By AFP
Copyright brecorder
NAIROBI: South Sudan government officials have stolen billions of dollars in oil money since the country gained independence in 2011, a United Nations report said on Tuesday.
The government saw oil inflows worth USD25.2 billion in that time and yet “hardly any money reaches essential services” like health and education in one of the world’s poorest countries, according to the report by the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, acting for the UN Human Rights Council. “Our report tells the story of the plundering of a nation,” said Yasmin Sooka, chair of the commission, in a statement. “It is driving hunger, collapsing health systems and causing preventable deaths, as well as fuelling deadly armed conflict over resources,” she added.
The report details “systemic government corruption and brazen predation”, including in the “Oil for Roads” programme that was supposed to be a flagship development scheme.
The programme was the largest recipient of oil money — USD2.2 billion between 2021 and 2024 — of which USD1.7 billion is “unaccounted for”, according to the report, since roads were either not completed, extremely overpriced or finished far below promised standards.
