Salva Kiir should attend Sudan cabinet meetings

By Tut Gatwech

March 21, 2009 – In simple terms and without jargons, there is no doubt that this second half of the six years of interim period in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is very critical in the light of the badly needed democratic transformation of the old political system in the Sudan. The country is expected to conduct general elections this year. Two referenda for South Sudan and Abyei are expected in 2011 during which time the two regions of Southern Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains shall also conduct popular consultations in their respective areas. All of these were the proposals of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) during its three years of peace negotiations with the National Congress Party (NCP) which was signed on January 9, 2005 in Nairobi, Kenya. All of those SPLM proposals were incorporated into the Agreement.

And, without any doubt, in order for a smooth and regulated democratic transformation process to succeed, there are a number of national laws from the old Sudan that have to be repealed and new laws enacted. Even those considered to be staunch separatists who yearn for an independent South Sudan in 2011 are actively participating in making sure that Sudan is democratically transformed so that the other part (North) becomes a democratic neighbor in case the South forms its own independent country in that year. They also know that in order for the elections to be free and fair and to bring into office the next politically willing administration that would allow for smooth exercise of referendum in the South, enactment of national laws that would transform the political environment in favor of such exercises are important.

Because the NCP was dragged into agreeing with the SPLM on those democratic transformation proposals through other internal and external pressures, no body today would deceive himself or herself to expect the NCP to simply agree to their implementation. This should make the SPLM redouble its efforts to make sure that such important national laws are enacted if they ever want to democratically transform this country and harmonize divergent views of its many political players and armed rebellions. And such efforts need to be coordinated at the national level in Khartoum wherever the SPLM has a representation and to try to ally with other like-minded political parties.

There are three important levels or institutions among which the SPLM has to coordinate its efforts to make sure that such national laws which are vital for the democratic transformation of the country and the exercise of referenda and popular consultations are finally enacted. These are the SPLM Political Executive Committee, Council of Ministers in Khartoum and National Assembly in Khartoum. Does Salva Kiir understand the importance of such coordination in the way late Dr. John Garang would have understood it?

The SPLM Political Executive Committee headed by its Deputy Chairperson and Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar, has been doing its work very well at the joint forum with the NCP Political Executive Committee headed by the Vice President of Sudan and NCP’s Deputy Chairperson, Ali Osman Taha. The joint committee has been debating on review of national laws and recently resulted to agreeing on proposed bills to become the new laws.

Procedurally when the two ruling political partners agree on proposed new laws at the political party level, the bills are presented to the national Council of Ministers in Khartoum for amendment or approval before they go to the parliament for final amendment or enactment into laws. And this is where the SPLM chairperson and GOSS President, Salva Kiir Mayardit has not played his expected role well as First Vice President of the Republic.

The Khartoum-based Council of Ministers this week passed a number of bills that were earlier agreed upon at the level of the Joint Political Executive Committee between the two parties. The NCP’s Deputy Chairperson and Vice President of the Republic, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, happened to chair the meeting. In that important meeting where important laws on Criminal Procedures, Press and Publications were debated, probably re-amended, went without the badly needed participation of the First Vice President, Salva Kiir Mayardit.

It was not a co-incident that Ali Osman Taha, who himself chaired his party’s debate with the SPLM committee on the same bills, was also the very one who chaired the Council of Ministers meeting where the bills were discussed, re-amended and approved. Where was President Omar el-Bashir by the way during the meeting? It was probably decided by the NCP to have Ali Osman Taha chaired the Council of Ministers meeting in order to make sure that he threw out or re-amended some items in the bills where he felt his committee was cornered on and reluctantly accepted during their joint meetings with the SPLM committee headed by Dr. Riek Machar. They knew that Dr. Riek Machar is not a member of the national Council of Ministers and would not attend the meeting to defend the SPLM’s position in the bills his committee proposed at the party’s level. In simple language, whatever Ali Osman lost during the party’s level debates he probably regained it in the Council of Ministers meeting which he chaired himself.

The role of Salva Kiir as First Vice President in the national Council of Ministers was badly needed. As the SPLM’s heavy weight in the Government of National Unity (GoNU), Kiir should have attended the meeting with other junior members of SPLM in the cabinet to spearhead the defense of SPLM position during the debates on the bills of those national laws. As the First Vice President, if his boss el-Bashir was not ready to chair the meeting, Kiir would have chaired the meeting instead of Ali Osman, his deputy. He would have also used his chair to overrule on certain decisions in favor of his party.

The SPLM did not struggle during the peace talks to create the Presidency with its membership for nothing. The First Vice President’s position was not created and given to the SPLM as a simple ceremonial position just for the sake of the title and its monetary services. I believe that late Dr. John Garang would not have abandoned that position because I am convinced that he understood the importance attached to that position. His presence would have been felt in Khartoum and he would have made use of that position to push for the transformation of the country through CPA implementation.

The SPLM members of the National Assembly, particularly the Chairperson of its Caucus and the Deputy Speaker (SPLM) should also make sure that they defend their party’s position when these bills reach the parliament so that they are enacted in their favor.

The Speaker of South Sudan Legislative Assembly, James Wani Igga, is also the Chairperson of the SPLM committee strategizing for the SPLM participation in the coming general elections. The SPLM has already decided to contest for every political position in the country including the office of the national President. Wani Igga has been playing his role very well. But without a leveled playing field in the form of enacted new laws at the national level that are in accordance with the CPA and the Interim National Constitution of Sudan, the elections would not be guaranteed free and fair. The exercise of referendum in the South and in Abyei would not also be guaranteed.

First Vice President Salva Kiir should be present in Khartoum, at least during discussions of such important issues that have to do with the implementation of the CPA. Many people believe that he has not attended about 80% of meetings in the Presidency and the Council of Ministers in Khartoum. This is serious and harming the position of the SPLM at the national level. The President’s advisors on political issues should whisper into his ears explaining to him the importance of his participation in the Khartoum’s decision-making processes at this critical period.

The author is a concerned youth member living in South Sudan. He can be reached at: [email protected]