War of words set on the stage of Juba’s celebration
By Nhial Tiitmamer de Nhial
Feb 5, 2007 — The last few weeks have seen a tremendous confusion, controversy and a fierce war of words in South Sudan concerning the transfer of sixty million dollars to the SPLM during the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) pre- interim period.
The stage was set by two prominent Sudanese career warriors. One of the two stage setters is Gen.Salva Kiir Mayardit, a freedom warrior who opted to pursue the war of freedom at a tender school going age in order to achieve the freedom for his people. The other one is Gen.Omar Hassan el Basher, a war (military) scientist who pursued the career ostensibly to achieve the establishment of a nation governed by Allah’s laws. The former had fought to prevent the later from achieving his vision of establishing a nation ruled by the laws of Allah because this robbed the former’s people of their freedom and put them at a disadvantage position.
The two had previously rocked their mighty horns in a war of bullets until they ended in stalemate. The stalemate yielded a war of talking that resulted into the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), a document that says, “let us put an end to the stupidity that has been taking place in the old Sudan and let us come up with a new wisdom of New Sudan.” Now the new wisdom – the CPA has not been used according to what the generals had agreed at the table of talking. This resulted in accusations and counter accusations of resorting to the stupidity of the old Sudan. This brings this writer to the saga of 60 million USA money. It all began during the CPA 2nd anniversary celebration in the Southern Sudan capital Juba when the issue was brought up by Gen. Bashir in response to Gen. Salva Kiir’s blame on Basher’s NC party for practicing what this writer can call “the stupidity of old Sudan” – the delay in the implementation of important protocols in the CPA.
The confusion surrounding the issue disappeared but controversy reached an extra heights when the SPLM General Secretary, Mr. Pagan Amum was asked by the Al Sahafa Newspaper about the truth of the matter in which he responded as I quote, “Yes, this is a very important issue, and especially after the President’s vague statement created an air of confusion due to the lack of details. First, it is true that the Government of National Unity transferred funds but only after considerable delay and foot dragging. On the 21st of May, 2005, the Government transferred 2,494,100,000 (Two billion, four hundred and ninety four million and one hundred thousand Sudanese dinars), and on the 30th of May 2005, they transferred to the SPLM account 2,468,000,000 (Two billion, four hundred and sixty eight million Sudanese dinars), the equivalent of $20 million dollars. On the 16th of June 2005, they transferred $20 million dollars to the Movement account opened by Mr. Arthur Akuen, the current Minister of Finance in GoSS and the then SPLM Secretary for Financial and Economical Affairs, and Mr. Akuen managed the account from that time until today and did not turn over any funds to the SPLM then. It was not until the end of 2006 that the Movement received $18 million dollars, and he is therefore responsible for that and needs to give a clear accounting of these funds. I met Mr. Akuen yesterday, and discussed the issue with him and he promised to transfer the funds to the Movement.”(Al Sahafa newspaper, translated English version, January 23, 2007).
After Bashir brought up the issue of the transfer of money, some quarters swiftly pointed accusing fingers at the late Gen.John Garang in his grave accusing him of embezzling the money. In a patriotic sense of duty, Mr. Pagan Amum wasted no time to save the image of the late Gen.John Garang de Mabior, a man the marginalized people of Sudan had known throughout his life as an embodiment of freedom as well as a legend of peace and freedom in Sudan. Mr. Amum saved the public from drowning into the deep sea of confusion by declaring to the public the truth of the matter.
However, some people have not been happy with Mr. Pagan’s disclosure of the where about of the sixty million. The expression of unhappiness has been seen on some of the South Sudan’s Diaspora’s forums. Some people reacted in an inherent fasion of “my loved one is not guilty of the offense” – taking a debate on a tribal line. Although others did not appreciate Mr. Amum’s disclosure, they expressed their concerns in an intellectual and a conventional manner. On reacting to Mr. Pagan Amum’s interview on the SPLM Diaspora’s discussion forum, Mr.Ateny Wek Ateny, a staunch SPLM member and one of the Sudanese intellectuals in the UK praised Mr. Amum on touching on some of the vital issues in the interview but on the issue of sixty million, he said Mr. Amum “had deviated from the doctrine of ‘Ministerial Collective responsibility’.” Mr.Ateny continued to say that “Mr. Pagan should have been more diplomatic on this issue. Instead he (Pagan) should have avoided answering the question of $60 million dollars by telling the Newspaper that he doesn’t want to be ahead of the committee’s finding which was formed by the President Kiir to effect.” (Wek, SPLM Diaspora’s forum, January, 2007).
Mr. Ateny Wek’s point of view is a conventional principle and nobody can deny it but I think there are circumstances under which the validity of this conventional doctrine can be questioned.Therefore, one can ask: Should it be applied at the expense of public confusion? Should it be applied to cover what the public suspected as an act of corruption? Many people would wonder why Mr.Ateny Wek would want the public to die believing that the late Dr.John Garang might have embezzled the money.
Mr. Amum’s response has saved two things: Firstly, he has saved the late Dr.John Garang from public suspicion that he might have embezzled the money. Secondly, his statement has made it clear that Mr. Arthur Akuien Chol has to answer the public why he has been keeping the money. Now the public can wait without worry but knowing who is to answer and should not be guessing anymore.
In conclusion, let us neither intensify the war of words nor conclude that anybody is guilty at this stage but let us stretch our ears to hear what honorable Akuien Chol will tell the committee and this will allow us to draw the final verdict.
* The writer is a Sudanese in Canada. He writes a column for the New Sudan Vision www.newsudanvision. You can view some of his previous articles on his weblog: www.nhialtiitmamer.blogspot.com