Based on two years of independent investigations and analysis, the report reveals how oil and non-oil revenues are siphoned off through opaque schemes and politically connected contracts. Meanwhile, millions of South Sudanese are denied basic services.
“Our report tells the story of the plundering of a nation: corruption is not incidental, it is the engine of South Sudan’s decline,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.
“It is driving hunger, collapsing health systems, and causing preventable deaths, as well as fuelling deadly armed conflict over resources.”
Upon gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan emerged from decades of brutal civil war with Sudan, carrying a legacy of divisive conflict, state repression and poverty.
Fourteen years after independence, ruling elites still struggle for control over natural resources.
The report found that the Sudanese government’s oil inflows alone have exceeded $25.2 billion since 2011, but hardly any money goes to essential services.
Due to systemic corruption, the education, public health and justice systems are in crisis.“The diversions are not abstract budget failures – they translate into preventable deaths, widespread malnutrition, and mass exclusion from education,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández.
“Three-quarters of child deaths are preventable — yet funds go to patronage and private pockets, not medicine or clean water and sanitation.”