South Sudan "a textbook example of a resource curse"
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John Ashworth
May 11, 2024, 1:47:22 AMMay 11
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‘South Sudanese have not benefited from oil revenues’ - EU Ambassador
Radio Tamazuj
JUBA CITY - 10 MAY 2024
The Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of South Sudan on
Thursday said the people of South Sudan have not benefited from the
proceeds from crude oil which is the country’s largest export.
Ambassador Timo Olkkonen who is the Head of the Delegation of the
European Union to South Sudan was speaking in Juba at a ceremony to
mark European Day and qualified South Sudan as a textbook example of a
resource curse.
He said fossil-based technology is old fashioned as modern and more
environmentally friendly ways to produce energy exist, and that if
left unaddressed, continued fossil fuel usage will possibly contribute
to our extinction as a species with climate change taking effect.
“That is not to say that we should not appreciate the role of oil in
South Sudan. You would be blind not to understand its importance. But
South Sudan is a textbook example of a resource curse, where the
profits from oil have not benefited the people at large and they have
been largely wasted and misused,” Amb. Olkkonen stated. “Tragically,
many of the renewable and sustainable resources the country has on the
other hand have been neglected over the past decades. I am thinking
particularly of the agricultural potential and the amazing
biodiversity of the country.”
He added: “It is said that every crisis is an opportunity, so perhaps
the recent issues with oil exports could redirect focus on these other
cleaner engines of economic growth and you cannot argue that the
potential is not there.”
The EU envoy said they recently joined several members of the
international community in calling on the government not to tax aid
and welcomed South Sudan’s removal of taxes on humanitarian aid and
exemption of UN agencies from taxes.
“I welcome the fact that the government has confirmed that this indeed
is not the intention and I cannot emphasize enough but what matters is
implementation,” Olkkonen said. “Anything short of that would be a
disaster for the people of South Sudan and cause reputational damage
to the country itself.”
On the peace process, the envoy said the enthusiasm for the conduct of
general elections in South Sudan has subsided as parties to the
agreement have missed key timelines during the implementation of the
peace accord.
“I was enthusiastic about the prospect of engaging in and supporting
the preparations for elections and a new constitution. We have been
supporting those processes politically and also through our
development cooperation. Indeed a new project on electoral support was
launched last August,” Amb. Olkkonen said. “I have to confess however
that that enthusiasm has since subsided. Over the past year, we
witnessed deadline after deadline of the Peace agreement’s Roadmap
being missed. A month ago, we read the assessment of the UN Secretary
General of the level of preparedness of the country to hold elections
concluding that the parties must commit to taking urgent steps to
achieve a critical mass of implementation necessary for the peaceful
conduct of free, fair, and credible elections.”
He said despite disappointments, he still thinks the prospects of a
first permanent constitution and the first elections of an independent
country are of the kind that should evoke patriotism and enthusiasm.
“We hope that the ongoing processes like the UNMISS-supported
interparty dialogue or the Kenyan mediation efforts will very soon
bear fruits in this regard and that the stakeholders come together to
forge a consensus” Olkkonen stated.
For his part, South Sudan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Monday
Suraya Kumba said the country is satisfied with the bilateral ties
between the EU and its member states in many developmental and
economic sectors.
“We are also looking forward to engaging with the European Union and
member states in other areas such development of the mineral sector,
development of agriculture sector, development of the industrial
sector, capacity building and climate change among others,” he said.
“I would like to reassure you of our commitment as a government to
continue meeting the needs of our people, to continue engaging
different partners to the upcoming engagement political economic
engagement in the country which includes the upcoming elections.”
“We are looking forward to working closely with the EU to gain support
to achieve this overall objective,” Amb. Kumba added.
https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/south-sudanese-have-not-benefited-from-oil-revenues-eu-ambassador
END
______________________
John Ashworth
ashwor...@gmail.com
+254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile, WhatsApp and Signal)
PO Box 403 - 00206, Kiserian, Kenya
Radio Tamazuj
JUBA CITY - 10 MAY 2024
The Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of South Sudan on
Thursday said the people of South Sudan have not benefited from the
proceeds from crude oil which is the country’s largest export.
Ambassador Timo Olkkonen who is the Head of the Delegation of the
European Union to South Sudan was speaking in Juba at a ceremony to
mark European Day and qualified South Sudan as a textbook example of a
resource curse.
He said fossil-based technology is old fashioned as modern and more
environmentally friendly ways to produce energy exist, and that if
left unaddressed, continued fossil fuel usage will possibly contribute
to our extinction as a species with climate change taking effect.
“That is not to say that we should not appreciate the role of oil in
South Sudan. You would be blind not to understand its importance. But
South Sudan is a textbook example of a resource curse, where the
profits from oil have not benefited the people at large and they have
been largely wasted and misused,” Amb. Olkkonen stated. “Tragically,
many of the renewable and sustainable resources the country has on the
other hand have been neglected over the past decades. I am thinking
particularly of the agricultural potential and the amazing
biodiversity of the country.”
He added: “It is said that every crisis is an opportunity, so perhaps
the recent issues with oil exports could redirect focus on these other
cleaner engines of economic growth and you cannot argue that the
potential is not there.”
The EU envoy said they recently joined several members of the
international community in calling on the government not to tax aid
and welcomed South Sudan’s removal of taxes on humanitarian aid and
exemption of UN agencies from taxes.
“I welcome the fact that the government has confirmed that this indeed
is not the intention and I cannot emphasize enough but what matters is
implementation,” Olkkonen said. “Anything short of that would be a
disaster for the people of South Sudan and cause reputational damage
to the country itself.”
On the peace process, the envoy said the enthusiasm for the conduct of
general elections in South Sudan has subsided as parties to the
agreement have missed key timelines during the implementation of the
peace accord.
“I was enthusiastic about the prospect of engaging in and supporting
the preparations for elections and a new constitution. We have been
supporting those processes politically and also through our
development cooperation. Indeed a new project on electoral support was
launched last August,” Amb. Olkkonen said. “I have to confess however
that that enthusiasm has since subsided. Over the past year, we
witnessed deadline after deadline of the Peace agreement’s Roadmap
being missed. A month ago, we read the assessment of the UN Secretary
General of the level of preparedness of the country to hold elections
concluding that the parties must commit to taking urgent steps to
achieve a critical mass of implementation necessary for the peaceful
conduct of free, fair, and credible elections.”
He said despite disappointments, he still thinks the prospects of a
first permanent constitution and the first elections of an independent
country are of the kind that should evoke patriotism and enthusiasm.
“We hope that the ongoing processes like the UNMISS-supported
interparty dialogue or the Kenyan mediation efforts will very soon
bear fruits in this regard and that the stakeholders come together to
forge a consensus” Olkkonen stated.
For his part, South Sudan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Monday
Suraya Kumba said the country is satisfied with the bilateral ties
between the EU and its member states in many developmental and
economic sectors.
“We are also looking forward to engaging with the European Union and
member states in other areas such development of the mineral sector,
development of agriculture sector, development of the industrial
sector, capacity building and climate change among others,” he said.
“I would like to reassure you of our commitment as a government to
continue meeting the needs of our people, to continue engaging
different partners to the upcoming engagement political economic
engagement in the country which includes the upcoming elections.”
“We are looking forward to working closely with the EU to gain support
to achieve this overall objective,” Amb. Kumba added.
https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/south-sudanese-have-not-benefited-from-oil-revenues-eu-ambassador
END
______________________
John Ashworth
ashwor...@gmail.com
+254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile, WhatsApp and Signal)
PO Box 403 - 00206, Kiserian, Kenya
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