South Sudan President Kiir Accuses Army of Corruption
20 September 2013
Juba - The South Sudanese president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, has accused the
country's forces of corruption, saying it had been squandering resources
through dubious activities including ghost names on payroll system.
Kiir, also the commander-in-chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army
(SPLA), made the remarks in the Western Bahr el Ghazal's capital, Wau, when
he visited the area on Wednesday to witness the graduation of over 200
ex-combatants trained in various non-combat skills.
The president has also proceeded to his home state of Warrap where he is
expected to hold a political rally on the visit which was expected to take a
number of days.
The remarks directly accusing his army of corruption were the first from the
president since the country became independent in 2011.
He revealed that despite the huge budget allocated every year to the army
"there are no even vehicles to transport soldiers on missions".
Four defence ministers have represented the army at the cabinet since 2005
with the latest being Kuol Manyang Juuk, who in August quit his
gubernatorial job in the troubled Jonglei state.
In February last year the South Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission (SSACC)
asked the SPLA top generals to declare their income and assets, in an effort
to tackle corruption.
The accounts of the army and other organised forces have not been audited
since 2005 and a lot of money is believed to be unaccounted.
Reports suggest that Juuk may introduce reforms in the army and work to
reorganise the different armies. Critics say he has failed in Jonglei state
to create harmony in the communities despite his reconciliation messages,
adding that his reform agenda may instead polarize the national army too.
The recent power struggle in Juba between president Kiir, his former deputy
Riek Machar and SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum, however is expected to
push Kiir and his defence minister to weigh up any decision related to the
SPLA high command.
Recently, Mai has reportedly fallen out with president Kiir on a number of
issues in relations to the army and the ongoing political rivalry in the
country.
Mai has reportedly refused the army to be used in the current political
wrangling in the country.
The new defence minister, Juuk, in a press statement he published in the
media distanced himself from any speculations that he might have been
involved in the plan to sack the chief of general staff, saying he had not
yet reported to Kiir on Mai's performances.