By: Ginaba Lino
Former soldier Philip Jok lives in poor condition today despite years of great service to his country several decades ago. Jok was wounded on the frontline during the liberation struggle in 1980’s. He is one of the hundreds of wounded war heroes suffering today due to lack of access to medical allowances to cater for treatment.
He explains that he last received medical allowance seven years ago, which enabled him to get an operation from a hospital in Khartoum, but since then, nothing has been paid to him; yet doctors instructed him to return for review and further treatment.
“The wound is still not fully healed. I live in a critical situation due to the injury I sustained,” Jok narrates, adding that it is unfortunate that several wounded veterans continue to die due to lack of access to hospitals because of unpaid medical allowance to rescue their lives.
He notes that every month, they receive news of the death of 10 to 20 people (wounded veterans), and this is due to lack of access to treatment.
William Chol, another wounded war veteran regrets what he calls “the government’s recklessness towards the health of those who contributed to South Sudan’s independence.”
Chol explains that with the current situation of poor well-being, they are unable to provide the necessary needs for their families.
“For the last 21 years during the struggle, most of the soldiers on the frontline lost some body parts. I for example lost my hand and my right leg. So, in this situation, we are unable to provide for our children,” he explains adding that he has not received salary for 12 months now, and the recent floods have made the living conditions worse.
Where is the wounded veterans’ money?
South Sudan faces enormous challenges in its quest for lasting peace, stability, and access to basic services for all people. Establishing momentum towards recovery is dependent on sustained peace, security, and effective public service.
However, serious challenges are posed by insecurity and abject poverty, which continue to affect a large majority of the population. The basic rule of law is weak; there are many fractured communities affected by generations of conflict; service delivery across all sectors remains inadequate; while efficient, accountable, and transparent systems for decentralized governance have yet to be properly implemented according to the United Nations.
After the wounded war veterans protested about their medical allowance in February 2024, the government seems not to have taken serious action to resolve the issue.
The new Chief Administrator of wounded war veterans, John Kur says that over 300 wounded heroes are stranded without treatment.
“Those who are in serious condition are maybe 300 plus and they are all in Juba seeking treatment,” Kur observes. He, however, points out the possibility of ghost beneficiaries.
The Chief administrator reveals that since the government initiated the medical allowance to wounded heroes in 20217, there have been wrong people benefiting from the medical allowance.
“Most of the people who have been receiving the medical allowances are ineligible. Most of the people who used to receive that money some years back, are not even receiving their salaries from the wounded heroes department now. We are now reviewing all the beneficiaries to have the right people benefiting,” Kur explains, although he falls short of naming anyone.
He now describes the situation of the untreated wounded heroes as God’s help keeping them alive. “They are there, some of them they are suffering, but there is no way because if the money is not there, what can we do or what can the sick person do. We are just seeking for the help of God.”
Kur regrets the current economic hardship facing the government of South Sudan, citing that they hope for the economy to stabilize so that all such issues can be resolved.
A Plea to the Government
According to Jok, the current state leaves the veterans wondering who they should turn to if the government is not attending to them.
“My hope is on the government; they are the ones to support. I sacrificed most of my parts for this Country, thank God the country is now independent. I want our big people to listen to us,” he emphasizes.
Other wounded veterans like Chol believe that its time for intervention from President Salva Kiir Mayardit. “I wish I had access to my president the commander in Chief. First and foremost, the president would have considered getting enough pensions for the wounded heroes because there is nowhere, we can stay without pensions for more than 40 years,” he narrates.
Apart from the government, Chief Administrator Kur wants non state actors to also intervene. He in particular wants non-government organizations operating in South Sudan to intervene and give support to the wounded war veterans.
The Long Journey, But What Next?
On February 14, 2024, South Sudan security clashed with wounded war veterans as it attempted to disperse their demonstration to against the non-payment of the medical benefits.
The Minister of Finance at the time Bak Barnaba said the clashes which took place at the premises of national ministry of finance and planning were an unfortunate incident.
He clarified that the medical benefits of the wounded heroes fall under the budget for the South Sudan ministry of defense and veterans affairs.
Below is the data showing South Sudan Security Financial Year National Budget for Defense and Veteran Affairs 2023/2024
“The government not foreign donors support the medical benefits of our veterans, and these are managed outside the conventional budgetary allocations of the ministry of defense and veterans affairs,” Bak disclosed.
The minister then revealed that in November 2023 and in January 2024, it released two million and one million USD respectively to the account of the ministry of defense and veterans affairs for the purpose of addressing the medical benefits of the wounded war veterans. He then advised that the matter be followed up the Ministry of defense.
The defense minister General Chol Thon Balok also then promised that his administration will launch a full investigation on the issue of medical allowance.
Despite the economic challenges facing the country, there are serval cheques being authorized to some army officials in the name of the wounded heroes. For example, a cheque from the Ministry of Finance and Planning dated 23 November 2023, indicated that five million South Sudanese pounds were allocated for the wounded heroes.
A COPY OR PHOTO OF THE CHEQUE
New Finance Minister’s Plan
The new minister of Finance and Planning Marial Dongrin Ater regrets the long suffering of the organized forces and civil servants going for months without salaries.
Dongrin explains that the ministry is yet to clear all the arrears and they have to budget for it in the new financial year budget, adding that they are waiting for the passage of the budget so that the ministry can start the payment process.
To address the financial challenges, the minister explains that government is currently actively engaging bilateral and multilateral partners for concessional loans and grants to address pressing economic challenges.
“The Ministry of Finance has taken a step to pay salaries and operating costs for ministry departments and agencies through bank accounts to enhance financial efficiency, reduce risks associated with access to cash, and improve transparency,” Minister Marial explains.
It remains to be seen how long it will take to solve the financial and system challenges the country is going through, but the longer it takes, the longer the suffering of the wounded war veterans – the heroes of the nation.
This story was produced with support from InfoNile