(YEI RIVER COUNTY) – South Sudan’s flagship oil for roads programme has come under renewed criticism as lawmakers accuse African Resource Corporation (ARC), the company owned by Vice President for the Economic Cluster Benjamin Bol Mel, of failing to deliver on the Juba to Yei highway.
Paul Yoane Bonju, the MP for Yei River County, told parliament on Wednesday that ARC’s contract to construct the highway had effectively stalled, leaving the road in near impassable condition. The project, regarded as Yei’s most important economic lifeline, was supposed to ease trade and transport between Juba, Yei and onward to Kaya, but remains unfinished.
“The president made the Juba to Yei to Kaya highway a national priority,” Bonju said. “But ARC has left the road in a worse condition. Only bush clearance has been done, with no meaningful construction. This failure is now isolating Yei and threatening its economy.”
ARC was awarded the contract under the government’s oil backed infrastructure plan following President Salva Kiir’s 2018 deal with China. Instead of cash, the scheme allows South Sudan to use crude oil to pay contractors. According to parliamentary records, ARC completed clearance for around 68 miles between Juba and Loka, and a further 12 miles from Yei to Kaya, but then halted work without explanation.
The consequences for local businesses have been severe. Transporters have reported rising costs, and traders say commodity prices are increasing due to delays.
Bonju criticised not only the company but also the government’s failure to hold ARC accountable. “If ARC cannot fulfil its mandate, then the Ministry of Roads and Bridges must intervene. Otherwise, the road will collapse completely,” he told lawmakers.
Critics have also pointed out an obvious conflict of interest in ARC’s management, given that its owner, Benjamin Bol Mel, also serves as Vice President in charge of South Sudan’s Economic Cluster. Despite repeated calls for accountability, neither ARC nor Mel has publicly explained the delays or or justified the oil payments received.
Bonju further urged parliament’s leadership to raise the matter with the presidency, stressing Yei’s importance in both history and commerce. Yei, he reminded lawmakers, was a crucial gateway during the liberation struggle, yet today its residents are left cut off from the capital because of a failed road contract.
The stalled Juba to Yei project is now viewed as a test of South Sudan’s “oil for roads model”. If ARC and other contractors cannot deliver, economists warn that the credibility of the programme and the value of oil backed infrastructure financing will be called into question.
