By Garang Malak

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Juba,

South Sudan’s government has questioned Transparency International’s 2020 report that ranked it the second most corruption country in the world and most corrupt in east Africa.

Speaking to The EastAfrican on Tuesday, government spokesman Michael Makuei accused international organisations, including Transparency International, of being corrupt.

“It’s not enough to say so and so is corrupt without clear evidence. Even the international non-governmental organisations are the most corrupt. I don’t say corruption doesn’t exist in South Sudan but there is no country in this world where there is no corruption.

“And there are no organisations where there is no corruption. So, this idea of people pointing [fingers at] others, accusing them of being corrupt isn’t fair. All are corrupt but it’s only the level of corruption including the so-called Transparency International is corrupt too,” Makuei said.

He added that the unity government has put structures in place to fight corruption.

“We are working hard to address corruption and that is why we have the anti-corruption commission. For those who say the commission is toothless, those are your opinions,” Makuei added.

Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranked South Sudan the second most corrupt country across the globe with Syria taking the lead. It also ranked South Sudan the most corrupt in eastern Africa followed by Somalia.

Widespread

In its 2019 report, Transparency International ranked South Sudan the most corrupt country in eastern Africa followed by Burundi. Kenya and Uganda tied in third position, while Rwanda was rated the least corrupt country in the region and the only EAC state to score above the global average rate of 43 points, after garnering 53 points.

A 2013 report about corruption in South Sudan, released by The Sentry, indicated that the vice spreads across all sectors of the economy and all levels of government.

It said that since independence, the country had taken steps to promote transparency and accountability in its fight against corruption, but that a lack of capacity, resources and political often hampered effective implementation.

In September 2019, The Sentry published a report titled “The Taking of South Sudan,” which accused regional and international companies of profiting from the conflict in the country.

It accused seven of President Salva Kiir’s immediate family members of forging partnerships with Chinese-Malaysian oil giants, British tycoons and networks of traders from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Uganda.

But Presidential Press Secretary Ateny Wek Ateny dismissed the allegations as biased and not backed by evidence.

UN reports

In October 2020, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights accused some South Sudanese politicians and senior government officials of embezzling at least $36 million since 2016.

In December that year, The Sentry reported that some South Sudanese leaders carried out money laundering and grand corruption through networks in the United Kingdom.