South Sudan is now the most corrupt country on earth – Transparency International  

JUBA – An annual report by the German-based non-profit organization, Transparency International, has ranked South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, as the most corrupt country in the world bypassing Somalia, Syria, and Yemen which were the most corrupt countries in 2019.

“With a score of 66, the Seychelles consistently earns top marks in the region, followed by Botswana (60) and Cabo Verde (58). At the bottom of the index are Sudan (16), Somalia (12) and South Sudan (12),” the transparency international said in their corruption index released on Thursday.

The non-profit organization said Sub-Saharan Africa “is the lowest performing region on the CPI, showing little improvement from previous years and underscoring a need for urgent action.”

South Sudan gained its independent from Sudan in July 2011 becoming the world’s youngest country. Two years on, a political infighting within the ruling SPLM party sparked conflict after members of the SPLA – then the official army – targeted members of the Nuer ethnic group in the capital Juba.

The killing sparked mutinies among top senior army commanders triggering civil that has since killed around 500,000 people and displaced millions, according to international organizations including the United Nations which is also protecting many IDPs within the country.

Since then, the civil war has ransacked the world’s youngest country of its then promising economy effectively becoming one of the hunger-hit countries in the world and one of the most corrupt countries between 2016 and 2019 before becoming the most corrupt country on earth in 2020.

‘Awful verdict’ against Kiir

Exiled South Sudanese economist Peter Biar Ajak who fled to the United States last year after government “threat” to harm him said the finding is an indication that President Salva Kiir’s government has failed

“It’s a awful verdict on Kiir’s failed kleptocracy,” Biar wrote on Twitter.