Recently, an international watchdog has warned that the South Sudan government is getting into a dangerous cycle of borrowing for oil. Sadly, most of the borrowed funds will be used on the armed forces and not for infrastructural development.
According to its latest budget estimates for 2014-15, the government plans on borrowing SSP 3 billion ($1 billion) from oil companies. Global Witness says the amount is almost equivalent to the amount donors are spending to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding.
Global Witness says that more alarmingly, the public have no idea on what terms the money is being borrowed. All the negotiations have been done behind closed doors.
Since it is the tax-paying members of the public who will repay this money, then the public has a right to know why the money is being borrowed, how it will be repaid and how it is going to be spent. As they say, there should be no taxation without participation in decision-making.
Only last month, a US-based organization, Fund for Peace, ranked South Sudan as the most fragile state in the world. Even though government officials have disputed this, it is a cause for concern, coming at a time when the crisis has turned the country from a development path to a humanitarian path.
This means that all development projects have been put on hold as government and humanitarian agencies concentrate on the most urgent humanitarian activities.
Media reports indicate that South Sudan has spent at least $1 billion on weapons and delivery systems since the fighting broke out, according to a western diplomat in Juba. At the same time, humanitarian agencies have appealed for $1.3 billion to provide relief to people affected by the conflict.
Bloomberg reports that China is selling $38 million worth of assorted arms to the government. Analysts say that while the government and the rebels say they’re committed to a peaceful resolution to their dispute, both sides are still intent on resolving their differences on the battlefield and will continue to seek weapons.
South Sudanese Defense Minister General Kuol Manyang Juuk reportedly confirmed the arms purchase and said the consignment was ordered five months before violence broke out. He said that his role is to defend the nation and that is why he is equipping the army.
These reports, if true, are disturbing.
The fact that the government is buying arms at a time when humanitarian agencies working in the country are seeking for funds to support relief efforts shows a lack of intention to end the war soon. As some stakeholders have said, it seems that both the government and the rebels believe they can win the war in the battleground and not on the negotiating table.
What are the government’s priorities? Is it winning the war with guns or bringing the war to an end through dialogue? The same question can be asked of the rebels.
But, let me go back to where this argument began.
Lack of transparency and accountability on the part of leadership is one of the many reasons why the country is at cross-roads now. The government cannot afford to do things as they have been done in the past.
If government is borrowing money on behalf of the citizens, then the citizens have to participate in negotiating and making those decisions. That is one of the tenets of democracy, to which the government subscribes.
Otherwise, increasing the citizen’s debt burden behind their backs is fraud and will breed more trouble in the future.
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