President Salva Kiir’s senior advisor Kuol Manyang Juuk has revealed that the continuous dependence on oil has made officials lazy and corrupt.
Kuol is a close colleague to President Kiir and the late Dr. John Garang, he expressed that their previous slogan of Agriculture has been altered by Oil money that made officials lazy and corrupt.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday in commemoration of martyr’s day, Manyang highlighted that relying heavily on oil has led to corruption and left the country in debt.
“The oil money made us lazy. We didn’t work hard for it, so we mismanaged it,” he said. “Some people got rich through questionable means, and we can’t even track where the money went. Now, we have new debts because of this corruption.” He explained.
The Presidential advisor reiterated that the huge money from oil that has been misused has made officials lazy and corrupt forgetting what Dr. John said before.
Manyang emphasized the importance of focusing on enough food production to reduce dependence on food imports from the neighboring countries.
“Dr. Garang wanted to use oil to improve agriculture by buying tractors, building roads, and growing our food. We need to follow this path,” he said.
Recently South Sudan Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security received 104 tractors reportedly procured by the Ministry of Finance and Planning to boost agricultural productivity across the country.
Speaking at the handover event, Agriculture Minister Hussein Abdelbagi Akol emphasized the need for farmers to be serious and committed this season.
Abdelbagi expressed hope that the new tractors will kick-start tangible progress in food production and contribute to the country’s economic recovery.
He said they are going to work closely with farmers to increase productivity and secure food supply in the county.
Martyrs’ Day in South Sudan is observed on July 30. It is a public holiday and a Remembrance Day that commemorates the death anniversary of John Garang de Mabior, who is widely considered the most influential person in the history of South Sudan.
