South Sudan’s Salva Kiir; sitting on a time bomb

By Lado Losuba Jr.

Dec 14, 2006 — The recent outbreak of war in the town of Malakal in southern Sudan was an incident waiting to happen. It is not lost to many people of southern Sudan, the Sudan in general and International observers that the Government of President Salva Kiir has in the recent past been sitting on a Time Bomb. This worrying scenario could easily be deduced from the following worrying Facts and Events.

1 – Rampant insecurity; Incidents of insecurity have been on the increase in many corners of south Sudan and even at the National Capital of Khartoum. These included:

– The many ambushes of civilian vehicles along the Juba Torit and Juba Uganda trunk roads. It is an open secret in Juba that the culprits of these heinous incidents are in the payroll of the Bashir Government who by all means wants to destabilize the Government of South Sudan and in the process undermine the CPA. What Southerners are worried about is the apparent silence of President Kiir in reassuring the people that his government is addressing this grave issue with Khartoum.
– The most recent incident in Malakal town and in Khartoum city where hundreds of armed members of SAF, SPLA, Militia and innocent civilians lost their lives was expected. The CPA stipulates that all Militia should have by now been integrated either into the SPLA or into the National Army of Khartoum. It is either by design or through lack of political will that this exercise has not taken place therefore creating constant unstable relationship between the SPLA and SAF on one hand and the SPLA and Militia on the other. You do not have to be a genius to foresee a tragedy in the making.
– The insistence of the GOSS to retain armed SPLA soldiers and Militia brigades in the major towns of Juba, Yei, Malakal and Wau create an unhealthy relationship between the armed men themselves and between them and the civilians. Examples of these bad relationships abound in Juba where General Matip has surrounded himself with over 200 armed militia, purportedly providing him with security against real or imagined enemies. Also scenarios of SPLA soldiers being the law unto themselves are on the increase. A question one would like to ask is if Salva is on top of things in the South or if he is deliberately allowing the situation to drift to hell.
– Continuous Clan Wars in Lakes State and other areas in Dinka and Nuer Lands are worrying developments. The GOSS seems impotent in militating against these terrible trends of instability.

2 – Corruption; This vice whether real or perceived is eating to the trust Southerners invested in Salva’s government. Issues in the public domain castigating GOSS of complicity in corrupt practises seem to absolve the Public in this regard and these include:

– The fact that four senior civil servants including the Undersecretaries of Finance and that of Planning in the GOSS Ministry of Finance have been suspended indicates that where there is a ‘smoking gun’, there is fire.
– Senior members of GOSS are being rumoured to have bought palatial houses in Khartoum worth millions of dollars. While these allegations are doing the rounds in town, none of the people being mentioned have come out in public to refute them.
– A semi illiterate and recently very poor ‘entrepreneur’ has been given ‘Financial Assistance’ by the GOSS to construct a Hotel in Juba worth millions of dollars. The evidence of this – the Hotel stares everybody in the eye. These are examples of how the nova riche of Southern Sudan are created!!!
– Members of the Dinka and Nuer communities are said to be on GOSS list of beneficiaries for monthly ‘Financial Assistance’. This vice was a carry over from the former Southern Region. Evidence of this accusation is manifested in Juba towns’ restaurants and bars where members of these communities flaunt dollar bills at will. Also when in Nairobi city one would witness many young students from these communities seemingly being the only Sudanese on GOSS sponsorship. Some among the semi illiterate young men from these communities are reputed to offer up to $300 as tips to waitresses in Nairobi bars. A fact that has not escaped local patrons, local conmen and robbers.
– While GOSS Superstars are engrossed in corrupt practises and looting (a spree) of the public coffers, they have forgotten to claim their portion of Custom Dues which runs into billions of dinars (milliards) from the Khartoum government. These guys only see oil monies and of course again they do not get their fair share. They are blinded by the sheer millions of dollars dolled out to them. Even the Custom monies collected at Kaya/Yei corridor it is understood not remitted to Juba but divided under a tree by individuals. This wholesale myopia and mediocrity is not lost to the Khartoum manipulators.

3 – Lip service on Infra structure development; While some ‘work’ has started on roads and electricity in Juba town, poor workmanship and delays in implementation of GOSS rehabilitation and developments programs are exhibited in the following:

– Rehabilitation of government buildings or structures manifests shoddy workmanship. Just look at the supposedly whitewashed Presidential Palace by the main road. This was done just recently, but appears to be something out of pre CPA. What a shame! The roads rehabilitation program has included filling pot holes with cement mortar! The potholes are back with impunity and one might have been lucky during the October mini El Nino rains to encounter baby crocodiles in practise swimming in these holes. Where are the International Contractors and where is the World Bank with the billions of dollars?

4 – Marginalization; Manifestations of these are evident in most GOSS institutions.

– The majority of the senior GOSS positions, be they at the Ministerial, Commission or civil service levels are reserves of the two ethnic groups who are supposed to be numerically dominant. Just step at he Presidents Office in Juba and you know who own the South.
– GOSS largesse to all the 10 States is uniform. While it is a known fact that civil servants in Central Equatoria State (12,000 or so – retrenchment is eminent), Western Bahr el Ghazel and may be Upper Nile States are more than in the other States, all are yet treated as equals. This has created an issue especially in Juba. The other States exemplified by Aweil and Bentiu are wallowing in dollars. It is anybody’s guest as to what the Aweils and others do with their excess bucks.

5- Land Ownership verses Land Grabbing; The CPA, the Constitutions of the United Sudan and that of South Sudan without reservation stipulate that Land belongs to the people. Not just any people, but emphatically to those who inhibit specific Lands since time immemorial. It is common sense that the GOSS has to expand and therefore needs space to construct office buildings etc. There is also need for space for housing and industry. Instead of government functionaries, policy implementers (read the executive) and politicians in general engaging the local communities in dialogue on land acquisition by government for the common good, these same servants of the South and guardians of the CPA have embarked on hate campaigns and the exhibition of the “Mentality of Occupation” by force. Actions and insinuations by these groups labelling themselves “liberators” contradicting the above documents are frightening. And here are specific scenarios:

– Some senior GOSS leaders during many occasions in public, private and specifically in a Workshop with Bari chiefs and elders on issues of land ownership and land use (the w/shop was facilitated by foreign experts) around Juba, openly declare that in the South land belongs to GOSS, that the CPA Declarations on land was only to safeguard South Sudan lands from being occupied and owned by Northern Arabs. Meaning that in the South especially in Juba and Yei, land can be grabbed – and this is the actual word used by one of them – the so called ‘liberators’ and ‘owners’ of the South. Oh my God talk of Double Standards – what a Grand Mother of All Betrayals.
– There was a grand plan not to approve signing and passing of the Constitution of Central Equatoria State just because it stipulates that the capital of the State is Juba. The rulers wanted the State Capital to be moved even by force to Yei so as to make way for Juba to be the GOSS capital (occupation) which would have a radius of up to 75 kms – my foot!!!!!!!!!!!. Of course they failed in this ingenious enterprise because of all corners Khartoum (which hates and distrusts Equatorians so much) had to intervene on behalf of Equatoria (A thing to remember is that both East and Western Equatoria States also stood firm against this conspiracy). Bashir quoting the CPA etc told them not to temper with location of towns and boundaries. They had to fail PERIOD.
– That since the Bari are reluctant (lies – the Bari said ‘let us talk’) to cede land (to whom, for what and how much) to GOSS, ‘they’ would relocate the Capital of the South. To comment on this, I would like to remind all Southern Sudanese, Sudanese in general and the International Community ( America, Britain and Norway – who insisted on Juba being the Capital) that our Great Leader late Dr. John Garang de Mabior dreamt of Ramcel and chose Ramcel as the New Capital of Southern Sudan. He was not hallucinating, but was forestalling to avert an eminent confrontation on land issues if Juba had to be capital. Now all can see his wisdom. He knew what ‘his’ people would be capable of. We appeal to GOSS, all southerners of Good Will and the International Community to advocate to build a New Capital for the South somewhere anywhere to avert eminent showdown. There is billions of dollars of oil money to construct a New Capital!!!!!!!!!!!! To avert Disaster.
– One so cheeky ‘entrepreneur” fenced off land north of Juba town and sold it to a unsuspecting Asian developer. When the fence was uprooted by able bodied young men, innocent villagers including their chief women, children and a Catholic Priest to boot were arbitrarily arrested, physically abused, tortured and detained on allegation of trespassing in their own land. It took threads of a Peaceful demonstration and wise minds to resolve this issue. It is still smouldering!!!! – the developer is looking for this missing con man for his money.
– An attempt to craft a Bill on Eviction of Civil Servants – those from the Equatorias – from government houses was thwarted at its inception. The whole story was that after the Bill was tabled at the Southern Legislative Assembly, a Law to that effect would be delivered. On eviction of “everybody from government houses, the same would then be allocated to the ‘right people’ The whole circus was then to culminate into a final Law where the same house would be sold to the new occupants!!!!!
– Greater Equatoria and the oil money are seen and treated like the Spoils of War or for a better statement ‘War booty’. Arrogance of the highest order. God help the South.

6 – The Good Story; Bravo Salva. Bravo GOSS. The story is not all bleak despite its problems, GOSS is being lauded and liked for the following:

– The salaries paid to civil servants are good actually too good for the liking of some detractors of GOSS.
– Food and other consumables are in abundance and cheap.
– Movement of people is unimpeded

I will beg your pardon and stop here for starters for I need to save the other morsels for scene 2. But I would like to caution everybody not to despair. South Sudan is Greater than any ethnic, geographical or political groupings. Also those trying to subvert the hard fought freedom and peace currently prevailing in the South should stand warned and that their machinations have been and are being exposed by the day. They will utterly fail in their heinous activities. Let all and sundry be warned that even if King Lion is no more, Southern Sudanese will never allow the carrions to strut and fret around with impunity and mess up with the Grand Dream of our Great leader the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior.

Lastly I would like to appeal to those powers that be who tirelessly worked hard to bring Peace to South Sudan. Be reminded that the CPA could easily be undermined unless you diligently put in mechanisms to proactively monitor its implementation. Also be vigilant in guarding the GOSS against itself because there are elements in it who would like to assume imperialistic tendencies (in replacement of the Arab North) towards the people of South Sudan which tendencies would lead to Self Destruction due to eminent Internal Implosion as witnessed in Malakal.

* The author is a Sudanese based in the US. He can be reached at [email protected]