Injustice after Injustice has Created a State of Anarchy and Chaos in South Sudan
4 min read
Joseph Oduha
Injustice after Injustice: The Tragic Case of the Republic of South Sudan
By Joseph Oduha, Nairobi, Kenya
Saturday, June 06, 2020 (PW) — The troubles plaguing our country, South Sudan are many but more importantly rooted to economic, political and social inequality. Most of them are caused by the persistent accumulation of wealth in the hands of the ruling elites.
No wonder, all these wars we have been fighting for several decades have come to waste in a sense that those entrusted to lead an independent country now have shown their interest in looting the resources only to build luxury towers mostly in Nairobi, Kampala, Ethiopia and the Sudan some even went as far as purchasing towers in the western countries such as Australia, United Kingdom and USA.
Of recent, China has become the main facilitator of the corruption in South Sudan through different maneuvers. I have no surprise as to why South Sudan leaders gave China the main front seat in the oil sector.
Just because China feeds the world with fake products that means there is no vaccine for corruption and that is exactly what motivate South Sudan elites to trust China.
The most recent example is the Juba-Bahr el Gazal highway project that cost our country false 30,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The key coordinator of this project was former Presidential Affairs Minister Mayiik Ayii. Unfortunately the ugly side of the story speak volume after the rains washed out the fake tarmac.
The incident caused an online uproar and a hot public debate that later forced South Sudan Roads and Bridges Minister Mr. Mijak to officially apologize to the people of South Sudan.
But do we know what exactly happened? We only know the truth few days later after President Salva Kiir broke his silence for firing the Minister in his office Mr. Ayii.
During the swearing-in of the new Minister Nhial Deng Nhial this week, President Kiir publicly stated that he fired Mr. Ayii for fraud crimes amounting to forgery and financial crimes.
Mr. Ayii diverted the Juba-Bahr el Gazal highway project from the original company Shandong High Speed to a duplicated company by name Shandong Hi Speed Nile Investment, all of them are China made.
Imagine, the security didn’t know all the fraud yet, the same security can locate a journalist easily for arrest, killing, torture, intimidation among others.
In fact, the genesis of the fraud began since when the project was still at initial but on verbal stand where Mr. Mayii and South Sudan Ambassador to China Mr. Andruga including President Kiir reportedly met with Shandong High Speed Company to negotiate the terms and conditions of the road contract and President Kiir subsequently approved the contract.
The original price was 10, 000 barrels of crude oil to be given to the company daily.
Unfortunately, Mr. Ayii who was entrusted to oversee the project immediately gang-up with two Chinese fraudsters to established a different company bearing the same name of the original company but with some slide difference in letters in which he (Mr. Ayii) facilitated second bidding on his own which later cost 30,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
President Kiir himself was alerted by then his deputy Taban Deng Gai and the current Road and Bridges Minister about the fraud but Kiir reportedly sit reluctant.
Instead, President Kiir sent the security team to China to find out the claims of Taban and Road Minister. The security team went and find out that this new company was registered some few months ago and the real company was waiting on the government of South Sudan so that they can start the work but which was in vain at last.
So, Mr. Ayii new company fixed itself until when the rain water washed out the tarmac was when Kiir regretted. But my sensing over this matter is probably some senior security officers maybe involved in this scandal too.
However, I leave this to Mr. President Kiir to revisit the findings of his security team he sent to China to cross check the changes in the company’s demand of 30, 000 barrels of oil daily from the original 10,000 barrels daily.
Another scandal is that both Mr. Ayii and his circle also cheated the President by creating something call China Desk in the Office of President so that they can sideline the Minister of Roads and Bridges.
Above all, everyone was in darkness until God say let there be light then boom, the very highway was destroyed by even small rains.
Finally, injustice after injustice had created a state of systemic “anarchy and chaos” in South Sudan and the common citizens are hurt deeply.
Justice, liberty and prosperity are our key values and they are useless when corrupt officials are not prosecuted in the court of law for their misdeeds.
The author Mr. Joseph Oduha is a South Sudanese journalist. He can be reach by abunabet@gmail.com
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