Unity governor lashes out at S. Sudan’s Machar attempts to destabilise him
January 24, 2007 (JUBA) — In a blast of harsh rhetoric, The governor of the Unity State lashed out at the Vice President of southern Sudan government accusing him of disseminating rumors on corruption and other allegations to move him and appoint his wife as governor of the oil rich state.
Taban Deng said in an interview published by Juba based The Citizen that Riek Machar “is “the source of my problems.” He added the cause of this hatred that when the Khartoum Peace Agreement collapsed he forced Machar to join the SPLM and disband his political organisation.
“I pushed him and we went back to SPLA/M,”…. Riek was not happy, but there was no way for him to oppose.” Taban said.
He further added “I was of the view that we go to SPLA and become faithful cadres but Riek was of the view of maintaining his movement (United Democratic Salvation Front-UDSF) within the SPLA/M. I managed to persuade him and he dropped the idea of UDSF in the SPLM/A.”
Taban further added that Riek has no loyalty to the southern Sudan ruling party, the SPLM. He accused Riek of supporting traditional leaders of Nuer tribe “who where appointed by the National Congress Party” to destabilise the authority of the SPLM in the Unity State.
He said that the vice-president of the southern Sudan government wants to name his wife, the current federal State Minister for Energy and Mining Angelina Teny, as governor “and that is why she is busy transporting Nuer chiefs from Khartoum to be hosted in Juba where they campaign against me.”
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Below the full text of the interview with Taban Deng and published by The Citizen on Wednesday January 23, 2008. This interview is reprinted with the express authorisation of the The Citizen editor, and Editor in Chief, Nhial Bol. Subheading inserted editorially by Sudan Tribune.
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Is Unity a failed, corrupt state? Should President Salva Kiir replace the governor? The post of governor is turning out to be a hot potato even for Kiir. Competing powerful interests are aligned on different sides of the issue, and each camp wants to produce the next governor. Will the governor’s removal be destabilizing or stabilizing? Some say let the people decide during the next elections. Appointed governor in 2005, TABAN DENG was a senior SPLA commander, and was governor of Unity State from 1997 to 2000 when he briefly defected to Khartoum. NHIAL BOL, the Editor-in-Chief of the Citizen, during a visit alongside journalists from the Juba Post, South Sudan TV, and South Sudan Radio, interviewed the governor.
NHIAL: We have agreed to conduct separate interviews because the allegations against your government are many. That’s why some of us accepted your invitation, which was communicated your advisor William Tul. We are happy with Mr. Tul. My colleague Alfred Taban declined to come with us because he is coordinating a workshop in Juba. He told me to inform you that he would accept your invitation another time. There are many allegations against you. The Citizen wants to hear, why is every citizen in your State complaining against you and your government? Can you tell us what you have achieved and failed to achieve in your last two years?
TABAN DENG: First I thank all of you for coming to our state. I hope you enjoyed the stay in Bentiu. (NHIAL: Yes, we did.) I don’t regret because of the difficulties I face as governor of Unity State. I was expecting these complaints before my appointment and I took a decision to face them and live with these difficulties. Because of the courage I took, I achieved many things. I achieved security of the state, I achieved development and also I achieved the unity of our citizens. You travel to any part of this state without any security problems. There is no tribal fighting among our tribes since I became a governor.
I think the people who are complaining [don’t] appreciate what I have achieved [for] them. When I came to this state there were a lot of problems and difficulties because of many arms in the hands of individuals, but I worked on these individuals until they changed the culture of killings and using guns for unnecessary reasons.
I am proud of achieving something [for] my State because there is security [for] our people. There were many arms in this State, but we worked together so that these arms are integrated in the SPLA ranks. I was the one behind the unification process. I was very instrumental in the unification of our forces.
I played a big role for our return to the SPLA/M when the Khartoum Peace Agreement collapsed. I told (Vice President) Dr Riek Machar that let us go back to the SPLA/M so that we fight the National Congress Party Government. We went back and [formed a] strong force for our movement. I can tell you that without the unity of our people in this State, [the] Comprehensive Peace Agreement wouldn’t have been achieved. CPA was only possible because of our unity, because the North knew that a strong South meant something. Khartoum signed the CPA because we have a strong army and our people are united.
I was the driving force for the return of Dr Riek to the SPLA/M. He was not willing, but I pushed him until he accepted to return. Can citizens of this state not appreciate what I have done for them?
When I came to this state, our people were so much divided, but I managed to harmonize the situation and reconcile them.
When I came to this State, there was no single computer; my laptop was the first computer to enter this state, but go around the counties and here in Bentiu, you will find hundreds computers. So, I must say I am the one who created a computer revolution in this state. I am proud of this.
3 YEARS ACHIEVEMENTS
QUESTION: It’s seems that you did not revolutionarise the electricity (supply).
ANSWER: This is another area. When I came to this State, there was no generator in any ministry. I bought a small generator, which I used to take to office and bring back to the house. So my small generator was the first generator to operate in the government offices and I hoped that people would count that as achievement because there are tens of generators all over the state. My small generator was the first.
QUESTION: What about communication?
A: There was no communication with counties. We were isolated from the rest of the world, but we stepped up pressure on communications and now you communicate without any problems.
Q: you talk of improvement of security here; does this mean there are no killings?
A: When I came here, I found insecurity was a phenomenon. Intellectuals were being hunted down and there were many crimes.
Q: Why were intellectuals hunted down?
A: We have the cultures of revenge. If a person is killed in the rural areas, their people will come and kill intellectuals. Revenges among Nuer, Dinka and Shilluk are a normal practice. I was faced with difficult issues when I was appointed governor. The major ones were political differences, cattle raiding, militia tensions, and SPLA disarray. Criminals were not apprehended and there were no prisons built for criminals.
Q: You did not tell which areas you have concentrated on.
A: My concentration in the first two years plus was security. This was solved when the forces were unified and SPLA proper was deployed in the State. We strengthened the police force. But I can tell you that we used a lot of resources to improve the security of our state. Today there is security because we have a reserve force of 300 police, which is funded by the State resources. We also have been helping other forces of SPLA with transport and food.
Q: Who approved all money for security operations?
A: Everything is taken to Cabinet and parliament for approval. I go to both the State Assembly and the Council of Ministers and tell them, look this is our security. We stood together and we achieved security for our people.
Q: But is security a responsibility of the state (or of GoSS)?
A: Yes, security is within our authority
PEOPLE LIKE COMPLAINTS
Q: But if all you said is true then you must be popular governor. Can you explain why people complain against you?
A: Our people like complaints. I will tell you that we have achieved stability and I am proud of that. We built schools, we build new roads and I assume this what our people want. The capital of the State is accessible to all counties. The oil companies had built their roads also.
Q: Where exactly did you build new roads?
A: We built new roads in the areas northwest of the State, and south of the State, which linked Warrap and Lakes to Unity.
Q: What about electricity:
A: We have imported big generator that generate 4 kilowatt to Bentiu. We bought this generator with State funds.
Q: Has the Government of Southern Sudan granted your state with funds?
A: The Government of Southern Sudan granted $30 million last year and our two percent of the oil revenues was also $30 million. But because of the problem of over employment, $ 50 million was spent on salaries and $10 million was used for development. We have inherited problems from the previous governments. We have 18,000 unskilled workers, many ghost names of officials in the pay sheets. We want the Government of Sudan to reduce this to at least 6000 employees.
DISGRUNTLED ELEMENTS IN JUBA
Q: You didn’t tell us why citizens of your state complain against you?
A: Those voices from Juba are cooked and engineered by the disgruntled elements of other parties.
Q: What do these disgruntled elements want from you?
A: Complains against me, as I said were cooked and engineered by the disgruntled Southern Sudanese who [were] trained by the National Congress Party to disturb the SPLM government of the State.
Q: What is your problem with the disgruntled elements? Why are they targeting you?
A: These disgruntled elements are against me and my government for political reasons.
Q: Does it mean they want to evaluate your performance?
A: Yes, they want to evaluate my performance and I told them that I cannot be evaluated by the disgruntled elements trained by the National Congress Party. I cannot be evaluated by the NCP members who we persuaded three months or six months ago to join the SPLM. The SPLM government cannot be evaluated by the NCP.
I cannot also be evaluated by the Nuer Chiefs who were recruited by the NCP in Khartoum. There are many chiefs from Warap or Lakes in Khartoum, but they did not go Juba and demand the removal of their state governors. Why only our chiefs demand to remove me?
How can displaced chiefs remove a governor in the state? These chiefs, in my view, do not deserve to evaluate me or the performances of the State government. These chiefs were appointed by the NCP; why should they disturb people in Juba? They should evaluate the NCP instead. Q: Do you have any idea who is managing both the disgruntled elements and your Nuer Chiefs recruited by Khartoum?
RIEK MACHAR IS THE SOURCE OF MY PROBLEMS
A: The Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan Dr Riek Machar is the source of my problems. He is the one mobilizing chiefs recruited by the NCP to campaign against my government and me. The GoSS Vice President has not been happy with me since the day I was appointed.
Q: What about the Members of Parliament in the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly?
A: I know that a good number of our MPs in Juba claim that I am not well. These are not serious politicians. These MPs were handpicked. They were not selected by the SPLM.
Q: You’ve not told the readers of The Citizen why Dr Riek Machar is against you?
A: I told you, there is one person behind all these problems. The Vice President of GoSS is the one causing the problems. Dr Riek is causing all these confusions. He is the son of this state, but he always [tries] to associate with confusion. I can blame [him] for all the nonsense, which [is] happening in Juba.
Q: Why is Dr Riek [against you] in particular when there are nine other governors in Southern Sudan?
A: Dr Riek has never been happy with me throughout his life and now he is opposed to my authority. He does not want people of Unity State to respect [me] as their governor.
Q: This statement is too general. Can you give a specific answer why the two of you are enemies?
A: The reason for Riek to hate me could be the unification of SPLM because when the Khartoum Peace Agreement collapsed, Riek was not willing to return to SPLM, but I pushed him and we went back to SPLA/M, and we resumed the struggle for our people.
Riek was not happy, but there was no way for him to oppose [this]. Repeatedly, I used to tell him, brother let’s go back to our movement. I was of the view that we go to SPLA and become faithful cadres but Riek was of the view of maintaining his movement (United Democratic Salvation Front-UDSF) within the SPLA/M. I managed to persuade him and he dropped the idea of UDSF in the SPLM/A.
I have a feeling that Riek is not loyal to SPLM because in [a] normal situation you [don’t] undermine your party rulers.
Dr Riek does not also like me because I don’t like tribal colours. He is now fighting me [using] Nuer and this shows that he does not care [about] other tribes. I always tell him that I would like to build a strong [state] under one leader and one central power, this remark is one
Q: In this case, is Riek loyal to SPLM or NCP?
A: I want to reply this with another question, Is Riek loyal to anyone? If Riek was loyal to SPLM, why does he work with NCP chiefs? Why is he against the SPLM administration in Unity State? Why is Riek hosting Nuer Chiefs who were appointed by the NCP in his house, in hotels? Why is Riek [using] government money to accommodating chiefs in hotels? Who is financing these chiefs in Juba? Who is transporting them to Juba? And why Juba instead of Unity State?
Q: So Riek is the one you blame and why now?
A: This is my first time to break this issue to the public. I have tolerated him for long, but now I thought I should go to the public. Everything has a limit, and I think I have exhausted my silence all these times.
Q: why are you not blaming NCP instead?
A: I don’t blame NCP for this confusion. Dr Riek is the source of NCP involvement in our affairs and I want the media to study the attitudes of Riek. Anyhow, my blame goes to him because he is the one undermining my authority on the grounds that I do not deliver anything.
Q: Why do you think Riek is to be blame?
A: The current campaign is intended to bring disunity among our people and it may also lead to disunity of the SPLM. If Riek managed to create disunity here, this will be the start of disunity of the SPLM and Southerners at large.
Q: Between you and Riek, who is the committed member of the SPLM?
A: I am the efficient cadre of the SPLM. I am a committed cadre of the SPLM and this has been reflected in the actions or political activities. I have done a lot for SPLM and committed SPLM cadres are there to judge.
Q: Does this mean Dr Riek is not a cadre of SPLM?
A: Ask him when you meet him in Juba.
Q: Why are you telling all differences with Riek, disgruntled elements and MPs to us? Why don’t you discuss them in the SPLM?
A: I am preparing myself to take these issues to SPLM meetings soon. I am just waiting for the result of the report of the committee, which was sent to come and investigate allegations of corruption in my government. I am breaking this news because some allegations need public debate. If the committee presents its report to our President Salva Kiir, then my fate will be clear. I want to see if allegations can [send] someone to jail or set him free.
Q: Are you worried about the outcome of the investigative team, which investigated you?
A: I am not worried because I gave them all evidence they asked for. We gave them all documents, statements of our accounts. I have not done a crime.
Q: But the information we hear is about composition of friends in the selection of the investigative committee sent by President Kiir, your comment?
A: I was not involved in the selection of the members of this committee. The people who selected them know why they selected them. Any doubt should be addressed to President.
Q: Your generousness is believed to have influenced in the selection of the members?
A: The President is responsible for the selection and the committee interviewed me for six hours. I did not influence the selection of the members. The investigative committee took all documents. They will report in the manner that suits them.
Anyway, all the money we spent is documented. We paid for security, salaries, treatment of people and services of the government.
Q: The members of the committee are said to be your friends and they are expected to use the right language:
A: The committee is responsible for its report and it is a duty of President to take action.
Q: Can you give details of those elders who [you are] said to have assisted [to be] treated abroad?
A: We have treated Thomas Kawum and other elders. Thomas is one of the elders we supported with the resources of the state, but now he is working against me. Thomas is alive now because we helped him. However, he decided to work against me in Juba.
I think it is not crime for our government to help. We have opened schools in some Nuer places, which never saw education. Can one be blamed for opening schools?
Q: You talk of treatment of people, you mean financial treatment or medical treatment?
A: I mean both treatments. Medically, we have been giving money for our people to go abroad for medical treatment. Most of our elders are alive because we stood with them financially.
Financially, we have been giving financial support to our MPs in Juba. This was approved by the Council of Ministers and by the Assembly of the State.
Q: Why did you decided to assist the mps when you they receive salaries?
A: Our MPs wrote a letter of appeal, asking for financial assistance because they argued that living in Juba is very expensive and hard.
Q: It seems you were buying their voices in the SSLA?
A: They asked for assistance and this was approved by the Council of Ministers and the Assembly. We thought we should give them support. GoSS is also paying MPs and I don’t think it is a crime for us.
MPS WANT TO DISMISS ME BECAUSE I STOPPED THE MONEY
QUESTION: You told us that you were supporting MPs. Can you explain why they wrote to President Kiir to remove you from power?
A: Our MPs wanted me to be dismissed because I stopped [giving them] the money we used to pay as financial assistance. I told them, No more money will go to you in Juba, we want to start building schools and roads. From that day, [when] I stopped the money, I became a bad governor, and they started the campaign against me.
If I was bad, somebody who cannot deliver, why did they [accept] me all this time? We are quarrelling because we told them that we cannot continue assisting. They were a burden to the developmental budget and they should depend on their salaries.
Q: Now we can understand. They want to remove you because you did not pay them money intended for building schools and roads?
A: These MPs want me removed. They have written to President Kiir that I am causing problems, I am involved in corruption and many other allegations. But they failed to inform President Kiir that I stopped state money, which was going to them. I will go to Juba and inform the President that they want to remove me because we stopped our support; we want to build schools and roads with this money.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST MP BENJAMIN MAJAK DAU
Q: Why did you send [advisors] to Juba to campaign against MP Benjamin Majak Dau? Do want him removed from SSLA?
A: No, no. I don’t want to remove him. This is not true. Majak is a killer. He killed people and the relatives of those people he killed want justice to take its course. He has killed people in Pariang County and the widow of a man killed by him came to me with other relatives of the victims, threatening to take [the] laws into their hands if Majak is [not] taken for punishment.
Majak was sentenced to death by a court supervised by Bol Madut, but he was acquitted by unknown forces. The relatives of the victims are asking, simply, how he was acquitted from court.
Q: You mean Bol Madut who is now governor in Warap State?
A: yes.
Q: But is Bol Maduat a judge so that he supervised death sentences in court?
A: Bol Maduat was the one supervising the court, which sentenced Majak to court martial. Our President Salva knows this case.
Q: Ok. Did you refer this widow and other relatives of the victims to Bol Madut in Warap or Juba?
A: I sent them to Juba because I want the Government of Southern Sudan to resolve this issue because the communities here are threatening to take the law into their hands. I only got involved because the communities threatened that Majak should not visit the area, but I told them that MPs are allowed to visit.
I will ask William Tul to give you the telephone number of the commissioner of Pariang, the commissioner will give you more details about crimes committed by Majak.
Q: Were you the one who arrested Majak and took him to a court supervised by Bol Madut?
A: No, I was not the one who arrested him. Salva Kiir knows the people who arrested Majak. My involvement is that people are asking why Majak is out of prison. How did he escape justice?
Q: Why [do] things that happened before your appointment concern you? Why [is] the crime of Majak disturbing [you] when there are other major crimes committed by the SPLA commanders?
A: I am disturbed by this particular crime because it is threatening the security of the state and I want GoSS to intervene [and ensure] justice for the crimes [committed by] Majak. Majak is a killer and should face justice. Justice is waiting for him.
Q: You did not tell us the details of the spending for last year’s budget?
A: I told you that we achieved development of our state. We opened many schools, roads and health services, but I have to acknowledge that most of our money is spent on salaries.
The grant of GoSS was $30 million last year and our two percent of the oil revenues was also $30 million, but $50 million went salaries and we used $10 million for development. We need to reduce the number of employees. The number of our unskilled workers is 18,000 and we want to reduce them to 6,000 workers. Estimates show that each official is served by 30 workers.
RIEK MACHAR WANTS TO BRING ANGELINA
Q: Now who do you think will replace you if you are removed from the position?
A: The Vice President wants to bring his wife Angelina as governor and that is why she is busy transporting Nuer chiefs from Khartoum to be hosted in Juba where they campaign against me.
Q: Angelina did not buy a bull or goat to be slaughtered when your appointment was announced as governor?
A: Dr Riek came to me and congratulated me before the announcement. He said Mabrouk, you are our governor. Arop Mayak was with me in the hotel when Riek came to me.
Q: some charges against you are, you are not a governor, you are a contractor and that you have two companies: Ariab and Sabina, can you help the public with your explanation?
A: These are allegations. I am not a contractor. I am the governor of Unity State. I want these people who are making these allegations to come up with evidence showing that I own shares.
Q: if you are not involved, why do [you award them] the tenders?
A: I am not the one who decided tenders. Tenders are approved through legal procedures and the winning companies take the normal procedures through the Council of Ministers, State Assembly and concern governmental body including Ministry Finance.
Ariab is known to our leaders in Juba. They awarded contracts to Ariab and many other companies.
Q: We are told you appointed 100 advisors, can you confirm this?
A. when I was appointed, I found the former governor had recruited 85 advisors. So what I did was to re-arrange their roles. I added 15 to make 100 advisors. This issue was discussed in the cabinet and was approved. The former governor was paying salaries and now we are paying too.
The achievement we have had was not [just] Taban Deng, it was the work of the leadership, including these advisors. These advisors are elders of the state and they deserve to work. We are working on a plan to create a Council of Elders for the state and these advisors will be transfered there. This will be the way of creating jobs because we have only 8 ministerial positions and 8 directors-general positions. These positions will not accommodate our elders.
These advisors are the ones bringing communities [together]. They are community leaders and peace makers.
DINKA MARGINALIZATION
Q: Last question is, in Pariang and Bimnom counties, Dinka communities complained that the Nuer are marginalizing them in the political representation?
A: Here in the State, everybody is well represented. The Dinka have taken the largest Ministry, Agriculture Minister had a Dinka and other advisory posts in the state.
The Dinka [of Unity State] are not represented in the Government of National Unity and in the Government of Southern Sudan. This is the injustice of our [Vice] President Dr Riek. Dinka of the two counties should question him because he is the one who knows why there is ethic [im]balance in GoSS and GoNU.