Political Risk:
Very High
Score:
26/100
1
50/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The Transitional Constitution of South Sudan (2011) Article 57 (a, b, c, d, f, g) grants the National Legislative Assembly formal authority to scrutinize…
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The capacity of the Transitional National Legislature to effectively influence budgetary decisions and defence policy is significantly constrained by the ongoing conflict in South…
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The level of independent scrutiny within South Sudan’s TNL has been increasingly questioned since the appointment of the new assembly on August 2, 2021.…
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2
38/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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Article 72 (1) (2) and (3) of the Constitution of South Sudan 2011 gives parliament formal powers to establish parliamentary committees [1]. In addition,…
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In terms of expertise, the Defence and Veteran Affairs committee has 16 members [1] with past involvement in SPLM/A activities. This means they are…
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A look at the Annual Report on the Activities of the Transitional National Legislature, 2022-2023 and 2023 -2024 [1] shows that the Defence and…
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The committee is actively involved in short-term oversight, convening periodically to address various issues related to the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs [1].…
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There is no evidence that the Defence Committee in South Sudan has conducted long-term investigations or sustained oversight into corruption or irregularities within the…
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The Defence Ministry of South Sudan has made limited strides in incorporating recommendations especially pertaining to anti-corruption. A scan of parliamentary documents [1] and…
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3
31/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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In South Sudan, informal public debate defence strategy or policy is extremely limited. However, such debates do occur mostly with national security issues such…
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The scope of debate on defence policy and national security strategy in South Sudan is significantly shaped by discussions within the TNL, which also…
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Public consultation in South Sudan on defence policy and strategy is often limited to few instances within the framework of the TNL. The consultations…
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Providing official documents to the public is crucial for fostering transparency. However, in South Sudan, the accessibility of defence policy and strategy documents is…
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4
42/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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The defence and security apparatus in South Sudan is legally required to engage with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to promote transparency and accountability. The…
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Article 24 of the Transitional Constitution provides for freedom of expression; Article 25 provides for the freedom of association and assembly, and Article 32…
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Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in South Sudan are increasingly taking an active role in engaging with the defence and security sector. Their involvement primarily…
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5
50/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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In 2015, South Sudan ratified the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) [1]. Given its underdeveloped defence manufacturing industry, the young nation is not an…
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Despite being a signatory to international and regional anti -corruption instruments, South Sudan has largely failed to comply with the conventions. This is reflected…
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6
38/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Public participation in debates related to the defence and security sector in South Sudan is notably limited, though there have been instances where CSOs…
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There are instances where the government has been involved in public discourse. For example, public participation in debates related to the defence and security…
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7
50/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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South Sudan does not have a defence-specific anti-corruption policy. However, there are legislations in place intended to fight corruption from different dimensions. For example,…
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According to a U.S State department report of 2023, South Sudan has laws, regulations, and penalties to combat corruption, but there is a near…
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8
25/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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At the national level, there are institutions such as the National Audit Chamber (Article 186), Anti-Corruption Commission (Article 143 of the constitution) and other…
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With a focus on the institutions that audit the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs, two main institutions come out. The Transitional Legislative Assembly…
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There is not enough evidence to score this indicator. It is challenging to assess the effectiveness of institutions responsible for building integrity and countering…
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9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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A more effective way to gauge public trust in institutions dealing with corruption in South Sudan is by examining the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)…
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10
0/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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A review of media sources [1] and publicly available government reports, along with consultations with a scholar [2], an officer at the National Legislative…
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A review of media sources [1] and publicly available government reports, along with consultations with a scholar [2], an officer at the National Legislative…
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A review of media sources [1] and publicly available government reports, along with consultations with a scholar [2], an officer at the National Legislative…
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11
8/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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At the national level, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act 2018 outlines the process of acquisition planning. For example, Section 24(1) states…
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Section 36 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act 2018 speaks specifically on the procurement undertaken by defence and security departments. It…
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The National Legislative committee on Defence and Veteran Affairs is established to provide external oversight. However, the extent to which it examines acquisition beyond…
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12
50/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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The approved budget of fiscal year 2023 -2024 page 427 to 443 gives comprehensive and detailed information of the budget personnel (salaries, allowances), military…
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According to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the financial year runs from July 1 to June 30 [1]. These timelines are strictly…
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13
75/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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The Standing Specialised Committee on Defence and Veteran Affairs of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly has formal rights to scrutinise defence budget [1]. During…
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The Standing Specialised Committee on Defence and Veteran Affairs of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly has influence in decision making given the growing budget…
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14
33/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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Since the defence budget is captured in the national budget, it is proactively published along other budget estimates for various ministries [1]. The budget…
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Although the budget estimates are published, the details of the budget are limited. Only overall estimates are provided but not in fine details. For…
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Legally, Right of Access to Information Act, 2013 (No. 65 of 2013) require government agencies to provide information to the public. The act was…
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15
0/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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Defence procurement and sales in South Sudan remain opaque making it difficult to know whether the sources of defence income outside those of the…
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There is no publicly available information on non-central government funding sources used for procurement in the ministry, including both financial contributions and in-kind payments…
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There is no publicly available information of members of the public, the media or civil society scrutinizing non -central government sources of income to…
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16
13/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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There is limited information available on the status of internal audits within the Ministry of Defence. Section 36(5) of the Public Procurement and Disposal…
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In addition to other institutions such as the Southern Sudan Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Audit Chamber of South Sudan, the Standing Specialised Committee…
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There is limited information available on the status of external audits within the Ministry of Defence. Section 36(5) of the Public Procurement and Disposal…
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A search on local, regional and international media showed no audits conducted by the Ministry have been released to the public between 2020 and…
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17
31/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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South Sudan has formal policies that require external auditing of public procurement and in the case of defence and security establishment. The Defence Committee…
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Although the National Audit Chamber (NAC) is constitutionally established as an independent Supreme Audit Institution under Article 186 of the Transitional Constitution [1] and the…
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There are audit reports published online from the National Audit Chambers. These reports also include auditing done on the Ministry of Defence and Veteran…
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The findings of external audit are not available publicly [1] and the ones that are available hardly contain any thorough audit [2]. This is…
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18
0/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Legally, there is no formal law or policy restricting the military or individuals from controlling or having financial interests with relation to the country’s…
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While the defence policies are not specific on the involvement of military or its officials in natural resource exploitation [1], there is evidence that…
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Related to the military institution involved in business related to the country’s natural resources all be it in an illicit manner, individuals in the…
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Security and defence institutions in South Sudan play a central but highly secretive role in the country’s oil sector, with no transparent or independent…
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The audit reports on the ministry of Defence [1] as well as the state-owned oil company [2], point to no evidence that the audits…
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19
25/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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There have been several investigations into corruption and resource mismanagement in South Sudan, conducted by different organisations such as The Sentry [1], Global Witness…
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There is substantial evidence that organised crime has infiltrated South Sudan’s defence and security sectors, with limited government preparedness to address the threat. According…
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20
0/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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The South Sudan Police Act, 2009 does not give any mention of the role of the police in investigating corruption and organised crime withing…
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There is no anti-corruption or anti-organised policing framework dedicated to the defence and security sector as stated in the previous sub-indicator (including in the…
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There is no policing function as established in section 20 (A) and (B) [1][2][3][4]. It is difficult to measure the level of effectiveness if…
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21
25/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The National Security Service is South Sudan’s intelligence service and falls under the oversight of the National Security and Public Order committee in the…
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Despite the existing laws, the effectiveness of the National Security and Public Order committee in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly to oversight the intelligence…
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22
17/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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The National Security Service is established under Article 160 of the South Sudan Constitution. This section goes ahead to stipulate how high-ranking officials of…
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While the constitution [1] is clear about how senior officials of the intelligence service are to be appointed in South Sudan, there are some…
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There is no evidence that top officials of the National Security Services were subjected to vetting before being appointed. There was no evidence on…
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23
0/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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South Sudan is not a signatory to the Arms Trade Treaty. [1]
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South Sudan is not a signatory to the Arms Trade Treaty. Therefore, this indicator is marked Not Applicable.
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There is no evidence that South Sudan is an arms exporter, instead available reports show that the country is a net importer of arms.…
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A look at both the SPLA Act of 2009 [1] and the Civil Service Act 2011 [2] does not show any evidence of a…
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The SPLA Act of 2009 [1] and the Civil Service Act 2011 [2] do not show any evidence of a framework to regulate lobbying…
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The SPLA Act of 2009 [1] and the Civil Service Act 2011 [2] do not show any evidence of a framework to regulat lobbying…
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The SPLA Act of 2009 [1] and the Civil Service Act 2011 [2] do not show any evidence of a framework to regulat lobbying…
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Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
NA/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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Q2
NA/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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Q3
NA/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
View Question
Q4
NA/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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Q5
NA/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Q6
NA/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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Q7
NA/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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Q8
NA/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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Q9
NA/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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Q10
NA/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
View QuestionDefence Budgets
Q11
NA/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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Q12
NA/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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Q13
NA/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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Q14
NA/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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Q15
NA/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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Q16
NA/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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Q17
NA/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
View QuestionNexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
NA/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
View QuestionOrganised Crime
Q19
NA/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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Q20
NA/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
View QuestionControl of Intelligence Services
Q21
NA/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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Q22
NA/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
View QuestionExport Controls
Q23
NA/100