IO-nominated deputy finance minister laments years of ‘institutionalized’ corruption in South Sudan

JUBA – South Sudan’s deputy minister of finance has blamed “institutionalized” corruption in the world’s youngest country for the ongoing suffering and misery among its citizens who have been rendered destitute by the conflict.

Agok Makur, the SPLM-IO-nominated official said the world’s youngest country is not poor, but admitted that despite the enough resources, corruption has to blame for the ongoing suffering of the South Sudanese people.

“South Sudan is not a poor country, we have enough resources but these resources are not properly used, there is a lack of proper management that is why people look at South Sudan like a poor country,” he said, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency.

The senior government official disclosed that unity government formed last February is working to implement governance and economic reforms enshrined in the 2018 revitalized peace deal to create transparency and accountability.

“The current revitalized government is working on reforms especially in the financial sector,” he said.

Makur said that the nation’s economic hardship is due to years of conflict that broke out in December 2013.

South Sudan depends 98% on oil revenues to finance fiscal expenditure but mismanagement of oil revenues, conflict and the coronavirus affected production in northern oil fields with production falling below 300,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Currently, production is at 175,000 bpd and it is expected to rise within two years to the previous 300,000 bpd before the outbreak of conflict.