By John Akoon Dau
The embassies of Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the delegations of the European Unions are calling on the transitional government to take concretes steps to reduce the costs of delivering aid such as those generated by checkpoints and other illicit efforts to extract revenue from the humanitarian operations in South Sudan.
In joint statement release today, the embassies call for partnership in addressing humanitarian need in south Sudan. “In the face of worsening humanitarian crisis, the international community has provided more than $ 1 billion in humanitarian assistance in south Sudan this year alone.”
We are all appalled by the conflict in Sudan which has created dire additional humanitarian need and has placed an extra burden on the south Sudanese people. The embassies emphasis that they expect the transitional government to be a full partner in the effort to ease suffering and save lives in south Sudan by increasing its financials contribution to the humanitarian effort. “We also call on the transitional government to take concrete steps to reduce the costs of delivering aid, such as those generated by checkpoints and other illicit efforts to extract revenue from the humanitarian aid operations.” Ultimately, ending the humanitarian crisis requires an environment conducive to substantial economic growth and reduced dependency. Such an environment will only be possible if the transitional government meets its peace commitments, introduces transparency and accountability, and prioritizes the use of public revenue to meet public needs. During economic conference held in Juba, it was recommended that oil revenue should be invest in the productive sectors such as Agriculture and food Security; wild life conservations and Tourism; livestock and fisheries; mining; trade and industry; water resources and irrigation; land, housing and urban development; environment and forestry; and investment. On the side of non-oil revenue mobilization, the conference recommend the expansion of taxation base and tax compliance across all government, business and public.
