Top gov’t officials accused of misusing oil revenues as civilians starve to death

JUBA – A South Sudan Juba-based activist is accusing senior South Sudan government officials of deliberately using oil revenues as United Nations and other humanitarian agencies report that civilians in the war-torn country are starving to death as results of environmental factors and the man-made conflict.

South Sudan which became an independent state from Sudan to become the world’s youngest country in July 2011 following decades of war largely depends on oil revenue which accounts for 98 per cent of the country’s budget.

A report by a US-based watchdog, The Sentry, released in March 2018 said that South Sudan’s political and warring leaders use the country’s oil wealth to get rich and terrorize civilians including committing human grave rights abuses urging regional and international powers to deploy tactics to prevent the fraudulent activity .

More than $80 million was paid to South Sudanese politicians, military officials, government agencies, and companies owned by politicians and members of their families, according to the US-based group that was co-pounded by American actor George Clooney.

The oil company made security-related payments from March 2014 until June 2015, according to The Sentry, which obtained a log of payments kept by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining.

“The oil money has been looted by individuals, it is benefiting citizens, but it is benefiting individuals,” Edmund Yakani, an activist and director of Community Empowerment and Progress Organization told Sudans Post on a phone on Wednesday.

Yakani, who is a leading voice among human rights defenders in South Sudan, added that “I would like to say South Sudan is not a broke country, we are rich country but unfortunately, we are corrupt State”.

“If the oil revenue have been used to support other sectors like agriculture and productive sectors in the country, we would have become rich,” he said.

“But this oil revenue has been used directly to pay services which do not benefit, these oil money are looted in corrupt laundering,” he added.