Reconciliation and Justice must be South Sudan Priority

By John Mac Acuek Mac

February 2008 — “The things that we share and have in common should be much greater than the ones that divide us. It is upon this platform a society can be built with a brand of new love and peace for a better tomorrow. We are expecting miracles, failing to realise that no one can turn back the clock or undo what has been done, the only way now is forward” As Plato says “an unexamined life is not worth living”. The survival situation in Sierra Leone continues to be very complex and needs not jargons or elastic English but simplistic approach, common definitions and solutions watered down to the average man in the villages, cities, streets, schools, colleges, and institutions. Everyday in despair there is bad news over the press about corruption with impunity locally as well as globally, symptoms of the repercussion of the past, ineptitude of weak governance through bad policies and maladministration in the cries of the average man, woman and children suffering and complaining in the streets, throughout the length and breadth of Southern Sudan.

Talking politics and playing “politricks” with the lives of the people and the integrity of the nation continues unabated. Governments’ officials travel all over the globe in official capacity funded at the expenses of the nation’s coffers getting intoxicated by the trappings of office. They bring back home false information and bad vibes about other Southern Sudanese of the Diaspora in exile. Instead of going about national business they engage secretly in probing others activities, obsessed over their affairs and making them their agenda instead of the prosperity and development of the country. There have been many complaints about these clandestine activities and credible information has been passed on to the international community for their perusal and study. Those that have chosen to govern, please, concentrate on the country’s affairs and try to understand and know more why you are failing in your deliberations and others are succeeding even outside their domain.

I, as an example, do not spend my time trying to talk of or destroy others but face the challenges and make myself useful and better in my new environment. Out of my own personal persecution and struggle have come great victories and achievements.

The magic is simple. One must meditate and pray on things, plan well and be very diligent, honest and hard working. Pursuing others or exercising policies that are not feasible or workable in the present global circumstances is not the answer and will never be the solution for Southern Sudan.

Tony Blair (UK) attends Parliament every Wednesday for a grueling during Prime Ministers question time reporting on his activities both in and out of the UK. George Bush (USA) speaks to the people on his weekly address to the nation giving accounts of his actions and policies. This is democracy in its finest form.

The same strategy and principles must be copied in our own Parliament. Setting social, economical and political standards based on principle uniformity of conduct by all. South Sudan politicians pretend to practice democracy, muse about it for the international community to hear the tune of it. Use it for personal gain mainly and fail to adhere to its ethics and virtues.

Why are our politicians and leaders afraid to communicate or enter into dialogue on a regular basis with the people? The answer is, they have nothing meaningful to say to the people – period! They continue to be stubborn and recalcitrant refusing to let prudence direct them, temperance chasten them but reflecting upon and just accepting the consequences of their past; which is gnawing at the nation’s body politics today. Until this reality is understood, there can be no political dividend, real peace or salvation for the way forward.

The scenario in Southern Sudan was not properly and fully examined to cater for the conscience of the silent uneducated majority. It was haphazard to suit the status quo and the political elite. This is a dangerous precedent and legacy as the old adage of half education is as dangerous as no education. With all the evils and sufferings in the country, Southern Sudan still have the capacity for good and tolerance, replacing persecution and injustice with perseverance and humility. Give them the truth and nothing but the truth, so help us all Lord! They have the wisdom to accept and act upon these truths.

“Recycling politicians with a monotonous system is equal to a merry go round making our politics look like a fun fair “Merry-Go-Round”, going round and round and round”. South Sudan’s politics really is a fair ground, going round and round. To be very candid, I do not blame the old guards but hold them responsible for taking revenge on other children because of the demise of theirs. Most of the youths and young men failed first their parents then their country. They did not live up to their parent’s expectations and ambitions.

If you look at the results of this episode, how many today could raise their heads up high to the satisfaction of their parents or to the envy of their friends and country? Today these children, now grown to adulthood are the worst elements in society. All they do is bad mouth others, go around governments because of their family positions or connections injecting venom in others. They witch hunt and have become social misfits and saboteurs.

This culture of avarice destroyed the idealism and hopes of a large number of our young generation so influenced by these despots. Their youth and their future were cynically destroyed in an episode from which many will never recover to be useful to our society. They are left emotional lepers – cast into the marshes of oblivion. It has left many parents disorientated and less compassionate toward others today. There is now a massive emotional void, now being filled by the bitter wine of cynicism.

The old political guards do not serve the modern purposes and challenges. The ever changing and constantly demanding world is having a very serious effect on their capacity. They are still fighting yesterday’s battles rather than facing today, and meeting tomorrow’s challenges. The problem of the country is domestic and only the people can put a final end to it. Modernisation is not about ditching old and traditional values, it is all about breathing new life and thinking anew. It is said “Rather than fear the darkness lights a candle” If three and a half million South Sudanese each had a new positive thought, how bright would be the glow from all those candles? How majestic would become our beautiful country? The best thing that has ever happened to the country is the setting up of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court.

Today, these dynamics influence the present and future of Southern Sudan; the special court, the truth and reconciliation are very vital organs in bringing some degree of semblance and integrity to the bureaucracy and the body politics. You cannot divorce any one of these factors from each other with regards to the justifications for the forming of each as part of bringing to light the darkest part of our history for the benefit of posterity and the common good.

IN RETROSPECT

The foundation of our present woes and predicament as a nation has been written clearly on the wall if you want to go by materials available in our history. Governor Clarkson said it all in his prayer for Sierra Leone. The type of politics practiced with regards to the infighting amongst the political heavy weights to the detriment of the nation is not new. For the benefit of hindsight, what we see today is a repeat of our past political history. Between 1955 and 1980, Southern Sudan went through a very vicious cycle of political antagonism that caused the break away of Late colonial Dr John Garang from the SAF to form the SPLM/A..

South Sudan belongs to all Southerners not a few or cabal social elite club of politicians. “You have taken the politics from the people, now you want to take the country from the people. The result of this is what we have today chaos and disarray, statement after statement from our leaders as inconsistent argument of the fate of southern Sudan, between unionist and separatist”. We must tell the truth honestly, make amends for the past as it should be done without any tribalism, sensationalism or partisan politics. This is the key to a solution for a new conscience and a renewed, reborn Southern Sudan.

“It is man who makes history”. History always repeats itself, but we never learn by its experience”. While the international community is assisting the country deal with the present predicaments, it is of vital necessity that the people and the politicians reconcile the past by analysing and dealing with the factors that have brought us to such a situation supplicant and down on its knees. 1990s splits should not be recall at this moment as we the Southern people are hopping and whishing to hold our breath toward 2011 referendum.

THE ECONOMY AND POLITICS

The whole bases on which a civil society exists and functions is on trust. No matter who you are, just let it be known, it is not to undermine the confession of others. As far as I’ve got, will complete tomorrow, will now do battle with the fog and ice. We are in too much of a quagmire for any serious investor or giant congloromat to come and make positive contribution to the economy. Until the bureaucracy realises that investments or business is not a free lunch or gift, then dreaming and fantasising about the overall economic potentials becomes a unrealistic illusion, that needs a more constructive and analytical approach. Political stability and sound fiscal discipline is the bedrock for any positive and meaningful investment. During the last commonwealth conference held in Abuja, African leaders were not spared being reminded about the wave of corruption by the Canadian prime minister whose country plays very significant role in African politics and its economy reiterating “CLEAN UP CORRUPTION

INVESTORS NEED POLITICAL STABILITY”.

Southern Sudan problems are the product of a crisis of leadership. It is no doubt that the political leaders, past and present have contributed tremendously to the under development of the country. Some times, one begins to wonder whether the nation is adequately prepared to depart from bad political leadership to a new definition of good governance and prosperous society. As a born of Southern Sudan, I reflect on the political history of present day. Hardly do I see or notice any transformation in the Politicians, the bureaucracy and political leadership. As a result, one is subjected to indefinite scrutiny on whether the political future of the country is guaranteed given the current system under which it operate. However, are there any serious checks and balances on the performance of the government? The answer is not far fetched. Many leaders are directly responsible for the failure of the economic, political and social systems.

Karl Marx an eighteenth century economist claims that the state revolves around economics. This clearly articulates the central or dominant role of economics in pursuance of national goals and aspirations. Therefore, it is imperative that policy makers such as Ministers of State, MPs and senior government officials understand the rudiments of practical economic models and theories in formulating policies. A good number of political leaders know very little about this vital area. The consequences of this deficiency cannot be under estimated. Imagine MPs who do not understand the budget process approving the national budgets in utter ignorance of the implications of vital policy decisions. Do we have a blueprint for our economy? What type of product or portfolios do we have in place to attract credible and positive investors since signing of CPA three years now?

As useful as it is, many of the politicians and Ministers hardly understand key macroeconomic indicators and how they affect the lives of ordinary citizens. Even when they do, “politics and politricks” over shadow the relevance of their economic decisions. For the average Southern Sudanese, it makes a lot of sense to tell them annual figures for Net Job Creation rather than Primary Domestic Balance, for instance. If the labour minister announces that government has created 20 Jobs, does he have an idea about how many jobs are lost?

DUCATION

The educational system deserves a fair share of the blame for the mess of the overall system and the political leadership. Our educational system does not offer the student adequate tools to understand and analyses economic systems under practice. Even though, there is all calibre of professionals, each category requires a good level of understanding of economics. The reason for this is that all kinds of professionals are needed to compensate for others deficiencies in Parliament and the Ministries to lay the required framework for policy decisions in various sectors of the national economy.

Our educational system must begin training students well-grounded on economics to take up leadership positions in the country more responsibly. The taxpayers’ money cannot be wasted any longer to train people who mess up the economy as a result of their deficiency in this field. Secondly, the country need a writing class of political leaders as a developing nation who communicate their ‘socio-political-economic’ ideas to the people through serious dialogue and writing so that they can be judged appropriately. Besides, it lays the platform for active debates on policy issues which are rather on a low-scale if not non-existent. Great societies suffice on discerning ideas from ordinary citizens and the intelligentsia. Other leaders like Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lummumba did just that , and today’s J A Kufuor of Ghana, Thambo Mbeki of South Africa, Wade of Senegal are all doing exactly the same, what debar Southern Sudanese politicians leadership from embarking on that paradigm?.

Into 20111referendum we must make a resolution to disconnect ourselves from personal issues and sentiments, look at the holistic picture of our lives, country, predicaments and future. “Rumours and Gossips are carried by enemies, spread by ignorant people, accepted by fools” “Out of my trials and tribulations I have come out better and not bitter”.

The writer could be reached at: [email protected]