S. Sudan presidency warns finance officials over bribery

November 18, 2014 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese presidency has threatened punitive actions against finance ministry officials who extort bribes from companies before contract awards, an aide disclosed.

“The office of the president is filled with reports that there are people at the ministry of finance who extort bribes. If you have a government approved project requiring funding by the government, you must be made to pay to get approval of the concerned departments,” a presidential aide who spoke on condition of anonymity told Sudan Tribune.

“This means people who pay bribes get money regardless of whether they have a genuine project, which is unacceptable,” he added.

The presidency is reportedly alarmed by the level of bribery at the finance ministry with allegations of payment delays in exchange for kickbacks and nepotism cited as common practices.

The office of the president has received several petitions and complains calling on the president to order the minister of finance, Aggrey Tisa Sabuni to institute a committee to investigate the behaviour of the acting director general at the ministry, Benjamin Ayala, and deputy director for accounts Wol Moses, noted the aide.

“There are a number of institutions of the government and business entities which have raised serious allegations against these people. To prove that they are involved in this practice, the office of the president on Monday asked someone to approach them with promise to pay them money to expedite the process to pay funds allocated for the construction of houses for presidential guard force,” disclosed the aide.

“This person paid them 50,000 South Sudanese pounds, with each taking 25,000. And they took the money. This is a hard fact and empirical evidence,” he said, adding, “The money was given to them at Beijing hotel on Monday”.

Finance ministry officials interviewed by Sudan Tribune emphasised the importance of transparency and accountability at the institution.

PUBLIC REACTION

Samuel Duku Charles, a native of South Sudan’s Central Equatoria state, said he was not surprised about these corruption allegations.

“I am not surprised about these allegations. Corruption is already becoming a normal practice in this country. We only hear about corruption but we do not hear about actions taken against it. Even in the office of the president, some money was stolen and nobody has been held responsible up to this moment. So it is not something new,” he told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

Political commentator Anthony Sebit urged the government not to compromise on its constitutional duties and responsibilities.

“I know talks about corruption these days do not draw significant attention because people who are supposed to take punitive actions are themselves involved but we will not relent. We will continue to demand the government to not abandon its duties and responsibilities. We will continue to maintain that we cannot let the past and its ghost rest. We will always reject the doctrine that advocates let’s accept and move on while the nation suffers,” said Sebit.

“We must take charge of the future of our country,” he added.

Benjamin Majok, a Western Bahr el Ghazal state official, lauded the presidency for its stand on officials involved in corruption practices.

“I think it is wise to call for immediate resignation of all those officials involved in this scandal, their immediate arrest and their immediate prosecution. The accountability must begin at the top with the arrest and prosecution of Mr. Ayala and Wol,” said Majok.

He also called for an investigation and proper auditing of the suspected department and principal officers at the ministry of finance.

“This scandal kills completely the credibility and global standing of our nation. We have reason to believe that this corruption network remains intact in government. It is wreaking more havoc on our economy, compromising provision of public services, while at the same time raising the cost of those same services, shoddily rendered,” said Majok.

“The integrity of the ministry of finance has been brought into serious question. So is that of any other public institution led by any officer who participated in this fraud. All individuals and institutions mentioned must account,” he added.

Such investigations, Majok stressed, should be extended to all sacked ministry officials who have since been deployed elsewhere.

(ST)