The Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) has endorsed a report that will unveil whether grain companies contracted in 2009’s strategic grain reserve program delivered the grain ordered and have been paid. The report prepared by an inter-ministerial committee indicates that 100 bogus companies delivered grain worth over SDG 200 million in 2009.  564 legitimate companies provided over 15 million bags of grain worth more that SDG 1 billion. Member of the Parliament, Peter Bashir Gbandi, urged legal measures against companies that had failed to deliver but instead, pocketed money from the people of southern Sudan. He said the report states the amount still oweing, SDG 1.8 billion, should not be paid out to contractors who cannot prove that they have delivered the grain and say they have not been paid.

Gbandi stressed that investigations and verifications will show which companies have delivered the grain and will be paid accordingly.

The committee report also indicated that former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in Southern Sudan, Kuol Athian, had approved about SDG 7 billion to purchase grain for reserve.