A United Nations report has revealed that billions of dollars in public funds have been stolen in South Sudan over the past decade, leaving the majority of the population without adequate food, healthcare, or education. Since gaining independence in 2011, political officials are alleged to have diverted substantial portions of public revenue, while international donors have had to step in to provide essential services.
The report highlights that South Sudan’s flagship oil-for-roads programme, designed to improve national infrastructure, has $1.7 billion of its $2.2 billion budget unaccounted for, and 95% of planned roads remain incomplete. Other schemes, including irregular government e-services, reportedly enriched politically connected companies. Meanwhile, 76 of the country’s 79 counties face severe food insecurity, and public spending on basic services has been minimal.
Fears of renewed conflict have intensified as opposition leader Riek Machar was suspended from his post as first vice president following an indictment on serious charges. The South Sudanese government has rejected the UN’s findings as “absurd” and criticised the report’s methodology, citing sanctions and declining oil revenue as challenges to national development.