"The country has been captured by a predatory elite that has institutionalised the systematic looting of the nation's wealth for private gain, said the commission, according to the Reuters news agency. While a small group of powerful actors pillage and loot the country's wealth and resources, enriching themselves, the state has effectively abdicated its sovereign responsibilities to its population, outsourcing critical services such as the provision of food, health care, and education to international donors, the report says. Corruption is killing South Sudanese, it adds."
"According to the 101-page report, payments from 2021 to 2024 were a single example of the authorities' grand corruption. It claimed that the government's oil-for-roads programme had funnelled oil revenue to companies linked to Benjamin Bol Mel, a businessman close to President Salva Kiir who was appointed second vice president this year. According to the report, $1.7bn of the $2.2bn set aside for the roads programme was unaccounted for, with 95 percent of roads by the initiative still not reaching completion."
Authorities in South Sudan used multiple schemes to divert significant public revenue since independence in 2011. A predatory elite institutionalised systematic looting of national wealth for private gain, enabling a small group to pillage resources and enrich themselves. The state outsourced critical services such as food, health care, and education to international donors, effectively abdicating sovereign responsibilities. Payments from 2021 to 2024 exemplified grand corruption, including an oil-for-roads programme that funnelled revenue to companies linked to Benjamin Bol Mel. About $1.7bn of $2.2bn set aside for the roads programme was unaccounted for, and 95 percent of initiative roads remained incomplete. The government rejected allegations, calling them attempts to smear its image.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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