struggles in
the modern history would change so dramatically as it did soon as the
US changed its’ polices and alliances in the Arab and Islamic region.
As a fact of history, the way to South Sudan’s independence wasn’t any
easy. To put it mildly, it was in defiance of many old regional
political traditions and negatively held views about secessionism in
the African continent that the new Republic of South Sudan (RSS)
deservedly made it to become the world’s newest state. But as we
follow some of the stories as they unfold, one is left with the
impression that there is more to this new nation’s politics than that
meets the eye.
South Sudan ceases to appear young when it comes to how it creates
multi-millionaires overnight. Still classified as one of the world’s
poorest state though oil producing, the country surprising against all
odds has the highest rate of freedom fighters turned public fund
looters. One may ask how come that such things be allowed to go on
unabated in an age where good governance and accountability are not
only the dominant slogans of the new world order, but are in fact
being taught on regular basis by the countless Western NGOs and their
local counterparts to all management levels in the developing
countries who heavily depend on USAID and EU development funds and
partnership.
Today as I write, politics is about to take a different turn in South
Sudan, and even the SPLM party which by design prides itself for
commanding an unquestionable majority in running the state machinery
is realising that, in the absence of the traditional scapegoat, it
will only have itself to blame for its long accumulating dirty records
on delivery of services and the rampant mismanagement of resources.
It is true that South Sudan by necessity is a nation whose people’s
expectations see no limit; however it is the lack of the limit to
greed for power and public money that has taken the lead under
President Salva Kiir’s leadership. The new republic has much to leave
every one’s mouth gapping in surprise.
The Radio Miraya (South Sudan) a news portal of high integrity,
published in its local news column that came out on the 7th of
September 2011 some of the most fascinating deliberations by the RSS
National Legislative Assembly on the performance of the South Sudan
Anti-Corruption Commission as it presented its claims of
investigations into some 60 cases of corruption and the recovery of
more than SSP 120 million (approx. $20 million) that was swindled
through corruption in a report read out by Dr. Pauline Riak, the
Commission’s Chairperson.
Despite Dr. Pauline Riak’s assertion that many other cases had been
referred to other investigations agencies, she seemed to have failed
to impress her audience; for it was apparent that the shift in
regional power balance as influenced by the new political landscape is
beginning to bite. And no wonder when Paul Akol MP demanded an answer
to why the Commissioner’s report made no any reference to the
mushrooming South Sudanese millionaires who have accumulated wealth
under very suspicious circumstances, it left the impression that
whatever Dr. Pauline Riak and her Commission was engaged in over the
years since they became operational is way behind what the common
South Sudanese citizen already knows.
It is the story of the so-called “13 top corrupt South Sudanese” whose
list is believed to be out there that continues to dominate the
discussion in the elite circles, since it was first made public by the
word of mouth a few days following the independence celebrations on
9th July 2011. Again it was the Radio Miraya in its coverage of the
National Legislative Assembly’s deliberations on corruption that
confirmed the high level of anxiousness which surrounds this
“political abscess”, when it wrote and I quote:
“Legislators however wondered why “the 13 people” cited on the
American list of alleged top corrupt South Sudanese officials were not
mentioned in the report.” Radio Miraya wrote on 7th September 2011.
However, this is not the first time that legislators and the members
of the press have tried to bring to light this story of “ the 13 top
corrupt”officials, as similar attempts can be traced back to the day
the names of the new government cabinet were taken to the Parliament
for approval. According to the renowned Sudan Tribune 31 August 2011,
an MP was quoted as saying:
“The MPs of the SPLM caucus also criticised the lack of consultations
within the party in the process of nominations. They said the
President instead informally consulted with unimportant individuals
and not the SPLM as an institution.”
“They also initially demanded that the President should first show
them the list 13 ministers believed to be involved in corruption so
that the parliament could make sure that their appointment are not
endorsed. However, the ruling party’s caucus finally compromised their
position; he added and decided to approve all the appointed ministers
and their deputies during the parliamentary sitting on Wednesday
despite the concerns about their involvement in corruption.” He added.
As can be seen, the public and some of the lawmakers are trying to
fight this battle with the government, but specifically so with
President Kiir directly for there is a strong believe that a credible
international body, probably a development partner of South Sudan has
raised up the issues of the “the 13 top corrupted politicians” with
the President. And the SPLM leadership’s choice of silence on the
issues assuming that it will eventually die away is a miscalculation,
because the continuous rise in the cost of living is likely to bring
the topic to the front.
Again, it won’t go well for President Kiir should at all he chose to
side with what is widely perceived as internationally identified bunch
of thieves and greedy politicians, while the helpless returnees and
immensely compromised children die of hunger and malnutrition. It will
no longer be business as usual when diabolical politicians out of
sheer greed and wickedness make it away with what is clearly stolen
wealth while poverty associated diseases unabatedly take precious
lives even within what technical are the President’s kinsmen’s
backyards.
Any moment as it passes one cannot tell for certain what the other
would bring, nonetheless the average citizen will have to re-evaluate
his/her position over the massive disillusionment with the economic
stagnation, rapidly growing unemployment rate amongst the youth, the
rocketing prices of essential commodities, and worse still is the
desperation of waking up to face yet the same fate another day.
President Salva Kiir and his deputy forever Dr. Riek Machar both
continue in their silence as the debate on ‘the 13 top corrupt South
Sudanese’ boils. Sadly though, this worrisome silence comes against a
background of a series of inter-communal killings dubbed as cattle
rustling. Whatever the real nature of the killings where the
President’s home state of Warrap is depicted against its neighbours in
the Unity state, vice President Dr. Riek Machar’s stronghold, one
thing is for certain that the two leaders are for tactical reasons
choosing to be complacent in what looks like, ‘the magic turn against
the magician’.
This case at hand has more to it than the SPLM leadership would want
it to appear, for how can our universities which represent our true
sovereign dignity, national pride, and state symbols and our hopes for
a better future stand helpless with no clues of how they can function
without accommodation for students, no libraries, no laboratories, no
transportation budgets etc etc, etc …….when all these could have been
possible under responsible government with the political will to
reclaim back to the people what has been stolen from them.
The new Republic of South Sudan and its people for a very good reason
see in the US government an indispensable friend in spite of the fact
that most of the stolen money is likely to end up in the US banks
while not excluding Europe and Australia. Nonetheless, it will be to
the interest of the two allies for President Obama administration to
offer the lead in helping the nascent state fight corruption by
exposing corrupted South Sudanese officials and deny them any safe
havens on the American soil.
South Sudanese people are keenly following the development that the US
President Barack Obama will sooner than later be meeting, hopefully
next week (last week of September 2011) in the margins of the UN
General Assembly with the President of the Republic of South Sudan,
Salva Kiir Mayardit with the intention to mark his support to the
world’s newest state. He too is aware of the many political and
economic challenges that continue to face the newly independent state.
And according to the Sudan Tribune 16.09.2011, Ben Rhodes, the US
deputy national security advisor did express optimisms on the meeting
between the two men, when he was quoted as saying:
“We [US government] welcome, of course, South Sudan as the newest
member state of the United Nation. The United States has played a long
role in supporting a resolution to the conflict in the Sudan and
self-determination for the south Sudanese,” said the advisor.
As good as it is for our friends to identify with us in public
gatherings, they must remember that they have moral obligation not
only to pamper us with sweet words, or well wrapped aid packages that
we can carry away, but they are also expected as friends help us put
our house in order.
International pressure on President Kiir may be all that is needed to
make him break his silence on “the 13 most corrupt South Sudanese”
bring them immediately to justice and recover the public funds that
are illegally in the wrong possession. However, should his silence be
driven by the worst case scenario suggesting implicitness, and then it
becomes either him or South Sudan. For it doesn’t really matter when
people will finally be forced to conclude that the President himself
is one of “those top 13”, because for the many lives lost, the much
blood spilled, the huge sacrifices done and the sufferings of the
masses that continue to date, the whole system will just have to go
one way or the other. But as for the discontent and the dissent, they
are surely brewing, and fast.
Dr. Justin Ambago Ramba is the Secretary General of the United South
Sudan Party (USSP). He can be reached at [email protected] or
[email protected]
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