Hon. Salvatore Garang Mabiordit: The bastion of economic recovery, growth and prosperity in South Sudan

Hon. Salvatore Garang Mabiordit: The victim of exotic politics of egregious lies and distortions

By Simon Yel Yel, Juba, South Sudan

Thursday, March 21, 2019 (PW) — Thought not blood, unmeasurable ink has been spilt over the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Salvatore Garang Mabior. But the truth remains: He is not corrupt as being misleadingly alleged. That’s the reason I don’t buy all these corruption allegations born of consummate hatred and insipid circumlocution which have been circulating on the online media for sometimes now. It’s merely a political attrition in play.

All these platitudinous sermons carry no shred of truth by any imagination. They are being purposely contrived and propagated by his political nemesis to settle political scores. However, his legacy is imprinted in a hard stone. Even if he is thrown into political oblivion by this exotic politics of subterfuge and egregious lies – and I am sure he will withstand all the odds and continue climbing the ladder of stardom and greatness, his legacy is written in the hard rock.

Upon his appointment, he has successfully managed to ameliorate the living conditions and that is why the country is now economically convalescing. Get your popcorn and let me peel your eyes. His achievements are ineffable and here are the headlines.

1. The salaries of civil servants:

When he was decreed by the President to head the ministry of Finance, he got civil servants in all states hadn’t received their monthly salaries for eight months. Do you know what he did? He appropriately collected the oil proceeds and other sources of revenues and approved the salaries of six months to be paid to civil servants in all states intermittently. It went well as planned.

And as you are now reading this article, the minister has closed this salaries gap from six months to only two months. This gap was created and maintained by his predecessors for the reasons known best to them. The minister achieved this unthinkable thing in just less than one year in the office. Now, there is no issue of delayed salaries again in the states.

2. The salaries of the foreign missions:

Unless you are living in the Mars, if you don’t know this. When Hon. Garang was appointed into this docket, our embassies weren’t receiving their salaries for a period close to thirteen months. As things stand now, he paid their salaries of eight months. The embassies which were half-closed are now fully operational. This is a courtesy of the Hon. Minister.

Hey, don’t shoot me dead or grill me for obsequiousness. These are incontrovertible facts that a man living as far as in Maban area knows. I am not extolling him. But it is the truth I am telling you.

One may wonder which type of a stainless steel is Hon. Garang made of and how did he rise up to the national politics. Let me reveal to you these tips of the iceberg: Hard work and professionalism. That is his motto. His rise is not by a pure serendipity.

Yes, Hon. Garang is not a member of what Dr. Majak Agot called the ‘gun class.’ However, he has won the president’s trust due to his trending madness of a workaholic. Indeed, his zeal for a good work, virtuousness, patriotism, loyalty, and professionalism coupled with undisputable administrative experiences of producing a strong and synergistic work output, which are very rare traits in many politicians, are the desiderata for such a top job.

He is a true nationalist who doesn’t subscribe to the politics of tribes and sections. He is a committed personality who aspires for the economic welfare of all South Sudanese. To many, he is a role model and indeed a source of inspiration to many young economists.

When he was appointed to head that ministry, he immediately found out that the ministry of Finance has become the hotbed of corruption cartels and indeed a paradise of get-rich-quick wannabes. That’s why he has done some house keepings which made the beneficiaries running amok.

As if it was bound to happen irreversibly, when he uprooted and dismantled these networks of cartels, they tend to besmirch his reputation by hiring some writers to disseminate the fabricated outright lies to corrupt the minds of the public, as well as the leadership of the country.

But the truth is this: Hon. Garang has done what all his predecessors has never done. He looked the corruption cartels into the eyes and told them to jump into the River Nile. He is not for rent nor to serve the interest of the few for him to remain in that seat for eternity. If doing right things can cost one’s job, let be it. His heart whispered to him.

Hon. Garang has firm principles and he can’t compromise them for materials gain, comes high water. That’s why he has reshuffled some staffs in the ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and sealed off their siphoning channels where the public money is being drained off from. Bravely, he concealed all the shoddy business contracts of these corruption cartels of finagling wealth and dwarfing our economic growth.

All these administrative actions aimed at rescuing the economy and reforming the system, have earned him some detractors. His detractors fall into three categories which often intersect:

The first group is made of some prominent business men who have been looting the public money in the ministry of Finance through fake contracts. They often lie to minister to have brought some food items or having completed some developmental projects, and laugh all the way to the bank with cheques worth millions of dollars.

Now, Hon. Garang has brazenly told them that he is in charge and can’t connive such an economic crime to happen at his watch while folding his hand. You either be honest and earn what rightfully belong to you or jump into River Nile. He declared to them.

The second group is composed of his political competitors and political power brokers. It is the most dangerous group. They work day and night to generate something out of nothing which is capable of producing unpleasant odor and smear it on Hon. Garang. The main aim is to corrupt the President’s mind and give him the boot, and indeed for his popularity to fall.

However, these political power brokers don’t understand that President Kiir doesn’t give his ears to outright lies. He only believes his ears and eyes. And that is why he sacked Hon. Kosti Manibe in 2012 on his first squinting. It wasn’t done on allegations like these. But on what he personally saw.

Also, they don’t understand that Hon. Garang has no price tag. No price depreciation when it comes to him. His popularity can’t be caused to freely fall flat by these egregious lies. Despite all these attritions, he is as constant as gold’s price.

The third group is composed entirely of corruption cartels in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. This group is composed of directors and junior staffs. They begrudge the Hon. Minister because he has reshuffled them and sealed off all their siphoning points. This is a group that strives on corruption as a way of making a living. That’s why even the average staff with a paltry of 3,000 SSP salaries could buy mansion in Uganda and Kenya and take their kids broad to study.

This interwoven unholy trinity supports, facilitates, cover-ups, and benefits from the corruption which has invaded the Ministry of Finance for long. They (the three groups of detractors) are Siamese triplet. They think alike and have the same interest. They are littering the online media platform with these unfounded allegations because the minister has sealed off all their sources of illegal money. That’s the reason they are wreaking havoc on the media. All what they want is someone (the minister for Finance) who they can drive and control. There is no truth in what they are propagating.

That is the compendium of Hon. Garang’s detractors. Can you believe them? Of course not. That’s why I say, Hon. Garang is the victim of exotic politics of subterfuge, egregious lies, and dangerous distortions. He is being targeted for doing a right thing.

Conclusion: Hon. Garang is the bastion of our economic growth and prosperity. This is because no great institution can formulate programs for itself or execute programs by itself. That is why always it is important to have a public servant with a sense of nationalism, fear of ignominy and God, zero tolerance for corruption, uncompromising professional integrity, to formulate and execute the programs for any institution.

And this public servant is none other than the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Salvatore Garang Mabior, the bastion of economic recovery, growth and prosperity in the Republic of South Sudan.

Disclaimer: I don’t hold brief for neither Hon. Salvatore Garang Mabior nor anyone on this. These are facts from Suk Malisha. If these fact angered you, get burst at your own risk. Simon Yel can be reached via simonyel88@gmail.com

The opinion expressed here is solely the view of the writer. The veracity of any claim made is the responsibility of the author, not PaanLuel Wël Media (PW) website. If you want to submit an opinion article, commentary or news analysis, please email it to paanluel2011@gmail.com. PaanLuel Wël Media (PW) website do reserve the right to edit or reject material before publication. Please include your full name, a short biography, email address, city and the country you are writing from.

The Widespread Corruption at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

By Achuil A. Achuildit, Juba, South Sudan

Wednesday, March 13, 2019 (PW) — The national ministry of finance and economic planning under the leadership of Salvatore Garang Mabiordit, is no longer serving the objectives for which it was established. Hon. Salvatore Garang Mabiordit has turned the public ministry into family financial transaction center for his relatives, friends, business associates and allies. This means he has shifted the ministry from its path of serving all the South Sudanese equally to a group serving ministry.

As I write this article. Salvatore Garang Mabiordit has issued first serve cards” to his special businessmen and relatives for easy prioritization and consideration in all the day to day transactions whenever they step their feet in the stairs of the ministry. Embezzlement of public money, awarding of illegal contracts with personal interest rates, giving of medical assistance funds to healthy persons who never felt sick are no longer unconstitutional act but the daily legal mandatory duty of Salvatore Garang Mabiordit in the office.

He has recently contracted and hired some self-proclaimed writers and his progressive good boys to defend him in the media as a strategy of maintaining himself in the public office. To prove this right, he has recently given a sum of one million South Sudanese pounds to one of his media defenders by name Mathiang Jalap. The payment of the private’s media defenders with public money is a clear indication of Salvatore Garang Mabiordit’s corruption scandals at the ministry of finance because there is no formal defined column for recording down such worthy amount of money in the ministry’s frame activities.

Salvatore Garang Mabior had succeeded in corrupting the public resources through the following ways

 1. Division of ministry’s staff on the basis of relationship and friendship: The minister has adopted what is seemed to be predilection system. He has abandoned the legal procedures of financial transaction and resort to his ministry’s associates. For example, the offer of contracts is preferred to his office management team and close bodyguards before approval without forwarding them to the concerned officials in the ministry.

2. The repayment of already paid debts: Salvatore Garang Mabiordit has introduced a repayment policy especially to his associates whose debts were already paid by the former minsters., For example, the repayment of Wau airport construction arrears to Adim Adim, the owner of Well-done Company Ltd who was already paid long time ago by the previous minster symbolizes that there was a secret agreement between Salvatore Garang Mabiordit and his blood relative Adim Adim. The repayment of Wau Airport Construction arrears was done on the agreement of “half budget allocation” to the account of Salvation Garang Mabiordit by the company owner Mr. Adim Adim.

3. The culture of bribery policy in the payment transactions: The ministry of finance and economic planning particularly the office of minster has assigned some officials who act as a middleman in payment of credits, the minister associates especially office management team and close protection personnel are the one engaging in this illegal process. Any business creditor who wants check in the ministry must first bribe the middlemen and close bodyguards of Salvatore Garang with an average of 30% to 40% of the cheque. His private secretary has also entered into the rank of a millionaire through this illegal deal. The private secretary has recently bought new V8 Prado in a period of less than 1 year. The purchase of a new model V8 by Salvatore’s private secretary sends a signal of rampant broad daylight corruption in the ministry of finance and economic planning. 

4. The use of a covering letter in financial transaction: Hon Salvatore Garang Mabiordit has illegally abandoned legal administrative channels of performing ministry’s activities and adapted the use of what we called “covering letter” in financial transactions. This resulted into administrative dispute between him and the senior directors at the ministry. On 28th November 2018, Hon. Salvatore Garang Mabiordit issued a cheque of 18 million dollars and directed the bank of South Sudan to transfer the said amount of money to the account of Lou Company without the knowledge of Director for account in the ministry. After realizing that Hon Salvatore Garang had directed the central bank to transfer 18 million dollars to the account of Lou Company Ltd, the director for accounts Mt. Aguek Deng who was by then unaware of the details of payment transactions to Lou Company LTD immediately questioned the minister about the legality of transaction. The minster got annoyed and responded to the director’s question by dismissing him from the office on 21st Dec 2018. He further withdrew the powers of the director for accounts as well as the transaction documents and transferred them to the system controller whom he considers as his loyalist at the minster. Many directors at the ministry of finance and economic planning are totally confused and unaware of what is happening after Salvatore Garang has withdrawn their constitutional powers from them. The minster also withdrew the valuable transaction documents from the offices of the concerned directors and transferred them to his office.

5. Hon. Salvatore Garang Mabiordit is favoring certain business persons among the South Sudanese business Community in term of debt payment transactions. This has resulted into public outcry about how he and his office management team are handling the affairs of the business persons at the ministry. He is favoring and cooperating with three businessmen, of which one of them is his close relative, the other one is just longtime friend and the third one is his cousin. The three businessmen whom Salvatore Garang is favoring at the ministry are Adim Adim, Kur Ajing and Paulino Ding Madol. This has created suspicion between good suppliers and the ministry. In addition to that, Salvatore Garang Mabiordit has chosen one businessman Mr. Adim Adim who is his close relative to act as a middleman or dealer between him and business people in regard to clearance of the debts to creditors. Salvatore Garang’s policy of favoring three businessmen has tarnished the ministry’s image since cooperating with one to three people with an interest of gaining profit is unconstitutional.

6. Salvatore Garang Mabiordit has enriched himself with the public resources. On 4th March 2019, Salvatore Garang Mabiordit approved a sum of 300,000 dollars for his daughter wedding in Kuajok. He recently purchased more six luxurious houses in Juba, apart from the concrete buildings that are under construction. He has also bought several business companies e.g. he owns an aviation company which is currently operating in South Sudan. He had also bought many hotels in Juba and he is in price negotiation with the owner of James Hotel with an intention of buying it. He is a shareholder in many multi business companies. For example, he is a shareholder in Lou Company Limited. His children are moving with new model V6 and V8 Prado vehicles compared to the period that their father has spent in the office as a minister of finance and economic planning. 

The writer is a senior official at the ministry of finance and economic planning. He can be reached via achuildengdit@gmail.com.

The opinion expressed here is solely the view of the writer. The veracity of any claim made is the responsibility of the author, not PaanLuel Wël Media (PW) website. If you want to submit an opinion article, commentary or news analysis, please email it to paanluel2011@gmail.com. PaanLuel Wël Media (PW) website do reserve the right to edit or reject material before publication. Please include your full name, a short biography, email address, city and the country you are writing from.

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