Africa 3.0: Cruisers and corruption, Juba style
<
http://mg.co.za/author/richard-poplak> Richard Poplak,
<
http://mg.co.za/author/kevin-bloom> Kevin Bloom
<
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-11-22-africa-30-land-cruisers-everywhere-you-l
ook-2> 22 Nov 2012 11:49 -
Where you see a proliferation of Toyota Land Cruisers in a developing
nation, you know there's trouble.
That's the subject of this clip we've cut together, which explores the
phenomenon in Juba, South Sudan - a place we've often described as an NGO
feeding frenzy.
*
<
http://mg.co.za/multimedia/2012-11-22-africa-30-land-cruisers-everywhere-yo
u-look> Watch the video here
These Land Cruisers are used mostly by the employees (foreign and local) of
a dizzying farrago of aid organisations, which are essentially driving South
Sudan's economy, jamming it up with donated cash.
One thing we don't mention in the clip is how these vehicles are subject to
rampant customs corruption. A used Land Cruiser, purchased across the border
in Kampala, Uganda, will cost almost $140 000 by the time it is negotiating
the rutted Juba streets. That equates to almost $80 000 of kickbacks and
baksheesh per vehicle, none of which ends up in public coffers - and it's a
price that NGOs don't seem to have a problem paying.
This tends to exasperate locals - most of the people we met in Juba hoped
that independence would mean less of this kind of thing, not more. For now,
though, Land Cruisers are a standard fixture on South Sudan's roads. If
anything should inspire an urgency to develop, it's that.
This post is part of Africa 3.0, a weekly series by Richard Poplak and Kevin
Bloom in which they highlight aspects of their travels and investigations on
the continent. Visit <
http://africa3point0.tumblr.com/>
http://africa3point0.tumblr.com for more, and engage with them on
<
https://www.facebook.com/Africa3point0?ref=stream> Facebook or
<
https://twitter.com/Africa3point0> Twitter.
. Our Coverage
* <
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-11-14-state-of-dis-unity-1> Africa
3.0: State of Dis-Unity
* Africa 3.0: Meet the gubernator
<
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-11-09-africa-30-meet-the-gubernator>
* Africa 3.0: Tuning into the future
<
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-11-06-tuning-into-the-future>
Received on Thu Nov 22 2012 - 13:24:27 EST
