NILEPET mismanagement compliments insecurity in fanning South Sudan’s fuel crisis: lawmaker

By Staff Writer

Poor management of South Sudan’s oil entity, the Nile Petroleum Corporation is adding to insecurity in the country to starve the country of fuel, a lawmaker said.

Attacks on trucks carrying commodities on the Juba-Nimule Highway in recent weeks has led to a protest by foreign drivers refusing to travel the 195-kilometre thoroughfare.

It’s the only highway that quickly links South Sudan to the ocean shores and the world at large.

This has led to deficits including of fuel in the capital Juba as well as other parts of the country.

A liter of fuel is selling at about 800 SSP at petrol stations and its scarce.

Lawmaker Gen. Salva Mathok Gengdit said poor strategies by management at NILEPET over the years has aggravated the problem.

“Since the establishment of NILEPET, administration of this body never got real people to manage it,” Gengdit said in an interview.

“There has been no strategy to put this issue of fuel shortage to a halt,” he said.

Fuel is the engine of development globally and without it, countries enter into anarchy.

“This is not what the country wants again, another war which may keep peeling into war after war. It will destroy this nation,” Gengdit said.

Gengdit said NILEPET should have constructed depots long ago and bought at least 70 fuel tankers and such shortages would have not occurred.

He said the oil corporation should also recruit drivers and put them through military training to arm them with skills to manoeuvre through insecurity.

“These strategies would help solve the issue of fuel crisis in this country but it has never been done by NILEPET because it has never got good people to manage it.”

Gengdit slammed groups agitating against the government in the country for “politicising” the insecurity on the Nimule highway and the subsequent fuel shortage.

“They are problems of saboteurs and now its being politicised by detractors,” he said.

He wondered why people are demanding the assistance of the neighbouring Uganda People’s Defence Forces to maintain security on the highway to Nimule.

“It’s very strange and very funny from those people who let this comes out of their mouth,” Gengdit said.

“This is a challenge and it’s an insult to the country, an insult to the security actors in the country,” he said.

“We are capable of securing the roads.”

Gengdit assured that the fuel crisis will be sorted out.

“The problem in this country is that everything is politicised,” he said.

“I am just advising our people that this is a simple thing and will be resolved.”