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YAMBIO - 24 Jun 2022

Don’t depend too much on donors, diplomat urges South Sudan

Ambassador of the Netherlands to South Sudan, Jan Huesken addressing officials in Western Equatoria State on Wednesday, 22 January 2022 (Radio Tamazuj)
Ambassador of the Netherlands to South Sudan, Jan Huesken addressing officials in Western Equatoria State on Wednesday, 22 January 2022 (Radio Tamazuj)

As humanitarian needs multiply around the world while funding struggles to keep pace, a foreign diplomat urged South Sudanese to become more independent.

“We are really here to support you, but you shouldn’t expect too much from donors, donors are not very reliable because we work on the basis of our capital and perception,” said Jan Huesken, Ambassador of the Netherlands to South Sudan.

Ambassador Huesken said this while addressing government officials and NGOs in Western Equatoria State on Wednesday.

He visited Western Equatoria to carry out an assessment of the historical Agro-Industrial Complex in Nzara County and how they can support it.

The Dutch ambassador pointed out that the donor community is also dealing with crises elsewhere, urging South Sudanese to stand up for themselves and harness the resources available. “So the money which is being spent on humanitarian and development is scarce,” he said.

For his part, Western Equatoria Governor Alfred Futuyo thanked Ambassador Huesken for visiting the state, saying South Sudan has suffered a lot from the civil war and needs support from the donor community.

The governor promised to provide security to all activities being carried out by donors in the state.

In January this year, a group of major donors that supports South Sudan appealed to the transitional government to make relevant oil and non-oil revenue data available to the public, in a move toward public financial management reforms.

In a joint statement, Troika (United States, United Kingdom and Norway) said this would enhance transparency and accountability for the benefit of all South Sudanese.

In 2020, South Sudan was ranked as the most corrupt country in the East African region.

The report by Transparency International ranked the country as the second most corrupt across the globe, followed by Somalia.