20/11/2024
Opinion: Our President— H.E. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit— Better Make a Move Now
By Emmanuel Malou Deng
Our country is facing some of the hardest times. Inflation has made even basic needs unaffordable, while the fluctuating SSP rate is not talked about anymore. Many remain unemployed. Most ministries and other government institutions sit idle in the heat due to power outages. Public workers haven't been paid for almost a year. The war in Sudan has blocked our main source of incomeᅳ oil. There's no money coming in from the only pipeline, which accounts for more than 90% of government revenue.
These are the heartbreaking challenges South Sudan is facing. In July this year, during the swearing-in ceremony, President Kiir told Finance Minister Dr. Marial Ater that there's enough money from non-oil revenue to pay salaries, but the problem is mismanagement. The message from the President has been very clear: our problem isn't a lack of money but how we use it. I believe the President was right. Here is why. In February 2024, former Finance Minister Dr. Bak Barnaba took steps to reform non-oil revenue collection. He personally visited Nimule—the first finance minister to do so for this purpose—and shut down 20 unauthorized revenue-collecting agencies. Within months, government collections increased significantly to around 50 billion SSP per month. However, these gains came after his removal. How this revenue from improved collection is being used remains a mystery, albeit many believe that Bak’s successors are cooperating with cartels to protect their positions.
Meanwhile, citizens continue to suffer. Citizens continue to wait for salaries. Citizens continue to endure hardship as the cartels grow richer.
As many agree, the fundamental driver of corruption in South Sudan is the conspiracy between top financial leaders and cartels to loot. Officials who resist such practices deserve praise. Dr. Bak is one such person— a leader who refuses to engage in such conspiracies to loot and stands up to cartels. To improve the situationᅳ since His Excellency the President and the citizens are yearning for much-needed economic reformᅳ there is a need to reinstate Dr. Barnaba to steer this country out of its economic meltdown.
What makes me confident that Dr. Bak would continue to be different from other ministers is, again, his staunch opposition to the most powerful cartels and power brokers, whom most SSD Finance leaders wouldn't dare to confront. If we observe critically, we would find that the opposition to Bak's leadership largely came from individuals who were benefiting from illegitimate payments. This should make any conscious and benevolent person believe Bak is indeed the right person to reform our economy, especially as others seem to have bowed down to cartels who have no regard for humanity, for that matter.
While some argue that during Bak's tenure, salaries went unpaid and the dollar rose sharply, let us not forget the truth: the pipeline broke down in February, cutting off oil revenue, and the benefits of his non-oil reforms only began to appear after he left. If anything, his removal robbed us of the chance to see what true reform could achieve.
What's more, reinstating Bak would also make it easier to secure loans. A loan would be critical in this economic situation. There is a notion that borrowing is “selling out our country,” but that is not always true. It is how a recipient country uses the loan that matters. Don’t get me wrong; loans indeed come with strings attached. However, situations like ours give us no better option than to go for them. Broadly speaking, every developed or developing country uses some debt to finance essential parts of its economy. For example, the United States has $34 trillion in debt, Kenya has over $50 billion, Uganda has about $37 billion, and the list goes on. In comparison, South Sudan's debt is just $2 billion. Borrowing more with clear accountability should be acceptable for SSD, especially as we seek stability and growth.
Although South Sudan is currently attempting to secure a loan to address critical needs, such as building a refinery or pipelines, efforts to secure loans critical for addressing economic needs have stalled. Confidence and trust from international lenders seem to have diminished, as seen during recent negotiations in Washington DC, where no tangible progress was made. As many know, our current Minister seems to lack the international experience necessary to articulate himself convincingly and earn the trust of lenders. Trust and credibility are fundamental in international loan negotiations, and without them, lenders are hesitant to release funds.
As a country, we urgently and desperately need loans to support economic recovery and critical projects, which would reduce reliance on Sudan's route. Most such loans should be in the form of infrastructure projects, with only salary payments allocated to government coffers. Imagine if the $13 billion loan that the former minister almost secured had actually gone through. South Sudan might already be building new pipelines and refineries. And in a few years, we would not be worried about the impact of war in Sudan, and as a matter of fact, South Sudan would have more revenue coming in. In any case, our country cannot fund large-scale infrastructure projects without loans. Building a pipeline or refinery, for example, costs billions of dollars, expenses that are beyond our current revenues.
Bak's experience, credibility, and confidence had earned the trust of various international lenders. His efforts to fight corruption, reject illegitimate payments, and diversify the economy through non oil revenue reforms give me confidence that loan funds under his leadership would not have been misused. Most of those who opposed him were mostly individuals accustomed to looting public resources.
However, reinstating Dr. Bak is not enough. Corruption in South Sudan has deep roots. To eradicate it, we need strong systems. First, the government needs to introduce electronic systems for tax collection to ensure all payments are recorded and deposited into national accounts. Second, there is a need to establish independent monitoring bodies to oversee government institutions' expenditures; these should report directly to the President or Parliament. Indeed, some of these institutions do exist, yet they should be empowered and given more independence. Finally, public officials must be required to declare their assets. This would make it easier to detect illicit gains by those in government offices.
President Salva Kiir has a choice to makeᅳ that's, keep leaders who bow down and collude with cartels while citizens continue to suffer, or bring back someone who has shown he cares about the welfare of the people, not dealings and looting. In any case, the President has always said his goal is to improve the lives of South Sudanese, and appointing someone who is committed to this goal would prove he is serious about this agenda. President Kiir’s decision on this will shape his legacy and the future of South Sudan's economy.
Emmanuel Malou is a BA candidate in Political Science and Economics at Columbia University. He writes on topics related to politics, economics, and society. For inquiries, he can be reached at [email protected]
