South Sudan today stands as one of the starkest examples of state failure in the modern world. After more than a decade of Salva Kiir’s rule, the country has reached a critical juncture where the basic elements of governance—accountability, service delivery, and legitimacy—have all but collapsed. What remains is a fragile state apparatus captured by elites, unable or unwilling to address the suffering of its people.
The economic realities are devastating. According to the World Bank, three-quarters of South Sudan’s population lives below the national poverty line, with the majority surviving on less than $2.15 a day. Inflation has spiraled to triple digits, rendering essential goods inaccessible to ordinary citizens. Meanwhile, oil revenues—estimated at more than $3.5 billion between 2022 and 2024—have not been reinvested in public services. Instead, they have served to entrench a patronage network that sustains the ruling class, leaving hospitals in ruins, schools underfunded, and communities on the brink of famine.
The humanitarian cost is equally alarming. UN agencies warn that more than half of the population faces acute food insecurity, while outbreaks of cholera and preventable diseases claim lives in regions already devastated by displacement and conflict. The state’s inability to deliver even the most basic healthcare reflects a governance crisis far deeper than economic mismanagement—it is a deliberate abandonment of responsibility.
Equally concerning is the deliberate erosion of democratic institutions. The 2018 peace agreement, which promised a path to elections, has been extended repeatedly, now postponed until at least 2027. Each delay underscores a political reality: the government has no genuine commitment to democratic transition. Instead, power has been consolidated within the hands of a narrow elite, resistant to change and accountability.
Perhaps the most striking example of this trend is the appointment of President Kiir’s daughter, Adut Salva Kiir, to a senior political role. While framed as part of the government’s broader strategy, the move is widely perceived as a signal of hereditary politics—an attempt to normalize family dominance in governance rather than build institutions on merit and competence. Such acts deepen public disillusionment and confirm that nepotism, not national interest, guides the distribution of power.
This culture of patronage and impunity has positioned South Sudan at the very bottom of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, ranked 180 out of 180 countries in 2024. In practice, this means that accountability is absent, public resources are routinely diverted, and the state functions less as a government than as a vehicle for private enrichment.
The consequences extend beyond domestic politics. Prolonged instability in South Sudan threatens regional peace and undermines the credibility of international peace agreements. Violence has resurged in several states, displacing hundreds of thousands, destroying vital infrastructure, and eroding whatever fragile trust citizens had left in the state.
South Sudanese citizens deserve more than this. They deserve a government that prioritizes competence over kinship, accountability over impunity, and service delivery over elite self-preservation. The failure of the Kiir administration is not just a domestic crisis—it is a moral and political challenge that the international community cannot afford to ignore.
If South Sudan is to avoid a further descent into chaos, the current trajectory must change. That requires not just pressure for overdue elections, but also a clear reckoning with a system that has institutionalized corruption and nepotism at the expense of the people.
From my perspective, the conclusion is inescapable: under Salva Kiir, South Sudan has become a state governed for the few, not the many. And unless this paradigm shifts, the country risks losing what little remains of its fragile promise of independence.
The writer, Mahmoud Akot, is a South Sudanese political activist and former spokesperson of the National Democratic Movement (NDM). He can be reached via email: mahmoudakot@gmail.com
The views expressed in ‘opinion’ articles published by Radio Tamazuj are solely those of the writer. The veracity of any claims made is the responsibility of the author, not Radio Tamazuj.