S. Sudan begins investigating ministers suspended over financial scandal
Article
Comments (11)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
facebook
myspace
twitter
buzzyahoo
June 30, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan has started investigating its two
ministers recently suspended for alleged involvement in what is
regarded as the biggest financial scandal in the country’s
post-independence era.
JPEG - 11.7 kb
South Sudan president Salva Kiir (Reuters)
The finance minister, Kosti Manibe and his cabinet affairs
counterpart, Deng Alor are accused of approving the transfer of $8
million of public funds without the knowledge of relevant state
institutions.
The two were suspended in a decree issued by South Sudan president,
Salva Kiir who also appointed a five-member committee to investigate
the duo.
No South Sudanese official has been prosecuted for corruption, despite
millions of dollars going unaccounted for since the south-ruling party
Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) gained control of south as
part of a 2005 peace deal.
However, since the country’s independence in 2011, president Kiir has
rhetorically pledged tough measures against corruption, but his recent
action was the first ever move against senior officials accused of
financial malpractice.
An investigation committee headed by the chairperson of the the
country’s anti-graft commission chair, John Gatwic Lul was formed to
find the facts and establish the legality of the contract for which
the money was requested and approved by the two officials.
The five-member committee on Friday took oath before the president
pledging allegiance, independence, secrecy and commitment to establish
facts of the case.
Gatwic, who spoke to reporters soon after the swearing-in ceremony,
said his committee was ready to start the process.
It is alleged that the funds were released from South Sudan’s national
treasury into a private account.
Last year, president Kiir wrote to 75 both former and current senior
government officials asking them to return $4 billion in missing
public finds.This investigation, according to analysts, is regarded by
the general public as the SPLM’s response to corruption allegations,
which have tarnished the image of the new nation.
The two senior ministers are the first high-level officials to be
investigated for corruption, since the country gained independence
from Sudan two years ago.
Ngai’s predecessors at the ministry of finance and economic planning
were removed from the post following reports that they were implicated
in similar allegations, but none of them was ever probed by the
country’s anti-corruption body.
Several top-ranking officials at the ministry of finance, including
acting general for accounts are also said to be under investigation.
Meanwhile, Kiir has ordered security agents to ensure that the
officials cooperate with the anti-corruption commission and do not
travel outside the country without the knowledge of the committee.
A presidential aide quoted the Kiir as saying that considering the
amounts of funds and assets involved, it was clear that most of the
alleged corruption cases were deliberately being carried out by
individual officials.
“I want a full report on these allegations. We cannot condone such
acts of abuse of public funds,” Kiir reportedly told the investigation
committee, while reiterating his stance on zero tolerance to
corruption.
Kiir, the aide told Sudan Tribune, has also demanded a thorough
forensic investigation of the government departments implicated in
order to get to the root of the allegations.
"The president has asked the investigating agencies to carry out their
work in accordance with the law, noting that the alleged perpetrators
of corruption should be accorded due process and their rights to a
free and fair trial should be respected at all times," said the aide,
who preferred anonymity.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"South Sudan Info - The Kob" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oqO-eNQ4jC6vF92_2UACyH6yWkWqfQqE1N_oeh8Z0HaOA%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
