Institutionalism the best strategy for South Sudan

By Dominic Woja Maku*

July 1, 2006 — After the formation of the South Sudan Government (GoSS),following the
protrated civil war,the GoSS should now establish social, political,
economic,judicial/legal institutions, cultural, and traditional institutions
where policies and strategies are profoundly laid out to avoid unnecessary
misrepresentation and corruption. These institutions should among other things
priorotize the functional strategies for the bureaucracy which links the state
with the local community leadership and the state appuratus.Apparently, the
bureaucrats play a modest role far fechted from the reality. Idealistically,
the bureaucracy in south Sudan and in diaspora which involves the middle class
society is weak because it is dysfunctional in that it has been remarkably
excluded from decision-making process.The state is definitely very strong and
it is capable of formulating/setting structural agenda, policy formulation,
policy implementation, policy assessment/analysis,and policy
evaluation.Stratigically, this is a significant thing for a state in its infant
stage. However, the state needs to strengthen the bureaucracy to allow for a
constructive government system to fucntion properly.Socail institutions would
provide services to the people through the established social institutions. The
political institutions would likewise function independently in providing
political issues. Economic institutions focuss on economic issues. Traditional
and cultural institutions deal with those issues under their jurisdiction.

Here in the west, the state (federal government),provincial
governments,bureaucrats, polititians, doctors, social workers, teachers,
administrators, clergies, community leaders, local government officials, and
traditional/cultural leaders operate within their institutions and they are
governed by the policies (strategies) and regulations prescribed in those
institutions leaving no room for an individually controlled government system
because the government system is run by those institutions. That is why the
western systems of governments are social-politically, economically, and
educationally stronger than the developing world (Sudan included).These
intitutions control the people’s lives not vice-versa. If a group of people or
an individual’s rights have been infringed or breached, the rules and policies
of the institutions can be reviewed interpreted and reformed to correct the
wrongs an individual has suffered from. Conflicts, disparities, discriminations
(racial discrimination,economic economic discrimination, gender
discrimination), marginalization, poverty, and crime are all being addressed by
or via the institutions set up other than individually.

All of us the south Sudanese in the diaspora must abide by the rules and
policies ensrined in these institutions where we live. It is somehow
unfortunate and disappointing that many Southerners find themselves socially,
politicall, culturally, and economically unfit in this society.Their problem is
simple, they lack the knowledge of how government institutions function.The
Sudanese community leadership has taken a colonial and controling approach on
individual basis not institutional basis.Sudanese community elders dictate upon
what the youth and the middle class should do forgeting the institutional
policies set up by the governments here. The elders even have the power to stop
south Sudanese students from forming a student association despite the fact
that the liberal, conservertive, and democratic governments here have set up
institutions through which all activities are channeled for the betterment of
all.Legitimately, our community leaders and elders have failed so
drastically.Culturally, our local leaders and elders cannot delivery.
Institutionally, our community leaders have failed to learn from the western
institutional structures and fucntions. All with need is the GoSS to extend its
hand to the diaspora and teach us our social-political, cultural, and
traditional values so that there will be an end to manipulative and colonial
hand of the elders here.

Dominic Woja Maku is a graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan Canada. He can be reached at [email protected]