South Sudan: Corruption and the war on corruption

“Anyone who has stolen and eaten something which is not theirs should be made to vomit it up.” — President Salva Kiir Mayardit

By Mawut Guarak

March 23, 2008 — Supposed that you are asked of “why you joint the SPLM/A” or “support the vision of the Movement” if you physically didn’t make it to the bush; what would your answer be? That question remains unanswered for the most part. Most people, me included, perhaps, may have different answers. But let me restructure the question again; if asked to come up with one word, or to be fair enough, one sentence describing the entire reason for going to war in the first place, what would you say? The answer to the second question is not as hard as the former. You can easily get one if you recall at least three songs of liberation from any SPLA Unit: “Bur-juaaz.” “–Burjuaaziin fi Khartoum…shuqul bur-juaaz” and so forth are the common statements we used to make in reference to “corrupted governments” in Khartoum. No one probably knew that we were to face the same situation, however.

Generally, summing up the entire reason for going to war is not easy but you wouldn’t be wrong if you say: corruption, or eradicate corruption in the Sudan. The late Chairman of SPLM and Commander-in-Chief of SPLA forces, former President of South Sudan Dr. John Garang de Mabior correctly argued that “the Islamic Arab agenda is the cause of the sufferings of all Sudanese,” but even more importantly, he asked the public “what is life worth to be at peace when you are a slave in your own country?” Now my question is: what is the Islamic Arab Agenda? And I can answer it for you. The Islamic Arab Agenda is corruption, building the north to its current status with wealth that comes from the South. That is insane. There was, and there still is, injustice in how the government manages [ed] and distributes [ed] public wealth. If you lost trust in Khartoum because your school was closed down, or because you were required to be a Muslim in order to attend school, or you were denied access to something because you are too black, or because your taxes were collected and spent in the north, or your family member was murdered in the 1950s and ‘60s massacres by Abboud government, or any other reason, then you stood against corruption, and injustice (bur-juaaz), you would not doubt agree with me. But as a matter of fact, you are just starting to fight all of that. In deed, you haven’t started yet. I am saying that because what you were fighting against was so general that no body was held accountable. Numerous governments changed in Khartoum (Nimeri, Sawar el Dahab, Sadiq el Mahdi, el Beshir) an every time there is a change another incapable government installed.

Now let’s come to our own backyard and put leave Khartoum behind. It has been three years, two months and ten days since the historical agreement, the CPA, was signed, and the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) born. But how correctly did the GOSS solve the issue of “bur-juaaz?” I understand, and I hope you do as well, that Juba has a lot to deal with. On the top of the list: maintaining and implementing the CPA besides delivering service to the people are among many obligations this government is charged to do. And I also understand the difficulties President Salva is going through re-organizing a government that has never exist since the beginning of our planet. Nevertheless, none of them is strong enough to leave room for corruption. I was once an SPLA fighter. And I do remember when my AK 47 rifle was almost as tall as I was. I remember serving under command of some of the current ministers, governors, members of parliaments when they where commanders in the SPLA. That alone, gives me a robust and concrete understanding of why Juba and state governments can not progress well on deal with corruption, once and for all.

I do not intend to discuss pros and cons of each and every top government (s) employee but to make appoint that would help many Sudanese—at home and abroad—understand why our government remain ill-structured after three years in peace; and to emphasize on my own what is expected of the people’s government after all these times.

There is no one to blame; however, some 70%, or more, of the former SPLA commanders never work in civilian government until 2005. As such, they have no knowledge and expertise in dealing with civil citizenry. Some still have the guerilla mentality of the SPLA when commanders were the generals, prosecutors, attorneys; you name it of their locality. And since the end of the war, very few of them underwent civil service training. President Salva Kiir, on the other hand, is caught in cross fire not knowing what to do with his long time colleagues whom he served with in the liberation struggle for decades. That is why there has been so much reshuffling in all levels of governments. The President basically doesn’t know who will do what best, or even better. There is no doubt in my mind that President Kiir meant what he said about “zero-tolerance on corruption” but I, and you probably, may not satisfied with how the lions are treated after squandering public property. Is it fair to discharge and let go of someone who misused the very scare resources that the SPLM fought so hard to deliver to the people? I don’t think so. So what is lacking? That is what we are going to discuss in the remainder of the article.

A significant number of top government officials have be fired or switched to other jobs because of corruption. The first man to be openly accused of corruption since the birth of CPA was the former minister of finance in the GOSS, Mr. Arthur Akuein Chol. The Diaspora, and perhaps people outside Juba, learned of such misconducts via media. Yet, knowing the solution remains a dream. Why do the GOSS (and state governments as well) do about their corrupted officials? Fire them? Move them from ministry A to ministry B? Or send them to Khartoum to work in the Government of National Unit? Is there anything at all?

Failure to prosecute the bad guys is not only bad for the government of Southern Sudan, or the current leadership in Juba, or even the SPLM who led the marginalized people to the “Promised Land.” It is bad for the people of Southern Sudan whom this freedom belongs. Besides, it causes division among the people—tribe against tribe, region against region, state against state, clan against clan, depending on who, from where is hold the top job in Southern Sudan. It is well said that human being has a nature of finding a third party to blame whenever there is a calamity; but it is right, too, that there must be a fire somewhere in order for the smoke to rise. As a man who suffered, probably more than average Southerner as a child soldier for years, it is sad, and I was saddened to see our people losing hope and trust in what we call genuine government of the people. Failure to follow the rule of law and punish the convicted felons leave rooms for common citizens of South Sudan to guess why things happened in the way they are, and may seek wrong answers from wrong people. For instance, in an article published by the Los Angeles Times last, Yabu, a resident of Juba, after accusing the GOSS of corruption stated that only “the ruling clan gets all the jobs.” In fact, it is not the ruling clan that gets all the jobs, it is the vacuum. Although I never have a chance to be very close and study President Kiir, trust him for what he has done all the years when we were in the bush; I am convince that he would not let down the very people he stood with throughout his adult life in the bush. That is the fact and we all must acknowledge it. It is the system that is fallacious. And still something has to be done to fix it.

Try them, convict them, and punish them. There is no other better solution to corruption that. President Kiir acknowledged that “dismissing them…is not enough.” That is exactly what I am talking about. Forcing them to “vomit it up” isn’t enough either. There must be a rule of law that punishes the corrupt individuals to the maximum. “Bieaan bel hamell.” I belief the SPLA decision to fired-squad wrong doers helped the Movement survive. It did not only punish the wrong doers, conversely, but sent a message to those who may want to follow the same step that they will face the same situation if they choose to (I don’t necessary agree with every step followed, however).

The GOSS must come up with a comprehensive solution to deal with corrupt individuals in the South. Such laws must be made known to the pubic; and anyone accused, tried and convicted of corruption should be punished to the maximum. As the President put it, “our people in South Sudan did not take up arms so that when they got peace a few were privileged to eat up all the wealth of the nation.” It is better now to eliminate merciless, cruel, brutal, savage, tyrannical, barbarous, and incapable people who are using public fund for their leisure. A typical SPLA died in the front fighting the enemy said: “I am dying so that my children/people would enjoy in freedom.” I heard some fallen fellows saying it and it must be respected. Let the Movement, that fought for justice, equality, and justice keeps its promises through its current leadership.

We have a lot to loss if this issue is not fixed before the election. Think of the history in the Old Testament when two women were fighting over an infant. Then King Solomon approached them and offered to solve the case. The fake mother loudly agreed (with King’s rhetoric solution) that the child be cut in half. It was basically, for her to kill the baby so that neither of them should have it. If one can’t eat, why bother working?

There is nobody else who can do this well than President Kiir. No other party in Sudan has the capacity to eradicate corruption in South Sudan and Sudan in general except the SPLM. There is no country in the whole of Africa to set example for justice, equality, and genuine freedom except South Sudan. President Kiir deserves the highest honor and in order for us to do that, we must stand by him, support him, work for him, correct him, and never be afraid tell the truth if we really want to be free. Err is never a mistake unless one refuses to correct it. It is time to say goodbye to corruption and good morning to justice, equality, and joy. Long live SPLM. Long Live South Sudan. Long Live President Kiir. Victory to the Sudanese People.

The author is a graduate student and resides in New York; he can be reached at [email protected]