Division of wealth smooths way for lasting peace
By Joyce Mulama
NAIROBI, Jan 8, 2004 (IPS) — History was made this week when Sudan’s government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army signed an agreement on the thorny issue of how to share the country’s wealth.
Under the terms of the accord, initialled Jan. 7 in the southern Kenyan town of Naivasha, oil revenues will be split between government and southern rebels (referred to as the SPLA). Funds derived from other sources will also be equally divided between the two.
Delegates sang and ululated as government representative Idris Mohammed Abdel Gadir and Nhial Deng Nhial of the SPLA signed the 24-page document. Rebel leader John Garang and Sudan’s Vice President, Ali Osman Taha, also exchanged copies of the document, to further cheers from those present.
“This is a major achievement that will take us closer to a just and lasting peace which we shall reach sooner than later, at least by the end of this month,” Garang told the gathering of international and regional observers who witnessed the ceremony.
“The Sudan peace process is now truly irreversible, and both the internal and international condition is ripe for a just and lasting peace,” he added.
For Taha, the signing of the accord spelled “the end of a long episode of war and conflict in (the) country.” He further said, “We desire to go on with this process regardless of other hurdles ahead.”
These hurdles include the outstanding matter of who should control three disputed areas: the central states of Abyei, the Southern Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains. Both government and rebels have laid claim to the regions.
“We shall discuss these issues and reach an agreement on these areas soon,” Garang told journalists.
The latest round of Sudanese peace talks began in June 2002, in the southern Kenyan town of Machakos – and culminated in the signing of the Machakos Protocol a month later.
This agreement provides for a six-year transition period in Sudan after the signing of a final peace deal. During the interim period, an autonomous administration will govern southern Sudan. People in the south will be allowed to vote on independence from the north when the transition ends.
The protocol also stipulates that Islamic or sharia law will only apply in the Muslim north of the country. Sharia banking, which does not allow the charging of interest, will continue in the north, with western-style banking being permitted in the south. A new national currency will be created.
Delegates took a further step to lasting peace in September last year when they agreed to integrate government and rebel troops in a 12,000-strong army. The September agreement will also see joint forces from the two parties deployed in Abyei, the Southern Blue Nile and the Nuba mountains.
While the signing of the wealth agreement is good news, political observer Mitch Odero says mechanisms need to be put in place to guard against the misappropriation of oil funds. Several other African countries, including Angola and Nigeria, have shown that plentiful oil reserves are not necessarily a country’s passport out of poverty.
Speaking to IPS, Garang said “The right mechanisms will be put in place. We cannot struggle in the bush for 20 years just to let corruption reign in our systems.”
“We must do this so that what has happened to other countries in a similar situation does not happen to us,” he added.
The government says these mechanisms will include the establishment of an oil commission. Both Khartoum and the SPLA will have representation on this body, which will be rigorously audited.
“The wealth sharing agreement empowers the auditor general to.ensure transparency and clarity,” government spokesman Sayed el-Khatib told IPS.
Whilst most Sudanese nationals present at the signing were pleased with the agreement, feelings of happiness were not universal.
“I was expecting the SPLA, which represents southern Sudan, to get a larger percentage of oil revenues since the region has many oil wells. I’m not happy with the 50/50 arrangement,” noted Aguil De’chut Dent, a woman peace activist.
Oil accounts for more than 40 percent of government revenue, although most of Sudan’s oil wells are in the south. The country produces about 250,000 barrels of oil a day.
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, a regional body, played a crucial role in bringing about this week’s agreement. Britain, Norway and Italy also observed the talks, and the United States added its voice to calls for peace when Secretary of State Collin Powell visited Kenya last October. He urged warring sides to strike a final deal by the end of 2003.
Sudan’s 20-year civil war has been fuelled by animosity between the Islamic north and the Christian and animist south. The conflict has left over two million people dead, and displaced an additional four million.