Maj. Gen. Akol Ayii Madut: A true professional reformer of South Sudan Customs Service
By Deng Gatpan Wang
Director of South Sudan customs service, Maj. Gen. Akol Ayii Madut, sitting in his office in Juba (Photo via Ministry of Interior)
OPINION – South Sudan Customs Service had undergone tangible reforms and significant improvement in the collection of the revenue following the appointment of an experienced and professional reformer Maj. Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii Madut in November 2018.
Before his appointment, there was no transparency in the South Sudan customs service because the monthly/annual financial report was neither subjected to thorough auditing nor announcement in the public media. The South Sudanese were in total darkness and uninformed of the amount of revenue being collected monthly or annually.
In addition, the South Sudan Customs Service had no banking system of payment before the appointment of Maj Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii Madut as the director-general of South Sudan customs service due to the fact that the public taxes were directly paid to the individuals at the customs stations. Therefore, I have categorized the achievements of Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii into the following:
1 – Increase in the amount of monthly/annual revenues
Before President Salva Kiir appoints Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii as the director of South Sudan customs service, The Republic of South Sudan was solely dependent on the oil sector because there were either no or low revenues being collected from the non-oil sector (customs services). Another reason for the dependence of South Sudan on oil was that the customs revenues weren’t remitted to the government account rather than to individual pockets.
The amount of revenue being collected annually couldn’t reach hundreds of millions of pounds leave alone billions before Dr. Akol was appointed as the director of South Sudan customs service. However, the appointment of Maj. Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii resulted in an increase of annual collected revenues from 0 or lowest unknown figures to billions of pounds. In less than two months in the office ( from Dec to Nov 2018), Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii managed to collect 4,632,187,671 SSP (four billion six hundred thirty-two millions one hundred eighty-seven thousand and six hundred seventy-one South Sudanese Pounds) at Nimule Customs Station leave alone other stations across the country.
The annual financial report at Nimule Station for the year 2019 significantly increased to 6,437,303,910 SSP (six billion four hundred thirty-seven million three hundred three thousands and nine hundred ten South Sudanese pounds)
In the half of the year 2020 (six months collected revenues) at the same Nimule Station, Maj. Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii successfully managed to collect 3,508,120,143 SSP which is three billions five hundred eight million one hundred twenty thousand and one hundred forty-three South Sudanese Pounds. The above revenues were collected at Nimule custom station leave alone other stations in the country.
You should know that South Sudan is currently depending on revenue from South Sudan customs service since the oil sector has collapsed following the outbreak of Coronavirus. If Gen. Dr. Akol wasn’t appointed as director-general of South Sudan customs service, South Sudan’s economy would have collapsed because there would have been no revenues from both customs and oil sector.
2 – Establishment of legal banking system
South Sudan Customs Service had no banking system of payment before the appointment of Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii as its Director-General. The revenues were directly paid to the individuals at the customs stations. However, Dr.Akol in collaboration with the ministry of finance and economic planning opened the bank accounts at Nile Commercial Bank, Equity Bank, Corporate Bank, etc.
The collected revenues are deposited into the government accounts at the time of writing this article. The opening of bank accounts for the customs services has ceased auditing constraints as well as the minimal of financial corruption. The South Sudan Customs Service is now capable of determining how much it collects monthly or annually, something not existing before Dr. Akol’s appointment.
3 – Construction and Establishment of more custom stations
South Sudan Customs Service had few custom stations in which many of them were operating under the trees without erected modern offices. However, Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii initiated the construction and opening of more custom stations in order to boost the revenue collection across the country.
The South Sudan customs service stations that were constructed and opened by Maj. Gen Akol Ayii are Torit, Raja etc. These newly constructed stations are currently generating billions of pounds to the government.
He also constructed a very large modern parking yard at Nimule Station in 2019. Let me clarify to you that Gen. Dr. Akol was the one who constructed current existing offices at South Sudan customs service station in Kaya in 2008 when he was the chief for custom at Kaya.
4 – Institutionalization of South Sudan Custom Services
Maj. Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii is a human resource specialist and indeed he has practically and applied his knowledge by solving all the man power-related problems at the custom services. Upon assumption of the office, Dr. Akol embarked on training all the officers and noncommissioned officers. His appointment has also marked the entry of competent and qualified personnel into the South Sudan custom service.
In conclusion, Maj. Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii Madut is the most successful director-general of South Sudan customs service. He neither has leadership weaknesses nor any charges. Gen. Dr. Akol Ayii has personal differences with corrupt individuals from his region who see him (Akol) as a blockage to their corruption agenda.
In regard to the fabricated Nimule Station Economic Cluster report concocted by the prominent opposition leader Hon. Adigo Onyoti in partnership with the minister of trade, commerce, and industry Hon Kuol Athian Mawien. It is to be noted that Hon. Adigo Onyoti is a born opposition figure who doesn’t want to see any achievement being accomplished by SPLM as a ruling party.
Even thou, Hon. Kuol Athian is an SPLM member, he has a hidden corruption agenda which he yearns to implement within the shortest period of time and that is why he has collaborated with a spiritually born opposition leader Hon. Adigo Onyoti to invent a fake report with an intention of tarnishing the good image of a respected and abled Director General of South Sudan Customs Service Dr. Akol Ayii.
Let me remind all of you that the man who laid the ground for the current unfortunate economic crisis in the Republic of South Sudan is Hon. Kuol Athian Mawien because he corrupted the public money when he was a minister of finance and economic planning in the then Southern Sudan.
Therefore, as a political analyst and a concerned youth from Upper Nile Region, I strongly condemn the concocted report of Nimule Station Economic Cluster which was issued by the chairman of the committee who doubles as a vocal opposition leader Hon. Adigo Onyoti in partnership with the one who appointed him (Hon. Kuol Athian Mawien). I call upon the government to review the report before implementing it.
The author is a political analyst. He can be reached via his email: denggatpanwan@gmail.com.
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