In VP Hussein Abdelbagi, SSOA lost it all

By Moses Garang

August 23, 2024 (JUBA) – The poor delivery of services in the country stems from a big mistake the South Sudan Opposition Alliance made-the panic appointment of Hussein Abdelbaggi Ayii as one of the Vice Presidents in South Sudan.

Abdelbaggi controls the service delivery sector and the manner in which he has gone about with business is clear for all to see-health, education, a lot wanting in all of them.

It still remains baffling how Abdelbaggi got himself into one of the highest offices in South Sudan.

While he might be said to have the luck of the devil incarnate himself, Abdelbaggi has however failed to live up to what SSOA billed on him.

Likewise in the eyes of South Sudanese, he has been someone who failed to deliver as expected of a leader in a top decision making position in the country.

Abdelbaggi hit a bull eye on luck when one of the five Vice President positions was accorded to SSOA and in a hurry, the made a mistake, a very grave one, that to even they at SSOA have failed to comprehend with.

While Abdelbaggi’s role was to manage the education and health sectors, vital departments in the country over the transitional period, his work is yet to be felt, even with the transitional period ending.

Those two governments sectors continue limping as Abdelbaggi enjoys the benefits that come with being the “fifth” in South Sudan.

Backstabbing has been a key part of his action plans, not hesitating to ensure President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s programs are tampered with.

Abdelbaggi has a team of henchmen who have mastered efficiency in slowly but surely dismantling plans President Salva Kiir Mayardit has put together.

He is quick at undermining positions of responsibility that President Salva Kiir Mayardit accords to others, including highly professional people but rather uses his position to block action plans, especially where it is to do with provision of services to the people.

Abdelbaggi’s actions, or rather, lack of actions has increasingly led to the public losing confidence and trust in him.

The general feeling is that as the Vice President for Service Cluster, he has failed to effectively deliver services as expected. The Service Cluster brings together the National Ministry of Health, other key Ministries and Stakeholders.

Abdelbaggi, since his appointment by President Salva Kiir in February 2020, has failed to transform the health sector. Health facilities are not only in their worst states but keep a downward trend, an outright progress of deterioration.

Juba Teaching Hospital, the main referral hospital in the country lacks enough medicines for treating the sick, and also medical personnel at this facility lack basic medical equipment, leaving the entire hospital to depend on the donation by the Chinese medical teams.

Juba Teaching Hospital is a huge elephant project but without even the cheapest anti-malarial drugs to treat those who turn up at the facility.

To make matters worse most of the health facilities across the ten States and Three Administrative Areas are surviving on the in-kind support of NGOs and humanitarian agencies such Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

VP Abdelbaggi spends lavishly on private life, yet from the government coffers, as witnessed in a recent wedding of a new wife, one of many, in Dubai. It was an extravagant wedding ceremony attended by his relatives and close associates including insiders in key cabinet sectors.

The Service Cluster headed by VP Abdelbaggi is mandated under the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement to improve on the delivery of basic social services including in health, education, provision of safe drinking water and other important amenities that are essential towards improvement of social life of South Sudanese.

Basically, finding himself in a pot of wealth and power, VP Abdelbaggi has completely forgotten the inhumane suffering of millions of South Sudanese as a result of lack of access to proper medical care, safe water.

He relishes in style to Dubai and other places for holidays and vacation while his countrymen languish in wait for the day they will finalize the peace implementation to bring lasting peace and security in South Sudan. But for him, it’s the joy of his life, the situation he is in.

Clueless as he is, Mr. Abdelbaggi is a Vice President who lacks any technical knowhow on how to utilize the office and the resources allocated to him to deliver essential services to South Sudanese at this critical hour of need when more than 9 million South Sudanese are projected to face severe hunger in 2024.

The Vice President has totally forgotten that he owes South Sudanese a huge debt for utterly failing to deliver any tangible success on any project within the service cluster.

Moses Garang is a concerned citizen and resident of Northern Bahr El Ghazal State. He can be reached on

(ST)