Looking for Law in All the Wrong Places
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Quite likely, South Sudan will break away to become an independent country after a 2011 referendum and if so, it will need a lot of investment. Certainly its economic potential, like the potential existing in many African nations is without doubt. What is indeed questionable are the convictions of those making decisions in the region to honestly and openly promote the opportunity for investment and simultaneously seek out and thwart the rampant corruption in the region.
Yes, South Sudan has oil, sugar and grain, but the government apparently stifles the exploration of its potential by allowing corrupt officials to travel with heavy bank accounts, flush with cash, running a nation with all of the resources but none of the work ethic.
For example, KK Security of Kenya, one of the most successful firms of its kind in the region. They are easily the biggest employer in South Sudan. 600 local workers were set to be doubled by the firm, to meet a UN contract. Suddenly, the firm and its assets were violently seized by powerful officials from the Nuer tribe. Its Kenyan-born accountant was held hostage and those who attempted to free him were subsequently mobbed.
While KK was determined to fight the case, they are very aware that authorities have not intervened or sought to help them in any manner. “The authorities have done nothing about it”, says its director, Lorenzo Bertolli. He later appealed to South Sudan’s vice-president, Riek Machar, so far in vein.
Doing business in South Sudan is clearly a formidable challenge. Like so many poverty-stricken countries, imports are expensive and are needed often, even for utilization in manufacturing and for the agriculture sector. Road links are rudimentary. Foreign investors back the poor work ethic but add that things are improving. In fact, if there were political stability and proper laws, outsiders might also consider investing in farms.
The region has commercial laws on paper. Unfortunately, they have not yet been applied, as those who govern over business practices and indeed the nation with which they operate, don’t seem to care.
Its in that consideration that potential can truly flourish.