Juba, March 23, 2019 (SSNA) — South Sudan’s oil is secretly being run, manages, and auctioned off by a small group hand-picked by President Salva Kiir, a confidential source with South Sudan’s National Security told the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) on Saturday.
The source discloses that President Kiir has picked three people in October 2018 and gave the individuals unlimited powers directing the entire sale of the oil. The source also explains that the Petroleum minister Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth simply follows what the 3-men group tells him. The source further asserts that the three men operate like a mafia entity.
“All these men come from Warrap State. They are the ones who conduct secret oil deals with foreign oil companies and governments. They tell the Ministry of petroleum what to do. These people operate like an oil mob,” the source explains.
The source accuses the men of taking money from oil corporations without the knowledge of the petroleum ministry.
“I can tell you here today that all foreign oil companies trust these three people more than they trust our oil ministry. What is disturbing is the fact they usually collect huge loans from oil companies in exchange for oil sale,” asserts the source.
The official further reveals to the SSNA that the President’s men always ask any oil company that buys South Sudan’s oil to pay them millions of dollars before the actual sale is completed and that the men run the oil ministry like their personal business.
“They always ask any oil company interested in buying oil to pay them millions of dollars in advance without consulting the oil ministry. One good example of their scheme is that they do not want the petroleum ministry to disclose money they take because the money they take always end up at the State House. These people are ripping off oil because the President gave them these illegal powers and the President is illegally benefiting from this act,” the official says.
This is not the first time the government is accused of misusing oil funds. President Kiir was accused in 2015 of having a secret group running the sale of oil. The President was also accused of directing foreign oil companies to pay millions of dollars to a group of people without consulting with petroleum ministry.
The source says Kiir only wants a partial amount of money generating from oil sale to be deposited in the bank.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently accused South Sudan of selling “nontransparent” oil advances and urges the young nation to spend more money on peacebuilding.
Documents obtained by the Associated Press shows that the committee tasked to oversee peace implementation has approved at least $185 million dollars and that the money was spent on cars, food, and home renovations.
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Kiir will never miss the judgement
As president Kiir continue to ignore the call to unify the country and continue to promote his own tribe the country is speedly disintergrating this what resulted to separation of sudan.He can not speech of unity meanwhile he is not living it.He can not sing national unity and let the country be managed by his own tribesmen.One day other tribe will say enough is enough we want be left alone.Once people reach to this nothing can stop them as we have witnessed during our long walk to freedom.Kiir has already forgotten people who died along the path of this freedom which id enjoying its fruits with handfull tribesmen.Is this what he fought for?Dr.John will never recognize this corrupt tribalitic Kiir.This is the kind of system Dr.John fought against till he paid with his own life.How can Kiir forgot it so fast?How long Kiir things he will be around to mess the country up?How can Kiir forgot suffering of the during war?Has the money erase his memories and can not even think about God’s judgement?What happened with splm vision.Was the blood of over million just to enrich Kiir and his handfull tribesmen?No No No.Kiir will not miss the judgement,history,people.the world and finally God the Almighty will judge him.