South Sudan opposition leader condemns alleged 20-year oil presale to UAE

JUBA – The leader of South Sudan’s opposition Patriots’ Resistance Movement (PRM), General Laraka Machar Turoal, has condemned what he described as an “illicit and illegal” agreement between the government of South Sudan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) involving a 20-year presale of the country’s oil in exchange for a $12 billion loan.

In a statement released on Tuesday and shared with Sudans Post, the PRM leader accused President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s administration of prioritizing its political survival at the expense of the nation’s economic future, warning that the deal would mortgage South Sudan’s oil resources for generations.

“We in the Patriots’ Resistance Movement (PRM) strongly condemn the illicit and illegal agreement between the government of South Sudan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which involves a 20-year presale of the country’s oil in exchange for a $12 billion loan. This reckless decision orchestrated by the regime of President Salva Kiir is a grave violation of the rights of the South Sudanese people, both present and future,” the statement said.

“In a bid to bail out their drowning economy, the president is sacrificing the people of South Sudan for his own political survival and that of the elites running the sophisticated curtailing units of the government, which they call ‘institutions.’ The deal paints a rosy picture of the existing arrangements with the Republic of Sudan, which is the main partner in this oil business,” he added.

The opposition leader further accused Kiir’s government of disregarding provisions of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which mandates transparency in oil sales. The PRM cited sections of the agreement that require oil revenues to be managed prudently and for all sales to be conducted in an open and competitive manner.

“The current peace partners of Salva Kiir should come out clean, or else we the people shall regard them as partners in crime,” the statement said.

The PRM’s condemnation follows a report by a United Nations Security Council panel of investigators last year, which revealed that South Sudan had agreed to a multi-billion-dollar oil-backed loan with the UAE-based Hamad Bin Khalifa Department of Projects (HBK DOP).

Bloomberg reported at the time that the deal, signed between December 2023 and February 2024, would see South Sudan producing oil until at least 2043, beyond the projected lifespan of its current oil reserves.

According to the report, South Sudan would receive $10 less per barrel compared to the international market price under the agreement. The UN has also previously raised concerns over similar oil-backed loans, noting that South Sudan has a history of failing to meet repayment obligations, leading to significant revenue losses.

South Sudan’s financial struggles linked to oil-backed borrowing are not new. In May 2022, then-finance minister Agak Achuil Lual revealed that the country’s crude oil had already been sold in advance until 2027, forcing the government to seek further loans to cover its expenses beyond that period.

“Where am I going to get the money? If the oil has been sold in advance up to 2027, that means I will go to 2028 to ask somebody to give me money such that by 2028 he will be given that oil,” Achuil stated at the time, warning that successive administrations would be forced into a cycle of borrowing, effectively tying the country’s economic future to long-term debt obligations.

In its statement, the PRM urged international bodies, including Transparency International, the UN Security Council, and South Sudan’s peace partners, to challenge what it described as an “unscrupulous deal.” The group also called on the UAE to reconsider its involvement in the agreement, warning that it could further entrench corruption and economic instability in South Sudan.

“The current peace partners of Salva Kiir should come out clean, or else we the people shall regard them as partners in crime. We call on the international community, especially Transparency International, the UN Security Council, the TROIKA countries, and any other peace partner to the people of South Sudan to wake up and challenge this unscrupulous deal and call on the UAE to desist from the lures of the Juba regime,” the PRM warned, announcing plans to release a detailed report on the matter soon.

South Sudan remains heavily dependent on oil revenues, which constitute nearly 90% of its income. However, a combination of declining oil production, economic mismanagement, and continued conflicts has worsened the country’s financial crisis, leaving it reliant on oil-backed loans that critics argue are mortgaging the nation’s future.