Opinion: South Sudan scored first marks in Democracy

By Dak Buoth Riek-Gaak,

November 26, 2021 — In theory and practice, South Sudan cannot be said to be a democratic country, for reasons that in the event of the conflict between the rule of law and the rule of person, the latter takes precedence. This concept of the rule of law as was opined by Dicey, means everyone is equal before the law irrespective of his or her social status. Despite these visible traits of today’s regime, some individuals who are good at mischaracterizing things still say South Sudan is a democratic country. In 1992, Dr. John Garang (1945-2005) in his bitter response to BBC journalist months after the brutal SPLM/SPLA first split said that, ‘‘democracy has been so much beaten up these days that even a devil can come and say he is a democrat to people who listen to him.’’

Since South Sudan gained her independence through an internationally monitored referendum after 50 years of civil war for self-determination, it always conducted its businesses and activities in darkness and behind closed doors. This has however, denied the citizens their fundamental rights of public participation provided for under Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ‘‘that states the rights of every person to participate in the affairs of his country, either directly or by selecting representatives.’’ The thinking behind the idea of public participation is that leaders must make decisions based on what the majority desires. 

Of course, we inherited these autocratic tendencies of disregarding human rights from the old Sudan that we seceded from ten years ago. This archaic political culture of intentionally ignoring the legal right of public participation has resulted in the impoverished South Sudanese not being able to thoroughly and objectively hold their leaders accountable for their words and actions. 

More often than not, citizens are left guessing, for they don’t know the way their leaders communicate and or does things on their behalf. Consequently, this deliberate denial of public participation in governance has heightened political corruption and impunity in South Sudan. 

The word corruption is derived from the Latin word ‘‘corruptus,’’ which means corrupted. Whereas political corruption refers to the abuses of power entrusted to political leaders for private gains, with the aim of accumulating more wealth at the expense of others.  The severe effects of Corruption are that it erodes public confidence in the institutions of governance thus resulting in political upheavals in most cases. Given these factual indications, no one should be surprised with the level of corruption in South Sudan with insufficient legal frameworks and public participation. 

In the latest report by Transparency International, South Sudan is among the countries leading in corruption. At the moment, South Sudan is among the top ten in corruption. We should watch out, especially now that the President has publicly declared that he will not prosecute corrupt individuals on pretext that they will rebel against his regime. This means the President is more apprehensive or afraid of rebellion than corruption forgetting that corruption kills the nation gradually. In my view, surrendering to corruption may also mean acceptance of corruption as a normal practice in South Sudan. In the long run, there will be negative impacts on development and livelihood of the people, because the donor community will not give aids or grants that they know will end up in the hands of a few corrupt officials in the country. 

In view of the above, South Sudan will be number one in the next corruption report, because there is nothing being done to minimize or reduce its rampant growth. 

You will find in most civilized countries that the public awareness, press freedom, sufficient legal frameworks plus strong Anti-corruption Agencies and the rule of law are often the key requirements in the combat against corruption the world over. 

Few months ago, on 9th July 2021, South Sudan failed to mark its 10th anniversary of independence because truly there was nothing to celebrate. Next month, South Sudan will again be conspicuously absent on 9th December 2021 when the world will be marking International Anti-corruption Day because it has already surrendered to corruption. 

Over the years, there has been a contradiction between our words and conduct. When we were clamouring for independence of South Sudan, our slogans and songs were that we needed a new Sudan of justice, equality, and democracy. But now that we achieved the long dream of South Sudan, we got stranded in corruption and unnecessary conflicts of egos and not national ethos. Year after a year, we appear to be reluctant in introducing the democratic system of governance that we longed for. Continuously, we do things in a manner that is repugnant to the ideals of justice, equality and democracy that our martyrs, heroines and heroes struggled and perished for. As matter of fact, if the leadership itself cannot proudly point out what it has achieved over the last ten years in power, who are we at the periphery to say they have done something good without their consent?   

However, like they say in Nuer language or Thok Naath, ‘‘chi raan pith piny cha-Jual-yang,’’ which means, human beings are not growing downward like the tail of a cow. Recently, the leadership has made progress worth noticing. I have seen something good that I want to thank the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) for free, for I believe it is good to accord credit where it’s due. 

Honestly, I admired the fact that the ongoing ‘‘5th governors’ Forum’’ sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is being televised and shown live on social media. As a country, we are not used to this democratic exercise. This is an encouraging step toward our long walk to democracy that we need to praise the leadership for. 

At least I can see for the first time South Sudanese are able to see and listen their governors and other stakeholders arguing and speaking live. This is fantastic democratic performance that I would like to mark 10 out of 10. I had given them 10 plus 1 to make it eleven marks for broadcasting the event live. Although majority of our people are not able to watch due to poor internet connectivity across the country, I think its good democratic gesture that cannot go unnoticed. I personally felt encouraged and motivated like other citizens who are watching the proceedings. I wish they could be bold enough to continue and even go ahead to advised the legislative arm of government to enact a law that allowed live parliament proceedings to be televised so as to enable the citizens evaluate the performances of their leaders.

The Writer is the Chairman of the Liech Community Association in Kenya; the views expressed here are his own, and he can be reached for comments via eligodakb@yahoo.com

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