Wanted: More accountability, less corruption
Rajiv Shah, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator, told reporters Saturday that they had expressed their concerns in a meeting with Southern Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir, in Juba.
Sudan\'s three largest donor nations are known as the \"troika\" because of their collaborative relationship in mobilising regional and international support to advance the country\'s peace process over the last decade.
\"Corruption will undermine long-term efforts for the success of the state.\"
Erik Solheim, Norwegian Minister of Environment and International Development, said the troika was committed to financial support for Southern Sudan but warned that \"corruption will undermine long-term efforts for the success of the state\" by crippling the ability to provide development funds and destroying the state-building process.
Shah said Kiir had reaffirmed GoSS’ commitment to fighting corruption, adding that the troika can offer special support to help ensure transparency in the implementation of aid programs.
Preventing corruption should be a top priority, Solheim said. \"We are not pointing fingers, but we want to provide practical experience on how this can be done by building institutions.\"
Effective government management of oil revenues is also high on the troika’s wish list.
Last month, a group representing six nations known as the Joint Donor Team also warned GoSS over mismanagement of future development aid.
Michael Elmquist, who heads the group in Juba, said his team asserted that development aid allocated for specific purposes should not be wasted on \"corruption-related practices\".
\"We want to make sure that the development aid is efficient.\"
\"We want to make sure that the development aid is efficient,\" he said. \"So accountability for the public funding is certainly one of the areas we take seriously.\"
Analysts argue that although southern Sudan’s top leadership may have the political will to fight corruption, it lacks the capacity to follow through. The Southern Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission, a government agency whose task is to investigate the misuse of public funds, does not have prosecutorial powers.
The troika will host a donor conference in September to rally the international community for support of the government of Republic of South Sudan, which becomes independent on 9 July.
Shah said the donor conference \"will be an opportunity for Southern Sudan to articulate its vision and development strategy,\" as well as a chance for donors \"to specify their own approach to mutual accountability\".
