- Keyword: corruption and scam companies
The diligent investigation of the Ruweng Times research team shed light on this. They discovered that the South Sudanese people were unaware of the implications of corruption in monetary policies when South Sudan separated from Sudan. The influx of billions of dollars from wealthy nations was a golden opportunity for those seeking personal gain at the expense of the South Sudanese people. These individuals established fraudulent companies, deceiving the South Sudanese government and citizens into donating billions of dollars without any assurance of the legitimacy of these projects.
Under this weak monitoring mechanism, economic performances have plummeted below expectations (BBC, 2012). Since then, the relationship of these companies with the South Sudan government seemed profitable. In the meantime, the relationship deteriorates due to the disagreement between the South Sudan government and companies. With that, South Sudan President Salva Kiir explained in an interview with Hard Talks Africa (HTA, 2014) that some companies promised some big projects, demanding payments upfront before they started the construction projects. After receiving the payments, these companies had just disappeared. How could considerable amounts have gone like that? A brilliant scholar might apprehend that the donated billions of dollars cannot fly away within two years without any developments.
Sentry’s report addressed and exposed numerous of fraudulent activities by companies that tried to invest in South Sudan’s economy while intended to perpetuate corruption. Their deceptive policies facilitate financial fraud and the introduction of counterfeit currencies, leading to an increased currency supply. This disrupts the price level, causing inflation, exchange rate fluctuations, and business cycle disturbances. Their collusion with corrupt South Sudanese government officials exacerbates the already dire financial crisis. This detailed account of their deceptive practices underscores the urgent need for reform in South Sudan’s economic and governance systems.
South Sudanese officials have been manipulated and bribed into unwittingly facilitating services for personal gain rather than public consumption. A glaring instance is the Zain network, which operated under a cloud of corruption, unbeknownst to the government. The article reveals that the Zain network set up an offshore private account to evade taxes and other expenses (Human Rights,2021). According to the Ruweng Times research team, these companies were established prior to South Sudan’s independence. Some companies used the United States as a shield to exploit the donated billions of dollars by creating situations or fake programs that do not serve the interests of the South Sudanese people.
The research indicates that some financial institutions, high education institutions, and business corporations do not have a substantial history of their management and credibility in service. Therefore, the South Sudan education department should document each higher education institution to prevent illegal practices (President Degree No. 62/2010 (21st). After the donated billions of dollars disappeared, the players in this game began questioning the South Sudanese government about where billions of dollars went. They quickly figure-pointed at the government by calling the entire South Sudan a corrupt country in the world. Although some South Sudanese officials were accused of corruption, the genesis of the crime came from these fake companies they had partnered with as the down-on-earth companies that would build South Sudan. However, the potential target was to corrupt donated billions of dollars for their benefit, a vicious crime in financial institutions (The Sentry, 2019).
South Sudan has now underestimated its position by letting exotic companies take charge. Companies sip over crude oil production by building a fake business matrix to game the system for their gain. They intended to make a convincing event that they serve South Sudanese people in employment with cheap labor. This is one reason why some companies do not obey the rules of law in attempting to pay employees with US dollars against the will of the South Sudanese government. Moreover, as the South Sudanese central bank is a young bank that lacks well-armed staff with standardized world financial management skills, it has become vulnerable to fraud and money laundering that weaken the GDP in the country (Denis Dumo, 2021). This feeble situation has been taken as a haven for companies that do not practice good faith in South Sudan.
As such, the South Sudan government has the inalienable right to dig into the records of these companies to figure out which company practices due diligence (Denis Dumo, 2021). In South Sudan, reforming the financial industry requires well-trained personnel to lead thorough and meaningful auditing backchecks to avoid mismanagement. The Ruweng Times researchers believe some gray areas need more time for research to find out whether companies intend to encourage acts of fraud. Fraud, corruption, and bribery are standardized crimes, and companies that practice these activities to benefit from such crimes must be securitized and disciplined to extend the laws once and for all to give way to prosperity and economic growth in South Sudan. By using this strategy, firms demanding to cause a ripple effect in financial management must be banned from practice.
Unlike Sudan, South Sudan has become a place where rules of law are violated, and the solution to this act requires nationalists and patriots to take the lead in South Sudan. These nationalists and patriots must know the business and public policy to reevaluate current micro and macroeconomic development. Practicing business should require meaningful experts to dissect each business as public and private corporations to prevent financial mismanagement. Business indexes must be reviewed to avoid financial interest played by companies that attempt to violate principles (Denis Dumo, 2021).
2013, when the war began, many companies evacuated to neighboring countries for safety. This evacuation put a big hole in economic performance, as the United Nations has reported in the world outlook. Since 2014, South Sudan’s economy has been in a critical condition, GDP has shrunk, and the main lifeline (oil production) supporting economic growth has shut down due to rebel activities around the areas. The Ruweng and Upper Nile territories, the rebels have built a solid stronghold for continuously attacking government forces (South Sudan Center, 2021). Wars, social upheavals and political unrest are the most economically debilitating tools in the modern world.
What caused the war was the financial mismanagement in which most government officials aligned with different foreign companies (Washington DC, 2016). Most companies we have known are interested in investing, while conflict of interest has relatively interfered between officials and companies. Companies cheated them by lying about signing contracts in which they received payments before starting to do the work. These contracts include major infrastructures that require a significant amount of money (millions) to pay in front. In 2012, South Sudan President Kiir expressed concerns about this scandalous argument.
Recommendation
With these dynamic solutions, South Sudan should create programs that recruit South Sudanese graduates who have already completed their studies in South Sudan and abroad. Send in the applications for graduates interested in working in South Sudan. These South Sudanese graduates must be trained before taking over jobs in areas that require well-educated graduates in higher education from different fields of the specialization. This step will create an atmosphere that can bring professional due diligence in necessary finance, economics, and public policies. After all, applicants are employed in their jobs, which will include ensuring every company running a domestic or foreign business is given licensing to operate within the guidelines and restricted by the law.
References
Benjamin, B., (2012). South Sudan officials ‘stole $4bn’ Published. June 5, 2012. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18326004.
Stephen Sackur, (2014). Speaking to the BBC’s Stephen Sackur on Hard Talk, Salva Kiir said it was essential that humanitarian agencies work unchecked. May 19, 2014.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01zccfn.
Human rights. (2021) Zain’s response to allegations of complicity in unlawful surveillance. February 15, 2021.
Okech, F. (2021). South Sudan Injects Dollars into Market to Close Currency Gap. May 25, 2021.
President Degree N. 62/2010 (21st). They are prepared by the Directorate of Planning & Budgeting, Ministry of Higher Education, Science & Technology – RSS.
The Sentry (2019). The Taking of South Sudan. The Tycoons, Brokers, and Multinational Corporations Complicit in Hijacking the World’s Newest Nation. September 19, 2019.
Denis Dumo, Ducan Miriri, Catherine Evans, & Hugh Lawson. (2021). South Sudan’s central bank orders banks to use one foreign exchange rate. April 1. 2021.
Xinhua (2012) states that South Sudan’s central bank has increased foreign exchange injections to stabilize the economy.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2021-05/25/c_139969313.htm
Washington DC. (2016) How South Sudan’s leaders robbed their country – and nearly got away with it. September 13, 2016.
WIKI SouthSudan 
Leave a comment