South Sudan: The tears of an old man

By Ruach Chuol Bol

January 4, 2009—-Many Sudanese, especially those who are from the Southern part of the country remember the date and day that the Compressive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed. There were simultaneous tears and jubilations. It was the moment that many Sudanese will never forget as long as they still alive. The expectations were high because people assumed that the change would come to Sudan and to the Southern Sudan in particular. However, after four years or so went by since the singing of the CPA, a large number of Southerners still feel disappointed and unsatisfied regarding the achievements and accomplishments of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS).

There was an image that I will never forget in my entire life. That image was posted on the BBC website, an old man with a Shilluk traditional dress dancing and waving South Sudan’s flag. He was emotional with tears dripping off his face while at the same time excited as the CPA signed. I believe the picture was taken during the CPA signing ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya. I personally felt the same way he felt that day. To me, his tears exemplified the hardships and sufferings that Southerners had been facing since the independence of Sudan. His jubilation exemplified the end of those hardships and sufferings and beginning of a new era. Whenever I think of Southern Sudan, I always keep in mind his image.

An ordinary citizen like me and that aforementioned old man had expected to have basic services in the post-war era. Nevertheless, the GoSS has not achieved and accomplished much in Southern Sudan in terms of infrastructure, education, security, running water, among others. Since the signing of the CPA, the SPLM leadership has been busy hiring and firing ministers, who supposed to deliver and carry out the development in their respective departments. In my opinion, the lack of transparency and accountability in Southern Sudan is the main reason why there is no development. It is not only a stumbling block for the development, but also is so huge that it boggles the mind. Nepotism is also another reason in my personal point of view; it is absurd, unethical, and incongruous with modern societies. In addition, depravity is one of the plagues that infected most officials in GoSS. Many of us heard of the story of Arthur Akuen, the former minister of finance in Government of Southern Sudan. As a matter of fact, that notorious and culprit guy was able to bail out himself after he was arrested by paying amount of $5 million! He has never been trailed until now as far as I know.

Moreover, insecurity in Southern Sudan is a major concern for all societies. There are still inter-tribal and intra-tribal conflicts, especially in the Greater Upper Nile states. The erratic GoSS has not done much to eradicate those conflicts, which is reprehensible and shameful. As the saying goes “out of the frying pan into the fire,” which means Southerners thought that they got out from one difficult situation only to end up in another.

I personally urge GoSS to create transparent and strong institutions that should have some checks and balances between the branches of the government so that those depraved individuals, especially ministers are held accountable if they mismanaged or embezzled public’s money. Regarding insecurity, the only solution is “disarmament” of all civilians. If GoSS has the courage to do so, it should begin to disarm all tribes across-the-board. Otherwise, there will be no peace and security in the South.

The conventional wisdom is that when there is peace, there should be development, too; however, that is not the case in South Sudan because GoSS has not done its homework so far. The tears of the old man mentioned above supposed to remind all Southerners that those hardships and sufferings have gone forever, but the plagues of Southern Sudan such as poverty, insecurity, and depravity are far from over.

The author is based in Nebraska, USA. he can be reached at
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