Lay South Sudan foundation without extravagance
By Roba Gibia
April 11, 2007 — Everyone in this world has got a dream and expectation which is longing to achieve, and praying day and night that one day his/her dreams will come true. And has got a desire to possess but not dispossess and confinement, and everyone loves to live contentedly in dazzling environment and to lead a dignitary and decent life but not a dejected life. This is the nature of the human beings which has got endless prerequisites to satisfy its inferiority, particularly those who were deprived from their fundamental rights, were always in dash to satisfy their demands and fill the gaps at any cost without any broadmindedness, as they were being driven by the famished hopes and wanted to reach the greatest heights at any rate without taking into consideration its actual facility. And that was exactly what happened to the people of Israel in Egypt, when they were enslaved and stripped from their humanity and were living in bondage and servitude, but when they were set free from the slavery, they hoped that their life would change over night and that their requirements shall be met at once, just like when Moses’s stick divided the river instantly for them to cross to the safe shore.
Therefore, due to the human covetousness and the desire to possess the whole lot at one time, without proper perception and understanding, the Israel people were penalized for the lack of their gratitude and the improper precedence of their desire and for the indulgence in the love of materialism, which made them to wonder in the wildness for forty years without reaching the promised land, Israel, so that all those generation who disobeyed God’s will were perished. And that was a historical fact which we have to learn variety of dear lessons out of it, so that we may set our plans accordingly without profligacy but within our substantial attainment.
Since signing Naivasha agreement in January 2005, south Sudanese people has got very high hopes and expectations that south will start changing dramatically and shortly after the peace in terms of basic service. But that never occurred as this date due to the lack of proper planning from GoSS, and some may say that our government is only over one and half years old since its formation in October 2005, but that is not an excuse. And that is obvious, as the Minister of Health for GoSS was complaining that bills of sending sick government officials as far as South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Jordan, London and other countries running into millions of dollars every year and it’s a hell of an expenditure, said the Minister and “we are trying to identify an agreement with a hospital in one of these countries with better conditions, get memorandum of understanding so that they can bill us directly!” But does the Minister believe and acknowledge that this is the best solution in a long term, and does it comply with the government policy, if yes, then why the Minister was grieving that “we received less than forty five percent of our expected budget”, but one wonders, as for how long will this policy continue to exhaust the government budget? I totally disagree with this myopic strategy which clearly proves the flaw of our government in planning and prioritizing the nation’s requirements. As to reduce the sick government official expenditure, we have to establish our own hospitals with qualified doctors in various fields to render services to the government officials as well as south Sudanese population.
Thus, had GoSS since its formation is to consider healthcare services and hospitals as its priority, it should have established at this juncture adequate medium size and well equipped hospitals with qualified doctors in various specializations at the seat of its government as well as in the seats of the ten southern Sudan states or may have renovated the existing hospitals on urgent basis to cope up with the increasing demands of its citizens. But unfortunately, that never happened, as today at Juba teaching hospital people are still laying on floors in very poor conditions. While government is paying millions of dollars every year for its sick government officials, but what about the poor citizens who could not afford medical expenses abroad! It is really incredible and absurd to send sick government official to South Africa or Kenya or Uganda or London or Jordan just to see dentist or eye specialist or for minor operations such as appendix and hernia which could be easily done in south Sudan, while if we calculate its expenditure per year, it will be more than enough to establish one or two hospitals with very good facilities in south, if we could only scrutinize and set our priorities based on the actual demands of our populace.
I believe in south, we are entrusted with variety of responsibilities, imperative issues and to lay the proper and strong south Sudan foundation without any extravagance. But it seems that our government is being driven by supercilious expectations without adequate judgment, and it just wanted to please and deceive or distance public opinion from its actual predicament of none-delivering fundamental services to the south Sudanese population. I am not against the anticipated project to build a new Juba capital city, which includes new airport, river port and railway line that will connect Gulu, Malakal and Lokichoggio which will cost billions of dollars, but against its premature timing, imagine the plans and assessments alone will cost GoSS 5.2 million US dollars, this amount could be used to renovate some projects such as Nzara Agro-Industrial Complex to generate income, job opportunity and contribute positively in the development of the area, and I believe most of the South Sudanese will have a reservation about this scheme. As there are lots of priorities which our government has to pursue, such as building the infrastructure of the entire south Sudan, sanitation and clean drinking water, hospitals and schools which south Sudan badly needs. And it is vital to mention that, south Sudan’s ten states are not yet connected with passable roads and telecommunication network, and there are still threats of insecurity allover the south Sudan and particularly along the north-south borders! Thus, you can’t think of building new city while your people are still living in isolation, terror, miserable conditions and in absolute poverty and illiteracy, deliver your people first to the safe shore, raise their standard of living and empower them economically to contribute in the development of the country, offer them security, peace, opportunity to own permanent house and stretch your hands to improve the life of the rural areas population, who are suffering from scarcity of water, food, no healthcare centers at their reach and are still living in stone age era. Construct and modernize your existing towns and villages, rather than to depend on tents which has turned Juba into luxurious tent town for few government officials, while the overall majority of Juba citizens were dyeing daily from watery dehydration due to the lack of sanitation and clean drinking water!
I know our people is in great need for breathing space and time to reconcile their difference and rearrange their entire house, focus on the development of their country in a genuine and proper manner. But the future of south Sudan is still misty with lots of ups and downs and challenges which require consistent planning and determination to guarantee its stability and foreseen future. South Sudan as one of the poorest regions on the earth, still has got a long way to go, and it is not time to plan for a new capital city on model of London or Paris, as at the moment, the ten southern sates are facing tremendous problems and are unable to improve the living conditions of its people as well as paying salaries for the government officials. The states are in dear need for funds from the GoSS to assist in the building of its infrastructure, improvement of roads and communication network within each state, schools and hospitals, as without the assistance from the government of south in Juba, the GoSS would be following the same footsteps of Khartoum’s selective policy of inequitable distribution of wealth and construction.
* Roba Gibia is a Sudan Tribune columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]