South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir helped secure land in Central Equatoria State for operations of a company called ABMC, according to investigative research carried out by Radio Tamazuj.
The president’s involvement in ABMC was revealed in an article published 16 June. This report takes a closer look at the ‘Garden of Eden’ project run by ABMC.
Garden of Eden is described in ABMC promotional materials as both a “a sister company” and “a project launched by ABMC” in 2011. Both ABMC and Garden of Eden have operations at Luri, where sources say Kiir has a private farm. A promotional article published by ABMC in Fortune Magazine in 2012 says that Garden of Eden secured over 20,000 hectares for cultivation at four farms in Central Equatoria.
“In just its first season, the project produced 600 metric tons of maize from 400 acres under cultivation,” the article says, adding that the project mostly grew sorghum and maize but was looking to expand into millet cultivation, horticulture and fish farming.
Anthony Kanyi, the project manager for Garden of Eden, is quoted as saying that the company is “not about making profits but about giving back to the people so they are able to feed and educate their own children.” The company claimed to offer jobs, agicultural training and scholarships to local residents, helping them to move beyond subsistence farming into commercial agriculture.
Kiir’s role in the project was confirmed by a source close to the company’s leadership. “He now has a farm in Luri which is run for him by the ABMC,” said the source, referring to the Garden of Eden project. The source explained that the purpose of the president’s agricultural project was to help reduce the country’s dependence on food imports.
According to the website of ABMC, the company also developed an ‘industrial complex’ at Luri featuring an iron sheet factory and a rock-crushing plant used for making raw materials needed in roads construction.
“ABMC has developed an Industrial Complex located in Luri, Juba. A wide variety of industries mostly focused on production of building materials are housed within the complex. Luri Industrial Complex also houses our corrugated iron sheet rolling plant. ABMC has two aggregate crushing sites, one at Jebel Khujur and the other at Luri Industrial Complex,” reads the company’s website.
In an interview with Radio Tamazuj earlier this month, Presidential Press Secretary Ateny Wek denied that Kiir has any involvement in ABMC or Garden of Eden. He admitted only that the president had kept cattle in Luri.
“The president does not own any project in Luri… There is no any project connected with the presidency, so it is just media propaganda and it is baseless and untrue,” he said.
Meanwhile, the materials published by ABMC in 2012 suggest a possible link between Garden of Eden and the mega tractors deals initiated by President Kiir. The company disclosed, “In the agricultural sector, Garden of Eden supplies tractors along with operational and maintenance training.”
Similarly, a document about the company distributed at the South Sudan Investment Conference in 2013 says that ABMC not only raises its own crops but also “provides crop production services for other growers,” implying that it lends out equipment.
Kiir brought 1000 tractors to South Sudan this year. Another 600 tractors were imported earlier and have been reported to be standing idle along the Luri Road. The president referred to these tractors in a speech in April, admitting they had not been managed well, without giving further details about the how the tractors were purchased or who owns them.
Photo: Salva Kiir sits on a tractor at a launch event for an agriculture initiative in April 2015 (Radio Tamazuj)
This report is published as part of a special investigative series. Anyone wanting to comment on this report or send further information should contact Radio Tamazuj here.