South Sudan’s leaders have stolen at least $10 billion in oil revenues shared with them by Sudan in the past 7 years. With somewhere between $12 to $17 billion turned over to South Sudan, Africa’s newest “government”, during this time frame some say estimates of only $10 billion stolen is too conservative.
South Sudan has about 8 million people so the oil revenues amount to somewhere between $1,500 to $2,000 per man, woman, and child in a country where every day hundreds if not thousands die from hunger and disease.
Where has the $10 billion gone? In some cases directly into London City bank accounts, never having made it into South Sudan’s official treasury. In one instance the South Sudanese Minister of Finance managed to have $300 million “disappear” at one time.
And what has South Sudan to show for its $12 billion+ share of the oil revenues? Almost no infrastructure, few schools, fewer medical facilities and millions suffering from malnutrition and sickness.
The South Sudanese leadership can’t even claim to have spent the money on their military for they have little in the way of modern armament, never mind all the claims of Israeli arms sales to them.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), if you can call it that, for years was revolting over unpaid salaries, resulting in the USA stepping in and providing over $100 million a year to pay its salaries since the last major mutiny in 2009.
The SPLA itself is an ethnic or tribal based military force with little centralized control. Ethnic minorities make up the companies, brigades or even divisions that are based in their own tribal territories. When tribal conflicts over land and water rights break out the local militias quickly call in their “big brothers” in the SPLA and local conflicts become inter-SPLA warfare.
Many times the local commanders are at odds with the largest, ethnically Nok based units and do not coordinate their actions with them.
In other words, there are serious doubts whether South Sudan’s President Salva Kir actually controls South Sudan’s army. The latest attack on Heglig, recognized internationally as part of Sudan, may not have been initiated by Salva Kir but by the local SPLA commander.
Since convincing South Sudan to stop all oil production in late January 2012 (see “US Plan To Destabilize Sudan”) the USA has continued its history of broken promises and blackmail against both parties and failed to deliver the aid it was secretly promising to South Sudan if it implemented the USA’s plan to evict China from Sudan’s oil fields and, in killing two birds with one stone, destabilizing or even bringing down the Bashir government in Sudan by depriving it of its main source of income.
After three months without any oil income at all, South Sudan President Salva Kir had to take an emergency trip to China, hat in hand, to try and keep his government afloat, returning with a Chinese promise of some $8 billion in aid. Hopefully he has learned not to trust the USA, though one should not hold one’s breath in this regard.
The World Bank has also signed a several hundred million dollar “loan” agreement with a very smug looking South Sudanese robber baron, a.k.a. Finance Minister, though no one has bothered asking how with their oil fields shut down, their only source of income, South Sudan will be able to repay the World Bank.
With Hollyweirdo’s such as George Clooney and Angelina Jolie accusing Sudan’s government of everything from food aid blockades to genocide, coupled with the Phony Kony/Silent Children 2012 PR blitz that has the CIA’s fingerprints all over it via the Enough Project (the people of north Uganda, the region the program claimed to be portraying, threw stones at the screen when it was shown there), western attention has been diverted from the real reason for the suffering in South Sudan due to the massive theft of almost all of the countries income.
While the USA certainly has a hidden hand behind the recent fighting between South Sudan and Sudan, hunger, disease, and the missing $10 billion may very well be behind South Sudan’s recent military offensive against Sudan. As the saying goes “patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels”, what better way to distract your people from hunger, disease and Grand Theft International than starting a war with your erstwhile partner.
One thing is for sure and that is that South Sudan has more than its share of scoundrels and that the USA has more dirty tricks up its sleeve for the people of the region.
First time I hear the truth coming out of a Western journalist.
The SPLM leaders actually need to divert Southern Sudanese people from seeing the Armani suits and rolex’s clad by SPLA members through a declared war with the Republic of Sudan.
No questions have been raised about where the oil revenue has gone…
It is unforunate, because there are some very intelligent and honest South Sudanese people out there who can make a difference.
Unfortunately they are not given a chance.
I am shocked and dismayed on the allegation you have raised against the government of South Sudan. Furthermore I am terribly silent by your insensitive comment and total disregard to the suffering of people of South Sudan. Any reader would simply identify that you are not honest, forthcoming, and authentic. It is not rocket science – to see that conspiracy theory.
In your article title “ Hunger, Disease and ten billion missing in South Sudan” you went on to alleged that South Sudan officials stole at least 10 billion us dollars from oil money but failed to detailed how these money was distributed and which official got what. You mentioned that finance minister took 300 millions at one time but failed to name the minister. On you statistical narrative you mentioned the population of south Sudan being 8 million people and if the oil money was distributed evenly each would come out between fifteen hundred – two thousand. What a fuzzy math?
Mr. Thomas C who claimed to be the only western journalist reporting from horn of Africa with big media outlet Called “Pan-African News Wire”
What a joke!!!!
Your agenda of Anti- American, Anti-Israel has nothing to do with South Sudan stop telling lies, you may need to educated your self about South sudan 1st before you tackled any issues related to South Sudan and personally I will appreciated if you learn about the people of South Sudan. We are very proud and humble nation and one day if you visit us you will be surprise that these people you are insulting are not hungry and sick but the hunger that people of South Sudan People are facing today is a man made hunger. It is Al Bashir the wanted criminal who the author is advocating, is making South Sudanese sick with biological and chemical weapons channel by Islamic nations.
Yipy yay yeh Justin.
Cheeky yay yeh bro.
Are any of these people in any kind of focus?
Corrupt officials stealing 10 billion – great expose – London Bank account – now where is the proof – because that is Washington Post revelation stuff isn’t it? So is it real – where are your facts”
But then there is ‘leave us alone we’re not hungry or sick in Sudan’ – is this the Sudan leader’s nephew?
Because there are at least 4 million refugees that might disagree with their current condition – not something they willed – but there all the same.