Quality and Quantity Government for South Sudan: Critique and Recommendation
By James Okuk
March 2, 2011 — I just finished listening to the lecture of the would-be Dr. Augustino Ting on adoption of a small (lean) government for South Sudan and would like to critique his article and recommend some nomenclature for the desired Federal Government Ministries in the Republic of South Sudan as well as their connectivity to the Ten States Governments.
Putting under critical telescopic lenses Ting’s article titled “South Sudan needs quality, not quantity: The reason for smaller government,” I would like to draw the attention of the writer to the fact that quantity is not necessarily connected with quality because “qualitative quantity is possible.” Also I would like to remind him that quality is not necessarily attached to small things because even a lean a government could be suffering from poverty of quality.
Thus, the use of “need” in the title of Ting’s article to qualify the “Quality Government” only and disqualify the “Quantity Government” would seems to require thorough correctional revision. It would have looked comfortable and less hectic if the title of his article read: “South Sudan Need both Quality and Quantity: the Reason for Good Governance.” This would have catered for the synthesis desired from efficient application of both quality and quantity at the same time and in the same place, especially for the new emerging least develop countries where governments are supposed to patronize or matronize a lot of activities and human living demands.
Also, Ting’s comparative administration analysis and verdicts on the current government of Southern Sudan is incomplete, to say the least. This is because it only focused on comparing the top (i.e. the GoSS) without putting into consideration the middle (i.e., the States) and the bottom (i.e., Counties, Payams and Bomas) in Southern Sudan. The writer would have avoided suspicion of his article from some of us if he took his precious time to compare the whole government of Southern Sudan with all its levels from top to bottom with the holistic government of the U.S. on the same scale. Yes, the U.S. has a lean government at the Federal level but I am not very sure if it has the same at the middle and the bottom when it comes to States and Municipalities as well as other basic units of the government.
Ting’s reductionism approach of evaluating the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) on purely economic scale is also a lacking methodology for concluding a final verdict that a lean government is needed for South Sudan, else the new country might fail to survive.
To do some connections of dots a bit, what Ting is trying to recommend is not really different from the Bretton Woods financial and monetary institutions that had harmed Africa so badly with their reductionist Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) some years back.
These institutions failed to acknowledge that government is not only about finance economy but also social and political economy as well as other factors demanded by human existence in their commonly organized set up. In the same mode, Ting’s tends to recommend repetition in South Sudan of bad history that was written in Africa by the Western Bretton Woods Institutions. Should we not learn from mistakes of the past in order to make a good present and draw a best future for South Sudan posterity? I think we should!!!
Having critiqued Ting’s article, I would rather recommend that South Sudan comes up with ministries in accordance to the volume of the public work that need to be done. If there is more work, then we should not shy away to have quantity of Ministries with an army of ministers to top-run them. Quantity could be improved and we should not burry it alive, simply, because of incompetence (lack of quality) of some ministers. I don’t think Southern Sudanese are incapable of qualifying their quantitative ministries to do the work that is needed to be done both in short and long run.
The needed ministries in addition to Offices of the President, the Vice President and the Prime Minister for South Sudan as per commencement of its independence could be the following and with avoidance of over-naming and meddling into parliamentary affairs, which should be independent from the executive branch of the government (including of course, the judiciary):
I – SOVEREIGNTY MINISTRIES:
1. Ministry of Presidency and Council of Ministers
2. Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement
3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
4. Ministry of Defense and Military Intelligence
5. Ministry of Interior and National Security
6. Ministry of Peace-Building and Reconciliation
II – ECONOMY MINISTRIES:
1. Ministry of Finance and Monetary Management
2. Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Security
3. Ministry of Water Management and Fisheries.
4. Ministry of Industry and Technology
5. Ministry of Energy and Mining
6. Ministry of Investment and Trade
III – SERVICE MINISTRIES:
1. Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Development
2. Ministry of General Education and Vocational Training
3. Ministry of Labour and Public Service
4. Ministry of Health and Medicine
5. Ministry of Land and Housing
6. Ministry of Information and Communication
7. Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
IV – MISCELLANEOUS MINISTRIES:
1. Ministry of Environment and Forestry
2. Ministry of Gender Equality and Social Welfare
3. Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disasters Management
4. Ministry of Cooperatives and Community Development
5. Ministry of Culture and Tourism
6. Ministry of Sport and Recreation
These mentioned Federal Ministries should coordinate with the States Secretariats headed by Secretaries (not States Ministries headed by Ministers) that are set up to do the same work on a decentralized basis and in accordance with realities available. For example, it does not make sense to have a Secretariat for Fisheries in a state that does not have places where fish live except if we plan to have artificial fish ponds there. Also it does not make sense to have Forestry Secretariat in a State that does not have forests unless we decide to plant human-made forests there. For now, over and out!!! You can take the podium.
Dr. James Okuk is a PhD holder in the area of Political Philosophy. He can be reached at [email protected].
harry
Quality and Quantity Government for South Sudan: Critique and Recommendation
Dr. James,
I did not get your point, but I guess South Sudan needs to go back to three regions instead of ten states system. The government is taking all financial resorces by creating big bureaucracies in these ten states.
We do not needs for example an average of 160 ministers and ministries with its advisors, undersecretaries, managers, and the list will go on to commissioners in cities, towns, counties, payams, and boma.
This is just a little and a few bad examples about how fiscally responsible we’ve become as a government of South Sudan.
By going back to three regions, w’ll eliminate more than half of these ministers,undersecretaries,etc. Therefore government can save tons of money every year.
Also, by doing so, w’ll slow the rate of corruption by ministers because we’ll have control over them due to their “smaller” size of government.
Currently, S. Sudan have only one income. The oil comprises of 98% of all income and we do not have many states that produce oil. How these states without proper income going to survive when we have such a big expending government at the same time?
Do you remember the story of seven Billion dollars! where did 7 B $ go? If you guess to the pockets of bureaucracies due to the big government expending, then you’re correct.
We need a fiscally conservative government to run S. Sudan through three regions, not costly ten states system.
Thanks,
Harry,
Hero
Quality and Quantity Government for South Sudan: Critique and Recommendation
Hi Okuk,
Get it clearly that, your respond to Mr Ting’s articles is totally bias and doesn’t resonate well with anyone here on the web, except you, yourself.
Turning to your silly suggestion, It’s pretty clear that you are alway driven by your own ego and that’s why you alway fails to cut it through Mr Dr. Therefore, it’s better for you to forget about the silly idea of the Prime Ministership post in the upcoming government of the (Rss) and tell your brother,uncle Lam to forget it too.
When it come to the making of(RSS)fututre government, I think, this issue should solely be left for/to they Heros and they fathers of this nation, not everyone is entitle to shape it as it has been during the tough times of struggle.And they traitors must shut-up once and for all.
Aleu
Quality and Quantity Government for South Sudan: Critique and Recommendation
Dr, James Okuk.
I am real having a trouble understanding your articles all time and I know you would not like my comment any way, but that is okay. First of all I am not in your level as you mention PhD holder however, having a PhD does not mean that, you are better than others people but something to show that, you have gone to a certain level of education with consideration. Starting the topic sentences is what most writers are always making carefully in trying to organizes their thoughts in an uniquely way and undertsandable to the readers.
You said, I just finished listening to the lecture of the would be Augustino Ting. My problem here in this short sentence is why not taking of and the out and replace the with there would be Augustiono Ting. Again I am not holding a higher degrees just to remind you brother, but I do not really understand your article most of the time, because you have a big problem on how to make connection of words in to meaningful that, will be understood by the readers.
In fact that, we are all human which mean we can make a mistake at any time in any place, but being a PhD holder man and you always write just like a Secondary school Student, this is absolutely will bring more and more doubtful to your PhD if not question your PhD. I some time misspelling a lot because I am getting Old however, I was been taught by a great teachers that, the first sentence of the topic and the last sentences of your article or letter must be constructed good unlikely to the body of your letter or article people don’t mine for some time if you made some mistake in the middle of the article.
In the end, I think someone mention that, we have to eliminate more mininsters in Southern Sudan’s government. putting a small number of mininsters in the government to work is not the answer of good government. I think there is nothing more important than having check and balance in the government and for Southern Sudanese to do this, there must be a three system of governing nation from the Local government, State government and Federal government. Also the Federal government must have three system namely 1.executive branch. 2. representative of the State to the Federal government or Congress.3 Jurisdiction. By creating such a system, there must be a law said, each side is independent so that, the president can overriding the rights of the others. Any way I am not a lawyer to tell you everything but you guys must thinks big and be smart, because this Southern Sudan neeed an opening minding people to rebuilding the young nation to be born.
Thirdly, as you are a PhD holder and without any doubt that, you have been known for attacking people in your articles very badly. You got to think about it, are you growing up like someone need to learn more knowledge but don’t get it or do you wish to become a good educator man in Southern Sudan.? You have been attacked Salva Kiir Manyardit more than 100 times and you have attacked Dinka tribe more than 50 times including Deng Alor Kuol and now you are attacking Dr, Augustino Ting, I mean what is your objective being a PhD holder.?