Chairman of public order committee points to ‘bad governance’ in Lakes
By Isaac Vuni
February 2, 2009 (JUBA) — The Chairman of the Public Order and Security Committee, Hon. Daniel Deng Monydit, pointed to the lack of an effective judiciary and police forces in Southern Sudan during an interview with Sudan Tribune on the security situation in Lakes State.
Monydit is among the MPs in the regional assembly who recently summoned the Lakes state governor and other officials to testify on recent high levels of insecurity.
Lakes, having just emerged from political strife in the state parliament last year, is in the midst of a traveling reconciliation forum, which has been moving through the counties of the state.
During the interview, the chairman said, “we should reconcile the conflicting communities now.”
Inter-tribal fighting between Dinka and Jur-Bel erupted on January 20, leaving nine dead. Other clashes among the Dinka Agaar community occurred earlier this month, between the Panyar and Aliap clans, leaving 16 dead and others seriously wounded.
Overall, Monydit blamed the insecurity on former Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) fighters and bad governance.
The text of the interview is below.
ST: What have you discovered during your recent visit to Lakes state?
Monydit: The insecurity is being perpetuated by our own SPLA fighters who have turned liberation guns on their own people by shooting and killing them. Nevertheless, we have now prepared better ground for reconciliation, involving the grassroots who are now greeting and dancing together in peaceful manners.
The situation in Lakes has been created by bad governance because there were shortcomings in judiciary, law enforcement agencies and there was factional grouping in the state.
ST: Since you are the lawmakers, what are you going to do about such situation?
Monydit: To establish a state is not an easy thing, therefore our problem was centered on organization of the government structures like the police, judiciary as law enforcement agency. Otherwise, three years since Governement of Southern Sudan took over government, with the resources that are available, we should have gone very far by now.
It’s unfortunate that there are no real organized forces to protect the people and their properties in the ten states of southern Sudan.
ST: You have today summoned two ministers and five governors to appear on Monday; what are you going to tell them?
Monydit: Due to the decentralization policy, governors are responsible for full management of their respective states including initiation of the developmental programme as we have allotted them a huge sum of budget this year including the SPLA. But the question is, what they are doing about these resources for the last three years to be able to deliver services at expectation of the people in a particularly state?
ST: Are you going to adopt a vote of no confidence on ministers and governors who have not responded to the summons, as suggested by Hon. Jimmy Wango Miji?
Monydit: We are a full operational government with conditions that guarantee daily operation in each state of those who should provide protection, services, education and be capable to deliver– but when they failed, they then look back to Juba for a better solution at the last minute, yet they have the necessary resources at their disposal.
ST: Lakes state has been on record of including names of pupils in their pay sheet and when administrative action was taken to remove their names, the pupil went on demonstration. What are you lawmakers going to do about such negativity?
Monydit: We inherited the government of Southern Sudan from the southern coordination council, with a bad-rooted system where displaced citizens were included in pay sheets of police, prisons, teachers, without qualification, simply to earn a living and the same practice is replicated by GOSS ministries in which there are over 200 ghost police forces in states who do not do the real policing in their respective state.
ST: But the question comes back to you the lawmakers: so what are you going to do?
Monydit: Yes we are the lawmakers but do not necessarily become the implementers and regulators since there are law enforcing agencies such police and judiciary.
ST: What are the root conflicts and solution your team found in Lakes state that could help in solving the conflict?
Monydit: We do not need to wait for setting up hearing cases. Rather we should reconcile the conflicting communities now, shaking hands and dancing together. In fact we have opened a new chapter of reconciliation and forgiveness to each other.
We now need to keep the momentum to be seen among them; those people accused have to be arrested, deployment of police needs to be improved, we would also be talking to SPLA authorities about national duties. Unfortunate clashes between Wulu and Agar communities in Lakes requires that a contingent of SPLA be deployed to control conflicting people.
(ST)