Last week, the Vice President for Economic Cluster Dr. James Wani Igga revealed that more than four hundred companies have escaped paying personal income tax worth $4 billion since independence.

Igga said the government was only able to assess 40 of these companies. This means the rest are still unknown, probably yet to be traced.

Of course South Sudanese have been suffering just like citizens in any other oil-producing country where the resource is seemingly more a curse than blessing, the VP did not need to reiterate this conventional truth.

“Why do you think South Sudan is suffering from the financial crisis? We produce 116,000 barrels per day, and the price of oil is currently more than 60 US dollars, and we should not suffer from the financial crisis because we have diverse sources of income,” Igga was quoted by this paper.

The answer to that question comes handy with the answer to the big questions many South Sudanese are asking. How did this happen? Why did it take so long for the government to reveal this to the public? Who are the owners and affiliates of those companies?

Critical questions like those above always do not receive answers from those who are answerable to the citizens; that is a normal thing in a nascent democracy.

Oil companies have felt invincible (they still are), they operate above the spectrum of the national law. All these can be impossible without connectedness to economic and political elites of the country.

Going back to Dr. Igga’s remarks, South Sudanese have been suffering not only because oil companies are cheating the government, they are also cheating the citizens directly through exploitative terms of employment characterized by unfair, unjustified remuneration policies. The government said nothing and no one dares touch these invincible companies operated by foreign business individuals.

The hungry, desperate South Sudanese employee has no option but to struggle through such repressive policies so that they can at least feed their families who look up to them for survival.

Out of Juba, oil companies have caused enormous suffering to South Sudanese citizens and their livestock, especially in their areas of operation through environmental toxicity. The Ministry of Environment seems to have woken up.

“Oil companies must cooperate in getting solutions into this environmental pollution and anybody who will not cooperate, as the government, we will not hesitate to stop you from operation,” those were the words of Josephine Napwon Cosmas, the Minister of Environment and Forestry.

But it should not be just about throwing rhetorical statements around to make citizens delusional and feel good about their ever-worsening economic and health conditions catapulted by foreign-operated oil companies.

“I must assure you that environment is life, environment is first, it is not the second option, or second priority but environment must always be first. I don’t think you are the only company in the world which can do the oiling,” another good-to-read statement from Napwon.

“It is shameful to see the host communities suffering without roads, water, good health, and good schools yet it is an oil producing area.”

Puot Kang Chol the Minister of petroleum said the resumption of Block 5A means both economic and health security.

“The resumption of this block means economic security not only to the government but as well to the communities in the facilities of oil producing areas. But most importantly we need to ensure that our people in the area are safe from oil pollution and it must be taken seriously,” he added.

It is north-worthy that these oil companies have the guts to call for the firing of any government official who tends to implement a policy that works to the interest of the people of the country. Where they can such powers, is a discussion for another day.

Unless the government takes note of the social and economic disenfranchisement, birth defects, miscarriages, deaths, and environmental pollution these companies are subjecting the citizens to, the loss of $4 billion in tax evasion in the span of ten years is big story to a handful of South Sudanese.