Minister Pokes Sudan State Officials Over Graft

Senior civil servants have been asked to be on the forefront in fighting corruption.

The Eastern Equatoria State Minister of Housing and Public Utilities Mark Akio Ukinbul told senior Ministry officials at a workshop in Torit last week that they are best placed to tackle the vice by virtue of their positions.

Ukinbul who represented the State Minister of Finance, Trade and Industry also urged the civil servants to discharge their duties effectively as they serve the state residents.

He assured that the ongoing rampant graft in the civil service will be eradicated by 2015 and called for collective efforts by the Director Generals of respective Ministries to stem the practice.

The Minister who defined corruption as abuse of entrusted power and public properties ranging from funds to materials, among others, for private gains, admitted that the vice is widely practiced in broad daylight by public officials and politicians in the state.

He announced that the current state government will not tolerate impunity and any corrupt official will be dealt with according to the law.

“You are the top civil servants and are the government’s nucleic unit of planning, without whom the Government cannot perform well. It is therefore prudent that you uphold the highest integrity as you discharge your duties”, he told the officials.

He added that South Sudan faces many challenges that are manifested through political and socio-economic dimensions.

“We have inherited many problems of the country and the current government is reviewing its performance by looking into how to adapt and adopt new way of doing things”, he said.

He urged the officials to respect and promote the application of the Appropriation Bill.