SPLM corruption and tribalism to blame for CPA failure

Denouncing the Arbitrarily Suspension /Pull out of SPLM from GoNU as Unacceptable and Childish Move by Salva Kiir’s SPLM Group

By Eng Charles B. Kisanga

Oct 11, 2007 — The Announcement that SPLM was pulling out of the National Unity Government formed with National Congress Party After the 2005 CPA, could not have come at a worse time. But it was no surprise for many because for many weeks or even months now there were speculations that the CPA Partners SPLM (or those how claim to be SPLM on behalf of Southern Sudan) and National Congress Party (NCP) were falling out. There were hostile media statements and there were stand offs and even raids on SPLM Party offices.

With regards to some of these events I paid a visit to Khartoum from 24th to the 30th August 2007 in order to hear first hand accounts of the problems and challenges facing CPA and that of the SPLM while trying to lead a Government in Southern Sudan.

To me it was clear from the quarters I spoke with that the SPLM was weak and very much divided and fragmented because of rampant corruption, nepotism and tribalism among its ranks. The SPLM is very weak because tribal elements and unqualified and incompetent staff are usual appointed because of their ties to leaders and as a way of ensuring the continuation of those corrupts officials in power. The marginalisation in the South is even worse now than sometimes under the defunct Northern governments because at least South Sudan leaders and qualified staff were sometimes recognized and given roles then. But under Salva Kiir’s SPLM in South Sudan there is no room for intellectuals, there is no rooms for technocrats, there is no room for academics, there is no room for political figures, there is no room for clean un-corrupt political figures and there is no room for South-South dialogue and political inclusion.

Everything are being done from tribal bases and sometimes based on whether you are a good friend of the former SPLM kitchen cabinet or not. The old tribal kitchen cabinet had been inherited by Lt General Salva Kiir Mayardit and then turned over into an oppressive machine to achieve his own goals of tribal ruling of South Sudan with an iron fist; a rule which is designed to guarantee the supremacy of one tribe and to weaken all other south Sudanese tribes into perpetual subordinates. This can be achieved via ensuring jobs go to relatives, friends and corrupt official who can only make the situation worse while the South will appear to look as a good country while it is actually bleeding to the death under their weight and the CPA will be suffocated slowly as what really matters to them is the Oil money of 50% share. So before Salva Kiir Governed can pull out of GoNU they should really be resigning from the Southern Sudan and handing power to competent people and parties because all they have brought to Southern Sudan after signing the CPA had been more marginalisation, more tribalism, more corruption, more repression, more dictatorship , more inequality and a wide spread insecurity. These are catastrophic failures which all warrant resignation and handing power to somebody with ability to lead the South without tribalism and zero tolerance for corruption and inefficiency.

On the other hand in the North, our SPLM participation is bare minimum and people are not serious about the follow-ups with their Northern counterparts, and this is no surprise since most appointments are tribal based or nepotism based and there is no need for accountability as long as one can prove your loyalty to the supreme tribal clan you can get away with anything. Even surprisingly those who are qualified to do their work were being haunted for removal from the GoNU cabinet or other positions in the Khartoum so that the tribal clan group can monopolise everything even in the Government of National Unity.

Yes there are some or many violations of CPA and lack of implementation by our partners, the NCP. But it is the duty of SPLM to appoint qualified and competent staff who can really follow the work of implementation of the agreement diligently and devotedly and to ensure the Northern partners take them very serious. This has not been the case because even the so called Fist Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit has failed miserably in his duty as First Vice president in the North and had already deserted his position to the South where he mostly spends his time these days in Juba or Yei. His only jobs it seems are: Chairman of SPLM, Commander in chief of SPLA and President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) where everyday he fires arbitrary decrees for tribal related appointments/removals or appointments based on favouritism and nepotism.

South Sudanese and the world at large were even more shocked to hear recently a statement (Tuesday September 11, 2007, Juba ) from supposed First Vice President of Sudan Lt Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit saying that the Sudan was again heading towards war between North and South. What the hell on earth was happening really? Some people asked. How can a man who is supposed to be the First Vice president of the Republic be talking about war really, unless it was already the policy of the SPLM under him? The real things is that Lt General Salva Kiir and his defunct tribal group has failed the South Sudanese masses already mainly because they have no capacity to implement the CPA with the NCP and they have no capacity and competent to rule the South because they depend on people with no ability to work or execute the functions of a Government as most of these people only want to get jobs and get rich quickly via corruption. Those SPLM officials assigned to the North also lament the fact that colleagues in GoSS steal millions and why should they be in the North with less money while their colleague are racking in millions of dollars from the Southern Sudan funds. Hence instead of blaming wholly the NCP and Northern partners in failures in implementing the agreement we should first put our house in order and make sure we appoint able, competent and quailed people to lead in the Southern Sudan and also in positions of the GoNU and all appointments should be based on competence rather then on tribal and friendly affiliations.

The announcement by Pagan of Amum and other SPLM officials today that they are puling out of GoNU which means that the group of SPLM led by Salva Kiir and the like will never deliver on CPA and will be letting our hero late Dr. John Garang down. Hence I can only condemn an arbitrary pullout from the Government without having exhausted all options first such as involving the International Committee and IGAD partners. Didn’t Dr. John Garang say this agreement had guarantees and so where are these guarantees then that we have to resort to pull out to solve our differences.

I would like to assure our SPLM, Salva Kiir faction and the Northerner Partners that the whole Sudan is yawning for peace and we had enough of this war mongering like the one hinted last time by HE Salva Kiir about possibility of returning to war. What many South Sudanese know now is that the real SPLM had been hijacked by a few people for their personal gain and hence any return to war with North will only work to make the tribal Southern Government to achieve their goal of more marginalisation of other Southern tribes and more looting of the resources of South Sudan to leave it bare than ever before. I condemn any premature and unfounded unilateral withdrawal from the GoNU and any retreat from the CPA and I would like to assure the Northern partners that there are many South Sudanese who are genuinely interested in a achieving a comprehensive peace in Sudan and attaining equality and justice in all four corners of Sudan. If Lt Gen Salva Kiir and his cronies of the former SPLM kitchen cabinet cannot face up to the challenges of implementing the CPA and achieving peace and equality and development for the masses of Southern Sudan then they should just give up and call those like me with the ability to handle the hard work required for coordination with the North and NCP partners in order to keep the agreement on track. People like me and many others in SPLM who yawn for equality and justice are ready for the challenges of delivering genuine peace, equality, justice, and development to the masses of South Sudan via concerted work and sincere deliberations and collaborations with our Northern partners and NCP to implement the CPA. I’m ready for the challenge and I call upon all SPLM /SPLA cadres to support those who are really interested in good governance and a just society coupled with a full implementation of the CPA.

Hence I’m call upon all SPLM/SPLA cadres and members who are unhappy with the tribal regime in South Sudan and now its inability to implement the CPA with the in North to stand with me so that we can come together and reorganize ourselves to surmount the challenges implementing the CPA and to keep Dr. John Garang’s dream of real peace in Sudan alive. This is our agreement just as said by our late hero Dr. John Garang. The CPA is not theirs to undermine at will. The CPA was not about giving the South to another colonial master but it was about achieving equality, justice and peace which the people of Southern Sudan and Sudan at large had yawned for since 1955.

Oyee.., to o a true democratic and none- tribalistic and none-biased SPLM

Eng. Kisanga is a former SPLM NLC member who currently lives and works in exile in UK as Consultant Communication Systems Engineer. He is also chairman of Western Equatoria Azande Community world wide Organ