VZCZCXRO7320
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0157 0351124
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 041124Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5978
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 000157 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2017 
TAGS: PREL ECON KCRT SU
SUBJECT: SO. SUDAN:  SOUTH'S MINISTRY OF FINANCE WRACKED BY 
CORRUPTION CHARGES 
 
REF: A. KHARTOUM 00039 
 
     ¶B. 06 KHARTOUM 02636 
 
Classified By: P/E Chief E. Whitaker, Reason:  Section 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  The troubled finance ministry in the 
Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) has been hit by new 
allegations of corruption.  The latest dispute concerns $60 
million in interim payments from Khartoum to the Sudan 
People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), most of which the SPLM 
believes was diverted into unauthorized bank accounts.  There 
is wide speculation in Juba that the finance minister may be 
sacked.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Trying to Account for $60 Million 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) The latest scandal to hit the troubled Ministry of 
Finance and Economic Planning concerns $60 million in cash 
transferred from the Khartoum government after the signing of 
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005.  It 
is not clear who received the funds, or what expenses they 
were intended to cover. 
 
¶3. (C) In a speech in Juba marking the second anniversary of 
the CPA on January 9 (Ref A), Sudanese president Omer 
al-Bashir lashed out at the SPLM, saying the money should 
have been used to bring home exiled Southern Sudanese and 
staff up various CPA committees.  Nonsense, replied SPLM's 
Deputy Secretary General for the North Yassir Arman at a 
press conference two weeks later.  As quoted in the 
English-language Khartoum Monitor, Arman said the money "was 
given to the SPLM for the establishment of institutions in 
preparation for the formation of the Government of Southern 
Sudan and to enable the SPLM to transform itself from an 
armed movement to a political party."  SPLM Secretary General 
Pagan Amum echoed this account in a discussion with ConGen 
January 31. 
 
¶4. (C) Amum went further, however, and accused finance 
minister Arthur Akuien Chol of attempting to shift $30 
million of the funds to a Nairobi bank account set up in the 
SPLM's name, but without the SPLM's authorization.  The SPLM 
stopped the transfer last December, Amum claimed, and on 
January 11 he met with Akuien to demand an explanation. 
Summoned by the SPLM parliamentary caucus to account for the 
funds, Akuien failed to appear.  Amum also claims that GOSS 
President Salva Kiir gave Akuien two weeks to account for 
money.  Since then, Akuien has been "dodging" the president 
and party officials, Amum said.  "That's when I decided to 
spill the milk" by making charges against Akuien public, Amum 
said. 
 
--------------- 
Troubled Record 
--------------- 
 
¶5. (C) The alleged misuse of $60 million comes on the heels 
of another scandal involving an alleged $4.5 million 
overpayment for 100 GOSS vehicles (Ref B).  Finance minister 
Akuien attempted to fire five top officials in his ministry 
last October over the vehicle scandal and separate 
allegations of fraudulent waiver of customs duties.  GOSS 
President Kiir intervened, however, saying the officials 
could not be fired without a proper investigation. 
 
¶6. (C) According to Amum, the investigation has concluded 
that all but one of the officials was culpable.  The 
investigation also showed that the problems were "linked to 
the minister." 
 
------------------------------ 
Minister on the Chopping Block 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (C) Finance Minister Akuien, a stalwart of the liberation 
struggle, gets low marks from many interlocutors for 
technical competence -- though he managed to shepherd a $1.4 
billion budget for 2007 through a surprisingly contentious 
debate in the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly to final 
approval on January 29.  One MP told us Akuien fumbled many 
of the legislators' questions during the budget debate, 
prompting one to ask why he remained in office while all his 
subordinates were gone for malfeasance.  The ethics charges 
now plaguing Akuien have fueled growing speculation in the 
press that he will be sacked.  In any case, Akuien figures 
prominently in recurrent rumors in Juba of an imminent 
cabinet reshuffle. 
POWERS