Sudan’s SPLM says there are forces against peace
Oct 16, 2005 (NAIROBI) — The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Secretary-General Commander Pagan Amum Okech said there are some forces which are against peace, some of them are within the Sudanese society as a whole, and quite a few are in the government, he added.
Okech insisted in an interview to the Nairobi based Daily Nation on some uncomfortable signs with the National Congress (NC) party in the implementation of the peace accord signed last January.
He further said “my worry is the insistence of some elements in the NC on delaying critical aspects of the agreement which need to be implemented and made operational.”
The SPLM Secretary-General said he was disappointed by the NC’s attitude on the Energy Ministry, but indicated that SPLM has control over the action of this ministry through the National Petroleum Commission in which “we have a majority of membership”.
Regarding the SPLM’s position on Darfur crisis, Okeck said that the Darfur problem can be resolved by adapting the CPA to the peculiarities of that area.
The following are excerpts of the interview published on October 16, 2005 by the Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation. Subheadings inserted editorially :
Oil revenues
– When is the new constitution going to be ready?
Okech: It will be tabled on Friday (14 October) in the parliament of southern Sudan. This is going to be a historic moment. The constitution is now ready and copies have been distributed to the members.
– I am asking this because no constitution means no southern government, and therefore no oil revenue.
Okech: There is a proviso in the interim national constitution that the president of southern Sudan may form a caretaker government and then reshuffle it when the constitution is approved by parliament and signed by him to avoid a vacuum.
You are right on the oil issue oil. After the death of our chairman, Dr John Garang, I have been observing some uncomfortable signs with our partners in the National Congress Party. For instance, they are dragging their feet in implementing the (comprehensive peace) agreement (CPA) on very important aspects related to oil and the future of the country, the south in particular.
– When does SPLM expect to have full access to the accumulated oil revenue, and how much has it received in interim financing?
Okech: As per the CPA, we were supposed to receive 50 per cent of all the net revenue from southern Sudan right from the first day. We have so far received some money, but there have been discrepancies over the figures.
We have since formed a committee to look into the actual production and determine how much of it is from the south, and then calculate 50 per cent, as well as the 2 per cent for the producing states.
– Will SPLM draw up a budget based on the revenue?
Okech: We expect the budget to be not less than 2m dollars, and it will be based largely on the revenue, but with a donor component of maybe about 30 per cent.
[Githahu] How far have you gone in setting up a new central bank?
Okech:The restructuring is going on. Sudan is going to be unique not because it has two armies, but also because it will have two central banks, or two windows of a central bank united by a monetary policy to be decided by the board.
The governor-designate of the Bank of South Sudan is about to complete retraining his staff. The national foreign reserves will be kept in two separate accounts, and that of South Sudan will be in a correspondence account of the Bank of South Sudan.
– When do you expect to have a revenue authority, and how will it operate?
Okech: We expect to have one in the Ministry of Finance which will devise ways to develop the revenue potential of the southern Sudan government. We are going to start with a very small and limited tax base as the economy is still non-existent. But with a huge injection of aid and government expenditure, a lot of economic growth will be witnessed.
I believe that from next year, southern Sudan will be probably the fastest growing economy in the region because the potential is huge in not only oil, but also agriculture and other mineral resources – not to mention our hard-working people.
– When is the new currency, the Sudanese pound, going to issued?
Okech: A committee is designing it, and we expect it to be issued by the end of the year.
Energy Ministry
– What was SPLM’s reaction when it was not given the energy or finance ministry in the recent cabinet appointments?
Okech: The National Congress Party insisted on taking both the ministries. We expected and struggled to get energy, but we are disappointed with the party’s attitude. This is not a good way to start a partnership; the party insisted on having the most important ministries – in the economic sector.
The SPLM leadership made the concession because, despite NCP’s negative attitude, it does not amount to the collapse or dishonouring of the agreement. Of course, we had a strategic fallback strategy – the fact that the Energy Ministry, which we got, has a national petroleum commission in which we have a majority membership.
– Has the commission been appointed?
Okech: The president of southern Sudan will name it after the government is formed.
– Will the commission be involved in regulating deals such as the controversial White Nile one?
Okech: The commission has the responsibility to review and approve the ministry’s programmes and study and approve oil contracts and concessions. So if there are controversial concessions or conflicts, they will be resolved by the team.
– There have been reports that already, quiet deals are going on among commanders and others; is SPLM concerned?
Okech: I do not see this as a big problem or something alarming. There could be initiatives individuals have taken. This is the beginning of an open economy. Peace is also coming and the people are looking for sources of income, and they definitely need to be independent.
Anybody engaged in a bona fide business should be encouraged, with the exception of very specific responsibilities such as when one is in government when, by virtue of occupying a position, one may be barred.
– Given the interest of investors from Kenya, Uganda and South Africa, amongst other African countries, are there plans for an investment promotion centre?
Okech: Definitely. The right or conducive administrative and legal environment will attract investors and reduce red tape.
Darfur
– What is SPLM’s position on the Darfur conflict?
Okech: The problem is one of marginalization. It is a conflict between the centre and the marginalized areas, particularly Darfur. But it is not a problem peculiar to Darfur, it has been seen in other parts of the south and the east.
We believe that the Darfur problem can be resolved by adapting the CPA to the peculiarities of that area and addressing the particular problem of conflict of resources between the nomadic Arabs and Africans.
Garang’s vision
– With Garang’s death, is everything going according to plan, or have there been major adjustments?
Okech: New Vice-President Salva Kiir and the rest of the leadership have pledged to continue Dr Garang’s vision – in terms of SPLM programmes – and also to continue the implementation in letter and the CPA spirit without any changes.
Of course, there are some elements trying to take advantage of our chairman’s death to work to dishonour the pact and to effect changes. These are forces which are essentially against peace. They are within the Sudanese society as a whole, and quite a few are in the government.
My worry is the insistence of some elements in the National Congress Party on delaying critical aspects of the agreement which need to be implemented and made operational.
“Rumours” on Garang’s death
– What about the rumours over Dr Garang’s death?
Okech: There are a lot of them, and some are in print. The team investigating the incident has not presented its report. We will need to know what happened, and if it was an accident, we’ll want to know what caused it. But if it was foul play, we’ll want to investigate it and pursue and nail the culprits.
I would prefer that we wait for the results of the investigation, which may take long, and avoid speculations in the media, which hurt our people’s feelings. Of course, this is not to say that the newspapers should not write about it.
(ST)