GLIMMERS OF HOPE IN SOUTH SUDAN.

September 23, 2015(Nyamilepedia) — The title of this article may seem too optimistic to many people or indeed premature to others given the dire situation in the country at the present time. The burden of a decade of a kleptocratic regime on people’s lives should not be underestimated. It’s only human that some would fall into despair and look to the future through dark glasses following the ordeal. 10 years of rampant corruption, nepotism and insecurity, culminating into a greed-driven civil war, had left bad memories that would need some time to be forgotten and wounds that would similarly need the same to heal. But before the long process of healing and rehabilitation could start, people should understand fully why we ended up in this catastrophic situation in the first place. What are the root causes ? Could it have been avoided ? And what is the way forward to prevent repeating the same mistakes in future ?

We are gifted with a country that has a variety of unlimited natural resources waiting to be utilised. Some of the resources do not need much effort to exploit and the costs would be extremely low.  When you look around the world you would realise how fortunate we are in terms of availability of natural resources. Here are some examples; a Palestinian colleague once told me with a look of disbelief on his face ” El Yahood harathu el bahr !” which literally translates in English to ” The Jews ploughed the sea “. He was referring to the process of reclaiming land for farming which is being practiced in Israel because of lack of land. Israel has got one of the most advanced and prosperous agricultural industries in the world. Some of you might have come across the boat people in Hong Kong and other Asian cities. They are different from the refugees fleeing conflict areas by sea. These are people who live their entire lives on boats at sea. Again it is due to lack of land; what I don’t know is where do they get buried when the die. Maybe they live all their lives at sea only to be buried on land when they die. The third example comes from the Arabian peninsula, where there is no single river in an area more than double the size of South Sudan. While we have numerous rivers and streams they got nothing. There was a time there when a litre of bottled water was more costly than a litre of petrol. Most parts of the peninsula are desert lands while our land is green and covered with forests and grass lands in most of its parts. We are already exploiting the oil reserves and most likely there will be more discoveries of new oil reserves all over South Sudan. The gold is already there and being looted by foreigners. Other minerals are in abundance but yet to be tapped. When you add the huge animal resources to the list then the following question will be in your mind, what else could we ask from God to give us ?!  Even the Jews who were mentioned in the bible as God’s people do not have the kind of resources we have. Our situation is akin to some one living in abject poverty while the wealth is all around him.

With the above resources there should be no poverty in South Sudan. The land simply has plenty to offer to its own people. There is enough for everyone; everywhere in South Sudan. We just need a visionary leadership that understands the country’s potentials. With the right strategy and sound policies, South Sudan could have by now leapt one or more steps forward rather than going with the reverse gear. We are where we are because of the following reasons :

1. Weak leadership and lack of ideas and plans to lead the country towards prosperity: 10 years in power is quite a long time to bring about some positive changes and achievements. Most of the prosperous countries in the world have a maximum of 8 to 10 years for a presidency or a premiership. Their people expect achievements during the said periods. We have seen nothing tangible from the current government in terms of projects, schools and hospitals. From the beginning of its tenure it gave the impression of a government composed of people who are only after enriching themselves rather than caring for their fellow citizens. They built big mansions, acquired fancy cars and sent their children and families abroad for schools and health care. The irony remains that some houses in Juba are comparable or even better than the majority of houses in the west but located in a shantytown. The whole situation was made worse by people or some members of a tribe believing that  ” it’s their time to eat “. What good could come out of people harbouring this sort of notion ?! It is no wonder that corruption has become an acceptable exercise in the government of South sudan.

2. Adopting a divisive and non-inclusive policies: It is here where the smaller tribes were completely marginalised and ignored. The government pursued the policy of hegemony by the Jieng tribe with total disregard to the damage it could cause to national unity. It also fell under the influence of the Jieng Council of Elders ( JCE ), in fact it became a tool in executing its divisive policies including land grabbing and pastoralists belligerent acts. The notion that the Jieng are liberators and the rest are collaborators is disseminated among the Jieng population by the JCE. It is a divisive and short-sighted political tactic that would backfire in the long term. It is certainly not helpful in a multiethnic and multicultural society like ours. The Equatorians for example may say they were the pioneers of the struggle against the Mundukuru’s and without their contribution the SPLM/SPLA would have perished following the 1991 rift. The Nuers and the people from the Cholo Kingdom may on the other hand say they were the first to introduce self-determination into the SPLM/SPLA politics and their contribution was pivotal in the path towards independence. Many of you know that between July and August 1992, many Equatorian officers and intellectuals were executed in Juba by the Bashir’s regime for being the SPLM/SPLA fifth column. Some were thrown off planes en route to Khartoum. I personally know some of the victims who were my colleagues at school. People from Upper Nile and Bahr El Gazal regions including some Jieng who were not in the bush also faced the same fate. How would their families feel when they are called collaborators ?!  Will it not call into question our evolution into a nation ?! The independence of South Sudan was accomplished through a collective struggle of all the tribes and communities in South Sudan. The decisive action was their votes at the referendum which brought about our independence.

3. Impunity and absence of rule of law:  What defines a government is the upholding of the rule of law. Without this fundamental duty, it descends into a different category, more closer to the rule of warlords. Indeed when criminals are set free from jail by members of their tribe and killers are left at large then it means our society is divided into two classes, the helpless majority and the mighty untouchables. It is the reason that some people think they owned the country and are above the law. It is a recipe for chaos and the unravelling of South Sudan as maintaining law and order is paramount to the survival of any country.

4. Greed and selfishness: Civil wars are not uncommon in the history of nations. However, they are usually due to a widespread conflict within a country. It is often triggered by a showdown between two parties with their supporters on both sides facing each other or a widespread discontent that pits the people against the government. The case of South Sudan is quite unique as it was due to a power struggle between the president and his deputy. Both happened to be from the same party and carried the positions of chairman and deputy chairman respectively. It was a division within one party between those who wanted a change in direction with implementation of reforms and the other group led by the president who wanted to maintain the status quo. We do remember clearly that Dr Riek Machar and his colleagues planned to address a rally in Juba prior to the fighting. It was a peaceful and democratic way of taking the case to the people in order to gain their support in future elections. That was not the approach a coup plotter would choose. The people were very keen to listen to what Dr Riek Machar and his colleagues were going to say. They were not allowed to proceed with the rally. The president, who was clearly unpopular, sensing imminent loss of power came up with the ploy of coup d’etat.  Whether he was coached by Museveni or not is yet to be unearthed. The fact that he went ahead and allowed the massacre to happen displayed how greed and selfishness could take control of a weak leader. There was no thought about the people who were tired of half a century of wars in their country.