INTERVIEW: Lakes state ANC-Sudan governor promises reform, services

By Manyang Mayom

February 24, 2010 (RUMBEK) — The leader of Lakes state’s African National Congress – Sudan Party (ANC-Sudan), Gabriel Kuc Abyei promised voters that he would work to battle corruption and deliver services if elected in the coming April poll. The governorship is being relinquished by the incumbent Lt.-Gen. Daniel Awet Akot, but the ANC-Sudan candidate faces a number of other rivals.

On Sunday, Gabriel Kuch Abyei articulated his campaign manifesto during an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune. The 52 year old candidate says he has been a teacher for 35 years and has now become a politician after Lakes state’s situation forced him. ANC-Sudan was set up in March 2006, one year after the two main rival parties, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) and National Congress Party (NCP) signed the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 in Kenya.

Kuc says he was born on 1 January of 1958. He has worked as a teacher from the primary level to secondary level and was based in Western Bahr-El-Ghazal during the civil war between the Khartoum government regime and the former guerrilla SPLA/M. Starting in 1989 he was Director General of Education in Western Bahr-El-Ghazal. After the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) left Rumbek senior secondary school in 1998, he came back to Rumbek and resumed as a teacher of Rumbek Senior Secondary school in 1998. “I reopened the Rumbek Secondary School with a few first students who were taught by SPLA in the bush,” he remembered.

In 2004, he left education and joined CEAS organization (Church Ecumenical Action in Sudan) in 2005, and did work with Oxfam-GB with responsibility for conflict-sensitive work for peace.

More recently, Gabriel Kuc’s impulse was to contest for a seat in the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly in Juba with the ANC-Sudan ticket but his decision was revised by the party boss who directed him to seek the position of Lakes state governor.

Kuc describes his party as a firstborn child of CPA and claims that ANC-Sudan is his and only political party affiliation. The party appeared to have many supporters at a recent rally in Rumbek Freedom Square marking the launch of the campaign season by the Lakes state High National Election Commission (NEC). organized campaign launching in Rumbek freedom square to all political parties.

POWER AND CORRUPTION

The Key Manifesto that the ANC-Sudan governor candidate had put forward in his campaign includes Development, Security, Corruption, Human Right, Employment, Health, Education and Justice in Lakes state. Kuc said that “my worry is that SPLM would rig election votes in Rumbek”.

Gabriel Kuc said that “insecurity is an issue in Lakes state, is a very important issue in my programme and this is why this area became unstable. Day by day our people are losing live and prosperities are looted and cattle raiding continue. The courts are impose high fines equally on those who are wrongdoers and those people who made no mistake are judged without finding facts — there is no fair justice at all because people are judge wrongly. There in no rule of law at all”.

“I decide to bring change in Lakes state but the way forward are people to bring me to change those, it is up to people to bring me or not to bring me,” he said.

However, Gabriel Kuc explained that he ensure human rights will be respected in Lakes state if he is elected in the upcoming April vote. He said there are high abuses of human rights committed by state government authorities during their governance. Also he noted that “Conflicts are not stopped in a proper way – people who are doing wrong are favored by justice and that is why wrongdoing is still continuing alongside of insecurity”.

As to corruption, Gabriel Kuc affirmed that “the public wealth is used and our people are not benefiting at all. The system which we fought for together is not benefiting other people and those who fought for it are not happy because expectations are not being met by the ruling governance”.

“If you want to stop corruptions in all institutions, first start with yourself and be loyal to people whom you work with — trust them and they will trust you. Now you will have a chance to stop corruptions with yourself — your hand must to be clean, then your disciples will fear and you will be able impose the law upon them correctly. So if you are not clean from corruption then others who follow you will dirty everything behind you and that means you are involved in corruption”.

He suggested that state government has been undermined by powerful people who did not form an inclusive ruling base. For instance, he said that the majority of people in Lakes state complain how the state government employs people, favouring family relationships and hiring based on tribalism. He said that there are people with certificates roaming on the streets without jobs and that as governor he would see to it that government would employ people based on qualifications.

Asked he would react if he loses this election, Kuc said that politics is a long term issue, it does mean if you lose today then you are hopeless, because politics is today up to the future. I have chosen to be a politician — if I miss it there in no objection. Politics is today you lose and tomorrow you will win. It will not affect me and it will not change in any way how I see peoples’ problems”.

PUBLIC SERVICES

ANC-Sudan is making campaign promises about delivery of services like water, health, transportation and improvements to the system of justice.

Lakes state has eight counties with over 50 payams. The state lacks healthcare units and doctors as well nurses who are not well trained. Abyei said that there are areas which have not benefited a lot from health facilities since this state government was set up in 2005. He promised to carry out a survey in the counties and allow more healthcare as well training of nurses to be done on time.

“There must be equal chances of health access in all payams up to the county level as well as the state level. The target is those who are in need of help of medicine. There are widows and disabled that are affected by war — these groups are my first target to serve if I win this election,” he promised.

“I will equip all hospitals and bring in quality doctors wherever they are. I will take care of their problem. I am now currently light of politics in Lakes state now, I need to tell people that I am the handsome man please love me – let them judge by themselves — vote for me according to what you have judge”.

Gabriel Kuc Abyei promised his supporters that “I don’t want wealth at all and I only need a name — it is in my plan and in my blood because responsibility starts at home. I tell them according to capacity I have and I will do what I say — I usually keep my promise since I was school boy”.

“What we can do to for our people is to give them education. I will try my best to educate them,” he said.

Kuc Abyei commented on the judiciary, which charges fees for its rulings, that “Solving cases has been used as a way of looting people of money in various courts. Aggressors and victims alike are fined the same and this is not fair in the law.”

The governor candidate noted that his party’s relationship with state Radio FM-98 is going well but noted that party agents are pressured by their relatives who support SPLM. He said that “it is not much, although most of my people are threatened by their relative who served in the SPLM party. My own party member was threatened by his relative asking why they had join my party – my reply was that even my child had a right to join any party he/she chooses to serve”.

“Let democracy gently take place and let us avoid wrong democracy move. The future for democracy has been denied to areas for a long time in Lakes state; they have to choose their leaders because those contesting are their sons,” he said.

(ST)