What if the system of GOSS in is loose?
Open letter to President of Southern Sudan Government
By Peter Chuol Gatluak
Feb 12, 2006 — Suppose you’re a president of Southern Sudan Government (SSG), and you really believe in a unity approach. You should works with southerners political forces, and civil societies to create a mission statement of peace amongst South Sudanese people, and that mission statement has really worked well. If all the political, and civil societies buy into it. They like it. They should be excited about it. It’s means you empowered them. They shall have a sense of stewardship about peace amongst themselves.
What if the People Work with Aren’t Trustworthy?
Mr. President, what if South Sudanese people have serious doubts about your SPLM/A system?
What if you question their competency or event their political ideologies? How do you establish a stewardship agreement built on trust between yours SPLM ideology and theirs political ideologies?
Here are some key principles Mr. president:
Mr. President look into your own heart first. Success is always inside out Mr. president. Star with yourself. How do you see your people? Could you be part of the problem? Do you genuinely want unity amongst South Sudanese people to succeed ? Do you believe those outsiders political forces and military forces has the capacity grow and develop?
It’s our experience that most people with in South Sudan are not intentionally incompetent GOSS you leads. Neither are they purposefully mean, duplicitous, or manipulative. They just don’t agreed with your SPLM ideology . Often negative judgments about characters demands grow out of misunderstandings. Please Mr. President, assume good intentions. Your deeply held beliefs about someone will create the tone for any interactions you have. Characters and competence are always on a continuum. Again, Mr. President, make sure your paradigms are true to principle.
Mr. Pres. Kiir, Nurture self-accountability and self-government. It’s important to realize that SSUDA/SSDF are not responsible for the correction of SPLM corrupted system. SSUDA/SSDF can never really change your SPLM system; you must changes or corrects your own political system, because people must changes themselves. But SSUDA/SSDF can help. We can be a resource. We can nurture, encourage, and support. We can be a South Sudanese nation interest servant.
Mr. President, find a useful stewardship realistic peace agreement with others southerners political forces, and military forces as a vehicle for growth. Adjust the agreement to meet the situation. Be realistic and clear about the southerners desired results . Talk them through. You don’t do a favor by artificially creating a soft set of expectations. Make sure you represent the interest of all involved (Southerners).
Generally speaking, once relatively secure people get this 360 degree feedback on their blindspots, it bring them down to earth. It tends to puncture egotistical tendencies. It humbles them. Event though we may not acknowledge it or express appreciation, it will have its effect.
Mr. President Kiir, it’s very important at those times to give extra support and attention so that Southerners know you care about them. They must know that your government under SPLM leadership have no secret delight in telling them what they really need to hear.
Conclusion, trusting people to be creative and constructive when given more freedom does not imply an overly optimistic belief in the perfectibility of human nature, it is rather a belief that the inevitable errors and sin of the human condition are far better overcome by individuals working together in an environment of trust, freedom, and mutual respect than by restraints imposed upon them by another group of imperfect people.
Sincerely,
* Peter Chuol Gatluak is a Sudanese based in the USA, he can be reached at [email protected]