South Sudan's Faltering Economy: The World Bank, IMF, should Declare Juba Bankrupt
By Hon. Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, SPLM-IO Governor Imatong State
April 26, 2017 (SSB) — To shoot down the economic crunch, which artillery to use? The situations in Juba is that of a swirling hurricane. Manga ten, Gurei, market are looted, Inflation has already hit over 1000%. The highest salary is that of the president valued at 150 USD per month. Over 80% of government employees earn less than 4 USD a month. An average poor person in the world lives on 1 USD a day, he should be able to earn 30 USD a month to be rated poor (World Bank scale).
80% of South Sudanese earns 4 USD a month (48 USD per annum) are not just poor but lives between absolute slavery and death. The 4 USD per month is not also paid on time as civil servants go for 3-4 months without pay. Since 2013 the government of South Sudan has borrowed heavily to prosecute the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing. The debt levels stand at 38.7% of GDP. Classified reports indicate that the government has already sold a large quantity of oil in advance sales and payments to multinational companies involved in oil business.
It has also already received and squandered royalties for environmental damage that could have been plough in the affected communities in Upper Nile to fight the war and in corrupt practices. While south Sudanese are grinding their teeth in affliction and famine government officials and the cronies of JCE are busy organizing expensive and lavish weddings in juba and East Africa. Juba the capital city has been secretly declared among the famine hit areas.
Nongovernmental organizations have started registering households and assessing needs of the South Sudanese in Juba. The economy of Juba is that of a typical bourgeoisie capitalism. The “haves” and “have not”, palace vs huts, conspicuous luxuries vs absolute poverty. There’s a class of notorious South Sudanese who are immune from all the prevailing economic woes in the country.
- The class that has been looting South Sudan economy since 2005 and established illegal businesses in juba and elsewhere in East Africa and Middle East (Dubai), this class runs businesses ranging from banks, forex bureaux, imports and exports trade, clearance and forwarding, insurance companies, cottage industries etc.
- The second class are the group that profits from the war situations in the country. These are war merchants. The large chunks of resources allocated annually for war falls into their bottomless pockets most SPLA Generals headed by Malong Awan Anei, are in this class.
- The third class is the inner circle of the presidency and cohorts. Resources flow in the government of Salva has in the three key ministries as follows; ministry of presidency, Defense, and Foreign Affairs. Due to declaration of state of emergency the three ministries plus that of National Security Services, finance and Economic planning as well as the Central Bank of South Sudan function manually directly under the president.
Manual operations of financial systems of the government is the mother of the economic crisis in South Sudan now. In Several occasion president Kiir, Gen Malong, Mobutu Mamur, Kuol Manyang ordered or drove to where money is kept or presumed kept in order to get allocation in the name of war. As a result of lack of accountability, several businesses in East and Central African as well as Middle East sprung up.
Real Estate in Uganda and Kenya, for instance, in Kampala in or around Akride area, 20 km, along Entebbe road president Kiir established a round estate of several meters square locally known as a city within a city, while Mamur in Kajjansi, what about his shares in Bata Company? Malong has his in Namuwongo luzira side and the estate in Nairobi, multiple shares in key companies, and awarding political bribes to retain power in juba, the lavish lifestyle speaks for themselves.
Two weeks ago Kiir just disposed ten million dollars to President Uhuru, for elections and awarded him certificate of good conducts in dealing blow to the opposition and diplomatic support. The Kapoeta gold Cartel involved Governor Louise Lobong and President Kiir, Lobong bought several lands in Uganda; he built in Lira, Kampala Muyenga side, and in Nairobi; in Kilelechwa and along Gong road.
While there are growing number of South Sudanese calling the war senseless and wishing the war ended yesterday, the regime elites deemed the war full of sense and avenue to make profits. These are the anti-peace elements within the government plunged by so called SPLM-IO for peace, a filthy blanket and cover up. The Deng’s group has actually disintegrated into sections and tribes. What unites them is common fate of being politically spent forces, they are now irrelevant in the political equation.
Their conspiracy to overthrow the agreement and Dr Riek has never added any value to the JCE strategy. It was just a Fabian tactics by JCE. Individual attempts to win favors from Salva and power brokers are not working, the Salva loyalists have surrounded him and fighting of any parasitic elements of Deng’s group. Now that the salaries is less than 50 USD for MPs and for ministers 100 USD is the venture still worthy.
For how long should the JCE keep on slaying people with this self-made economic crisis. They are the only people rejoicing as their neighbors are wailing. The elite class is just a tiny fraction of the population, only less than 1% of the population. They succeeded in taking everybody hostage and into slaughter house of genocide, famine and extermination camps, the Protection of civilians sites. For this unwarranted sufferings to end all South Sudanese must come up to challenge the system in a mass revolt and Arab Spring Style of political uprisings to get rid of their tormentors.
The level of destitution has gone beyond imagination. In East Africa, young South Sudanese girls have dropped out of schools and are selling sex on streets of Nairobi and Kampala for a plate of food a culture never thought in history. HIV positive men willfully infecting them as revenge for loss of their dear ones and property in South Sudan as transfer of aggression.
The author, Hon. Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, is a senior and founding member of SPLM-IO and the current SPLM-IO governor of Imatong State. He is also a former HoD Dpt. and Senior Lecturer Political Science Uni. of Juba; former Chairman Political Committee, and former Member of Parliament, GoSS. He can be reached through: (oyetnathaniel22@gmail.com)
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