Southern Sudan cannot manage MDTF Funds
By David Odol Okeny
March 17, 2008 — Our lovely, respected and hardworking Vice- President Machar has forgotten that, the Southern Sudan Reconstruction Development Fund (SSRDF) is the corrupt institution, which cannot be allowed to managing the millions dollars from international community. I hope the international community would not accept such a demands as far as they are concerning about the incompetent of the SSRDF.
The purpose of Muliti-Trust Fund is to managing the money that recived from international contributions, meanwhile, the SSRDF suppose to come up with potential reconstruction projects, but until now, the SSRDF did not propose any attractive projects, since the senior officials are just busy travelling attending workshops in UK, USA, South Africa, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Australia. In fact, I was working in that institution for almost three years and the corruption is still the daily order. As my Vice- President knew very well that, 5 senior SSRDF officials are under the Anti-corruption Commission investigating list.
These are the people whom the respected Vice- President Machar is calling them as qualified staff to managing the public fund. The problem of SSRF is not a lack of qualified staff; indeed, the problem is that people are qualified only to corruptions. I remmbered, the Vice- President Machar has been purposing good project proposals, but no one in that institution is serious about working on them, since, our senior officials are always calling us from Nairobi’s Hilton hotel that they were or they are still proceedings to London for other workshops.
Why is it important to seek to eliminate corruption in SSRDF
Corruption in SSDRF affects adversely the efficiency and effectiveness of delivering public goods and services. It diverts resources, weakens planning of public goods and services and undermines the confidence in the public reconstruction and development plans. It leads this public institution to a sub-optimal allocation or spending of resources on traveling and workshops.
This diverting the officials away from doing their works, it forces the delivery of fewer goods and services, of lower quality and in some cases, with delays. Often, SSRDF resources are allocated away from priority sectors in favor of sectors that benefit few people.
The SSRDF Ineffective planning objectives are therefore not achieved, making reconstruction and development of public goods and services ineffective.
SSRDF corruption decreases the trust of the World Bank, USA, Isreal and sector operators in transacting with the government of Southern Sudan. In addition, it diminishes people’s confidence in the government’s ability to deliver quality goods and services, at fair confidence measure, in sufficient quantity, quality on time. SSRDF Corruption : (1) provokes distortions in SSRDF projects (2) discourages private investment and donors assistance, thereby retarding economic growth, the capacity to reduce poverty and to increase social welfare in Southern Sudan.
The author is a former Junior official in the Southern Sudan Reconstruction Development Fund (SSRDF)