What makes Kiir’s administration so unique?

By Chuar Juet Jock*

September 1, 2007 — Our president Salva Kiir Mayardit is a man with a constant standing in our modern history and the struggle for freedom and better future. A man who stayed the course firmly in spite of all internal and external conflicts that have affected the liberation movement since its inception .His role in realizing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is great and will be recognized in our modern history and throughout the future generations

In fact he is the first administrator of our autonomous southern Sudan following the tragic death of our first president Dr. John Garang. The death of our hero Dr. John was a heavy lost and unbearable for our suffering people and all the world freedom seekers. The expectations of our enemies were great that with his tragic death, the CPA and the liberation movement all will crumble and that our bitter collective struggle will end in vain, winding back to the domination and suffering circle of these injustice and domination powers.

But, Kiir Mayardit and the rest of our gallant leadership in our liberation movement have proved the opposite and contrary to all evil wishers dreams. They have stand the tragedy firmly and clamed the situation holding the vision of the late leader and assuring our people that the vision will stay alive. In fact we don’t know if our leader Dr. Garang great life was stopped by an act of foul play or it is accidental but all we know is that his vision will be carried on no matter what, not by this generation only but by all the rest to come.

Being the first administration after two decades and a half of bitter civil war, Kiir’s administration as I like to call it, is unique in every direction and tasks that it will shape or carry out accordingly. The huge responsibilities and heavy tasks plus the great challenges of the implementations of the CPA, the long awaited and high expectations from our people that have paid the price of freedom so dearly and have endured all the inhuman treatments and conditions during those years, all these factors make Kiir’s administration so unique and also vulnerable of misjudgments and unfounded criticism in the post war southern Sudan history and future.

With Kiir’s Administration leis the future of southern Sudan in all aspects, simply because it is the administration that should laid the foundations and the platforms of modern southern Sudan state. How this administration visualizes the future of southern Sudan will have a great impact to the future of this part of the Africa that has suffered a lot from domination and isolation.

Starting from nothing but a land that has nothing but the remains of the few infrastructures destroyed by the war, a land that its people where subjected to systematic killing and uprooting for decades, there is absolutely nothing to start from, this land have to be made alive again and its people must be returned and healed at all cost and its infrastructures have to stand and flourish once more no matter what.

All these demands and responsibilities need a unified and determined leadership, understanding and united public, viable technical and human resources, effective and efficient means and ways, philosophy and policy that convince the world and its conflicted system of politics. But mostly a policy and a philosophy that would effectively works with and tames the reluctant and defiant National Congress Party (NCP), the de facto partner that has the share of lion in the Government of National Unity (GoNU),

Besides being a partner in the implementation of the CPA and the democratic transformation of poor Sudan. It is really important that, those people who do judge and criticize Kiir’s administration performance for the last two years put in mind and thoroughly consider and always the type of partner this administration is dealing with.

Here are some stops of what make Kiir’s administration particularly unique in the history and future of post war southern Sudan.

locally, Kiir’s administration has succeeded with some degree in its policy to unite and reform the house of southern Sudanese from within particularly in terms of power and wealth sharing, reconciliations and normalizations of relations with others southern Sudanese political and military powers, tribal leaders and former foes, these all comes in the quest for southern Sudanese consensus and unity, leaving no place for our enemies to sabotage and prevent the implementation of the CPA. Without the unity and consensus of southern Sudanese, the CPA would be judged as exclusive by the enemies of our freedom it is really important that the administration continues to balance and distribute the power and wealth among different political and ethnics groups of southern Sudan.

Agree with me or not, the administration also has given a considerable positive role in quest for a peaceful and political settlement of Darfur conflict even though its role is being affected by the defiance of NCP and the disunity of liberation movements in Darfur. On the other hand his administration didn’t neglect Nuba Mountains at all, guided by the vision of New Sudan that must be carried on parallel with the autonomy of southern Sudan and recognizing that the realization of new Sudan depends greatly on the realization of achieving just and last peace in the whole Sudan

Regionally, the Kiir’s administration enjoys a great recognition by the neighboring Intergovernmental Authorities on Drought and Development (IGADD) countries that helped greatly in realization of the CPA. It is really important that these countries have to share benefits of realizing peace in the region and that by investing in newly rich economic and development opportunities. It is also worth noting that the role of Juba in the realizing peace in neighboring Uganda led by our vice president Dr. Raik Machar has to be empowered, supported and realized. Strategically, without peace in Uganda, the peace in southern Sudan is still incomplete.

Internationally, it is important that Kiir’s administration weigh every step into international arena, we are really in dare need to strengthen ties with our allies and friends in the developed world especially north America and western Europe, Australia and Scandinavian countries. Those who have stand by our people in the bitter times of our struggle and still, should have the priority in our international approaches and interests.

However, the bigger task ever this administration has faced and still facing is the return and complete repatriation of southern Sudanese Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Sudan and refugees in neighboring counties, Western Europe and North America. With too many responsibilities that all comes as priorities, the shortage in financial resources, and lack of effective technical means still hinders the success of this task. It is really worth noting that Kiir’s administration recognizes the important of accomplishing this task as soon as possible, before the proposed elections, census and referendum.

Good and effective governance needs viable and efficient institutions and systems, the poor performance represented by the delay in provision and deliverance of services, rampage corruptions and wide insecurity, failure to pay government employees in a timely manner, inadequate regulations and laws that governs and regulates private sectors in term of provision of services and products, inequity in the employment system, all these errors and failures are due to the lack of efficient systems and trained and responsible human resources.

Kiir’s administration first and unique job is to establish a strong foundation for southern Sudan, a foundation that will make this rich part of Africa and its people play the role they should in reflecting a new face of Africa. A face that is not just known as corrupted, AIDS affected, tribally divided, and the famous beggar of foods and Aids in the international streets, a face that is not only known by hunger, malnutrition, diseases, genocide and human right abuse. A new face of Africa must emerge and a free and dignified African must be born and there is no right place to this but southern Sudan.

To construct and create this new face, Kiir’s Adminstration will needs to create effective institutions with efficient systems designed just to achieve this task, institutions and systems that know how to accomplish the tasks and that are sophisticated administratively and technically. This includes all aspects of life in southern Sudan, in political, socio-economics arenas, defense and national security as well as foreign policy. Some will say the creation of institutions and acquiring systems with that quality and efficiency is too expensive. But the fact is that the absence of effective institutions and the lack of adequate systems is twice expensive than creations of these institutions.

Constructive criticism is necessary to drive and correct the process of implementation of the CPA, sustention of good governance and awakening of government attention of failures and errors here and there. In the process of this constructive criticism let us always acknowledge that Kiir’s administration burden is huge and unique in terms of time, responsibilities and demands.

Well, clearly what make Kiir Mayardit’s administration so unique is that, it has started from nothing and in a time that need solid leaders and achievers to put together a shattered nation and ruined land in the path of peace, unity, development and stability and at least the next administrations will start from something that is definitely built, founded and designed by his administration.

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