South Sudan demands investors re-register after unearthing massive certificate scam
By Ruot George
South Sudan has directed all investors to register again after massive scam has been unearthed in the investment sector.
The Minister of, Investment, Dhieu Mathok said the exercise is in line with streamlining corrupt dealings that have invaded the department.
“The process will take one month. The team is divided into two groups from the ministry of investment, one to monitor companies and hospitals, and the other to monitor the hotels,” Mathok told reporters in Juba on Monday.
“Fake investment certificates will be changed with new certificate and ask you to pay the certificate value,” he said.
According to Mathok, the new investment certificates will bear the signature of the minister.
“We have changed some security features on the new certificates which has a number from that ministry that used not to be there in the previous certificate,” he said.
“We have created a database which stores all the names of investments.”
Mathok noted that many investors are not heeding to the call to register again and warned such of measures.
“We called all the companies to come renew their documents but some of them never showed up. They continue doing business regardless of whether they are valid or not,” he said.
“We are going to use the investment promotion Act 2009, which give as the mandate to withdraw their certificates of investment or we can ask them to leave the country.”
All defaulting companies will be charged from the day they were due to pay for the certificates, Mathok said.
“We will charge all the months or years you have not renewed. We will not take you to the court but we will ask you to pay,” he said.
“No country can prosper without investment. The operation we are going to undertake is not simple. Our statistics show that we have many companies to register in this one-month period and it requires patients, commitment and hard work.”
If your certificate expired and you have not renewed it, you will pay it and a penalty charge of all the period of expiry will be calculated and added,” Mathok said.
