Shifting reconstruction responsibilities to South Sudan states?

By Kor Tot

Feb 28, 2007 — The systematic failure of the Government of southern to play its strategic role in important infrastructure projects and service delivery in southern Sudan and else where in the marginalized areas is now in the open as clearly pointed out by the vice president in the Government of Southern Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar. Before Dr. Machar made remarks during commissioners-governors conference held in Torit on February 26, Southern Sudanese and those in the marginalized areas would assume that states, counties and Payams are to blame for the failures in service delivery and infrastructure development.

The government of southern Sudan is by far the most important player when it comes to the implementation of the CPA. It certainly will not be easy to realize the benefits of the CPA in most part of the war torn Southern Sudan unless the nation building process currently underway in the region is viewed as a coherent policy whose elements are complete but separate from other governmental functions.

I firmly believe that in the absence of an explicit policy on the part of GOSS to coordinate essential components of reconstruction, donor governments, particularly those that made pledges to fund the reconstruction of southern Sudan and international organizations that are currently operating there are likely to ignore or even fail to address important conditions for success in post conflict reconstruction in Southern Sudan.

I was stunt to hear the vice president of the Government of Southern Sudan say that “the

Government of southern Sudan and the GONU are not responsible for inter state roads”. In many part of the world with government structures similar to the ones modeled by the GOSS, interstate roads/highways and other important infrastructure projects are federally mandated programs. If our central government is not responsible for constructing roads linking our states who then is responsible for that and where is our share of oil revenue going?

If the vice president is telling the governors of our states to “work hard and ensure you open your state roads” using local revenues, isn’t he telling the donors that southern Sudan is capable of paying the nation building bill?

Supposedly, one of the major objectives of the Government of Southern Sudan should be to build a foundation for sustained development. Of course, war survivors need to be involved in rebuilding activities as participants in planning and implementing of reconstruction projects through state authorities but that doesn’t necessarily have to be: milk your cows, sell the milk and pay for your roads. We do not have a market economy as I write-and with that acknowledged, we do not have revenues generating income let alone efficient ways to collect taxes. The Government of Southern Sudan does not currently have a functioning internal revenue system and so are the state and local governments. In Light of this, how do you expect state and local governments to collect taxes when the central government does not have an efficient capacity to do so?

Dr. Machar does not need to tell state governors and county commissioners that it is their responsibility to build roads connecting states and counties if he believes that his remarks are part of an ongoing domestic development policy of the current administration. Mr. Vice president, your government is more likely to achieve a desired social and political purpose if your long term goals are acknowledged in official statements rather than lurking in the obscurity of a hidden agenda.

The Government of Southern Sudan has a tremendous weak absorptive capacity. You need to strengthen Juba’s capacity to provide security because LRA is terrorizing, looting and even killing civilians on your backyard. You also need to find ways to reconcile communities torn apart by sectional conflicts. The residents of Wanding Payam of Nasir County, for example, are scattered throughout Nasir County with some in neighboring Ethiopia mainly because of an illegal occupation of their land by invaders from Akobo County. Your government need to rehabilitate and resettle those affected by this sectional violent and ensure their safe return home. The Government of Southern Sudan need to protect human rights, generate economic opportunities, provide basic services, control corruption, which is so rampant in Juba, and combat poverty and ensure equitable distribution of our resources in all ten southern states and the marginalized areas.

Mid term elections, which are so overly publicized, shouldn’t take precedence over strengthening security including the overhauling of SPLA. There is no guarantee that the CPA would survive the killer virus that dismantled both Addis Ababa Accord and Khartoum Agreement but a conventional and effective SPLA could guarantee either a smooth implementation of the CPA or devastating consequences if the Agreement is pre-maturely aborted by the NCP or who ever takes over as we look forward to independence. It may be self-deceiving to substitute immediate goals like elections and political parties for desired ends like responsible government and the rule of law.

Federal monies and not state and local revenues should fund the construction of our roads, hospitals, education centers, and public health facilities until we fully recover from post-conflict reconstruction era and enter a period of sustained economic development. Likewise the reconstruction responsibilities in Southern Sudan should be regarded as a distinct policy if we are to enjoy a greater return on the reconstruction assistance afforded to us by the international community.

* Kor Tot is based in Lincoln, NE USA. He can be reached at [email protected]