Sudan - The Lengthy Journey To The Southern Independence

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern
Independence
Paper Presented By:

Laguya Kenyi Lupai, BA (Hons), MA (Cand)
School of Postgraduate Studies & Research
Kampala International University
To:
The Kampala International University Sudanese Students
Association and the Wider South Sudanese
Community in General
On the Occasion of:

The Inaugural Independence Celebration
of the Republic of South Sudan
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Laguya J.S. Kenyi Lupai, 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical or other means
now known or hereafter invented, including copying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
KIUGESSA and/or the author.
Comments and/or inquiries may be directed to: laguyalo@yahoo.com
This paper is presented under the auspices of:

The Kampala International University Sudanese Students Association
(KIUSSA) and the Kampala International University Greater Equatoria
Sudanese Students Association (KIUGESSA)
Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence
Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Written at the Eve of the South Sudanese Independence*
By Laguya Kenyi Lupai, B.A. (Hons), M.A., PAM
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed,--That whenever any Form of Government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to
them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. 1
Abstract
It is no doubt that South Sudanese throughout the world are celebrating the birth of their own
sovereign nation today. Over the past years, however, the true ownership of the revolutionary
narrative has been hijacked by certain individuals and sections of the countrys ethnic
diversity. This has led to the subsequent marginalization of the vast majority of the other
ethnic groups. The government established in Southern Sudan during the interim period was
but a mere dramatization of this hijacked reality. Consequently, the core values of the
revolution which kept Southern Sudanese together irrespective of their diversities were
compromised, resulting into bad governance. This yielded resource mismanagement, unequal
ethnic and regional representation, continuous gender imbalance, and security lapses among
others. The independence being joyously celebrated today would not mean anything
significant if the new republic does not relive the core values of unity and ethnic cohesion
that characterized the decades of the struggle. Central to any reform must of necessity include
meaningful decentralisation and federalism, agricultural revitalization, and the inclusion of
women in public affairs. Public policies must now be geared towards promoting foreign
investment and an open and fair platform for political participation. Fiscal policies must
be pro-poor, involve pro-poor planning, promote pro-poor investment, characterized by propoor spending and pro-poor accountability. The new nation must build roads, including
much needed health and educational facilities among others. Until then, todays
celebration would be meaningless, and the emerging new nation might continue
being an exact replica of the Sudan it has triumphantly seceded from, bearing the same
odd conditions that initially led to the Souths revolt.
Introduction and Significance of this Day
aturday, July 9, 2011 shall go down and remain in the history of mankind and South
Sudanese in particular as the day of independence for the long-sought-after and
overly-awaited Republic of South Sudan. It will forever be reckoned as the day in
which the people of South Sudan attained their own political sovereignty and statehood. It
Article written prior to 9 July 2011 in Kampala in commemoration of the South Sudanese independence
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
will, in this same footing, be remembered as the day in which the people of South Sudan
triumphantly chose to dismantle the political marriage between what was northern and
southern Sudan. It will now and forever symbolically represent the successful culmination of
our long walk to freedom. It is a rebirth of the South Sudanese polity; so that, behold, we are
politically born again. It is the day Southern Sudanese altered or abolished their union with
Khartoum in pursuit of liberty, happiness and other inalienable rights as endowed upon the
entire human family by its sacred creator. It is the birthday of this political bride known as the
Republic of South Sudan.
The Multiplicity of Actors in the Quest for our Independence

It must often be remembered, though, that the attainment of this new republic was never at
ease; nor at such a manner as the blink of the human eye. Indeed it was not a walkover for the
people of South Sudan. It was a tiresome, frustrating and demanding journey that involved an
intricate cluster of different interdependent selfless units and personalities. It drew together
Sudanese from all walks of life: students, teachers, farmers, traders, housewives, children,
intellectuals, politicians, soldiers, drivers, Christians, Muslims, animists, pagans, hunters,
fishermen, doctors, and nurses, among all others. It drew together all regions and tribes.
Similarly, it involved the role of local and international political, religious and civil society
organizations in the same spirit as were friendly countries within the African Union, the
European Union and the Americas, among others. Undeniably, the independence of South
Sudan is much a success of the refugee abroad and the internally displaced person as it is of
the combatant in the frontline; of the farmer who fed the forces as it is of the envoy who
lobbied for support in foreign lands; of the widow and orphan as it is of the commander in the
warzone; of the peace-loving Arab comrade who joined efforts with us in the liberation
struggle as it is of the Southerner himself; of Christian evangelicals in the United States who
sometimes pressurized their government into adopting certain specific policies towards the
Sudan and Southern Sudan in particular as it is of the South Sudanese national; of all South
Sudanese tribes and ethnic groups collectively as it is of no-specific group among them.
Deduced from this truly selfless combination of efforts, it would therefore be a huge mistake
for any section of the South Sudanese society to unilaterally or single-handedly claim and
declare itself, whether in public or private, as the sole architect of our commonly earned
statehood. Our independence is the collective effort and success of all South Sudanese
regardless of individual, tribal or sectional groupings; of northern peoples who supported or
sympathized with our struggle; of East Africa; of the United States and indeed of the wider
international community. Our rich texture of ethnic, religious and political diversity should be
a unique blessing for us in the new republic and not a cause for division. May great political
and moral rewards come upon those politicians and other calibre of individuals who can
foster ways for our citizens to truly live together, learn together, work together, and forge
new peaceful ties that bind us together for the betterment of the whole nation. History will
often hold this to be self-evident, that all South Sudanese were united irrespective of their
profession or ethnicity in the course of their liberation struggle - for it will not forgive those
who may adhere to think otherwise in their quest for self-gratification and undue monopoly
of the new nations affairs and resources.
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
An Overview of the Reasons leading to the Struggle for Our Independence

It is fitting, while we celebrate our independence, for us to critically bring into focus the
reasons why we deemed it necessary and thus within our inalienable rights to alter and
effectively demolish the superficial national union that was once the Sudan. What went
wrong to warrant this secession? What ought to have been done to avoid this irreversible
occurrence? Who or what is to blame? Generally, a number of reasons have been put forward
to justify the necessity of the liberation struggle for our independence, although as Wani Igga
(2008) argues, if we were to start from [the 1956] pre-independence period transversing
through the post-colonial era, counting the causes [of the Southern grievances] would be like
counting sand. 2
Politically, several factors made the liberation struggle and the call for southern
independence very inevitable. According to Peter Adwok Nyaba (2000), 3 in his book entitled
The Politics of Liberation in South Sudan: An Insiders View, South and North Sudan were
administered as separate entities with formal travel and consular arrangements between them
by the colonialists during the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, but were only annexed together
in 1947. This means that what was referred to as the Sudan before 9 July 2011 was of a
recent loose creation. Politically and administratively, the South was never really part of the
northern establishment. It is partly for this reason that southern politicians, students, civil
servants and intellectuals therefore conceived and propagated the idea of having a sovereign
state of their own in the South.
Still within the political domain, the British concentrated all manner of political
development in the north during the colonial era. The few political positions and entitlements
given to non-Europeans in the country went to the Arabs, much to the further exclusion of the
native Blacks. The resultant effect of this policy was the political development of the
northerners more than their southern and other regional counterparts. Consequently, when the
country gained independence in 1956, the northerners immediately became the new rulers
and assumed the status of first class citizens in the country following the departure of the
British. The notorious nature of governance that was once overseen by the colonialists to the
detriment of nationals also immediately became the only example there was for the various
post-colonial administrations to emulate. The new guards of the system became the Arabs;
and, the non-Arabs; the victims. In fact Alfred Sebit Lokuji (2011) 4 argues that among
postcolonial countries on the African continent, Sudan can be described as the most violent
state towards its own citizens. Almost all political and administrative posts throughout the
country were henceforth manned by Arab northerners. This, too, further necessitated the
revolutionary struggle and aggravated the call for the southern independence.
Within the same political arena, another factor is that of the divide-and-rule policy
adopted by politicians and governments in Khartoum in their quest to silence the South over
the countrys political processes. Due to the fear of the unity among Southerners, politicians
and various governments that have come and gone in Khartoum adopted a policy of splitting
the southerners into parts (regions or provinces), not for the sake of improving governance,
but for purposes of effective northern control under the disguise of decentralisation and
federalism. Whereas the policies of decentralisation and federalism are currently some of the
most highly adopted and encouraged political reforms worldwide, the manner in which
Khartoum adopted and introduced them in the country and particularly in the south was
primarily derogatory, as the main objective was the exertion of absolute political control over
Southerners by way of destroying their unity and participation in politics to the advantage of
Arab supremacist tendencies.
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
Another domain significantly constituting the cause of the war is that of unequal
development between the North and South. In colonial Sudan, most developmental projects
were concentrated in the North to the detriment of the South. After independence in 1956,
most regions of the country, including the South, hoped to see a change to the status quo.
They hoped the post-colonial administration in Khartoum would this time round pay attention
to and promote equitable regional development across the country in its entirety. On the
contrary, such hopes were all unsuccessful since the government that immediately took over
from the British and its successors further marginalized and underdeveloped the South even
the more.
According to Nyaba, central to this uneven development was education. He argues that
two distinct sets of educational systems evolved during the colonial era and continued
thereafter. In his argument, he says the South had no access to education facilities except
from Christian missionaries, who were as a matter of policy assigned the complete monopoly
of running the school system in addition to their Christian proselytization. The Christian
education given to Southerners stressed the separation of the state from the church, and thus
lacked the incentive for engaging in political activity which could challenge the authority of
colonial administration or the ones that came after independence. This particular educational
indoctrination ensured that Southern Sudanese did not participate in politics, and that anyone
seen practising political dissent was punished and dismissed from either the school or their
jobs. It is for this reason that Nyaba argues that the education system dispensed to South
Sudanese during the colonial rule and after independence retarded the evolution of their
national consciousness and awareness.
Northern Sudan, on the other hand, was not subjected to the same educational and
political indoctrination. The school syllabi that existed in the North were either secular or
Islamic in nature. In any such system, effective political consciousness or awareness falls
within the core of education. In addition, the Norths closer proximity to Egypt and the Arab
World meant that it was in fairly equal immediacy to Egyptian education, political awakening
and Islamic culture. As a result, so argues Nyaba, they acquired political skills in
organization, agitation and action, while adding in contrast that the South Sudanese
remained trapped in political backwardness. Despite this oppression, though, Southern
Sudanese political consciousness developed and continued to flourish day-by-day.
Within the unequal development causative, the provision of other public services and
developmental projects were formulated and carried out in a similar manner, one that
deprives Southern Sudanese of their legitimate right and access to the countrys wealth and
providence. Road, air and rail transport, for example, were accorded more government
attention in the North than in the South and other similarly marginalized regions. Hence, the
need for a revolution and indeed liberation - determined to improve governance and
enhance the respect for basic human rights and freedoms - grew more and more. To a large
extent, we were also encouraged in our protracted struggle by certain aspects of international
law, perhaps most notably the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 5 which clearly argues
that the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government, and that
everyone has the right to take part in the government of his or her country.
Furthermore, differences in and observance of religion, especially in the early 1980s, is
yet another fundamental reason why a grassroots revolutionary movement, in the name and
form of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), was formed to challenge
the Khartoum political establishment. While the North almost predominantly comprises
followers of the Islamic faith, the South almost entirely comprises Christians, with some
pockets of Muslims and followers of other religions. Over the years, however, ruling political
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
and juridical Khartoumers have been reluctant to work towards unity amidst this religious
diversity. Under a conventional and truly peaceful endeavour, the best practice would have
been the adoption of a secular state, one where the forces of religion do not form the basis for
or the means of jurisprudence and public policy. Accordingly, the adoption of Islam in
September 1983 as the state or official religion of the Sudan; and the subsequent
promulgation of Shariah as the supreme law governing the country, further aggravated the
call for a revolution by Islamic moderates, non-Muslims and especially Southerners and other
marginalized peoples. For peace and tranquillity to prevail in a society of religious
multiplicity, there must be religious tolerance by members of all groups. There must be
acceptance and appreciation of each other even as there might be differences in the tenets that
comprise each conviction. Therefore, for a particular religion to be singled out among many
as the official dogma governing society in general, and adopting its principles as the basis for
public judicature, is to segregate on an otherwise peaceful society and deliberately institute
hatred amongst its members while establishing strong foundations for a potentially
destructive conflict that would be unhealthy to the nation in general. In dealing with religious
tolerance and freedom of conscience, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has a
wonderful helpful principle:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship
and observance. 6
In addition, cultural variation between Northerners and Southerners also places the two
regions into two broadly distinct categories. In the main, Southerners practice the African
way of life whereas Northerners practice Arab culture. While the Southern culture is shaped
by Christianity, African religion and traditions, the Northern culture is influenced by Islamic
and Middle Eastern traditions. But above all, the tendency by the North to culturally and
linguistically arabize the South became an unwelcome move and strategy, and hence drew a
steadfast opposition from Southerners manifested through the courage and form of a
revolutionary military engagement.
Immediately after independence from the British colonialists, the Northerners sought to
redefine the Sudan as an Arab Islamic state. This yielded a negative identity effect amongst
the African Christian people of Southern Sudan and other parts of the country. According to
Fr. Hiiboro (2008), the South is socially, geographically, culturally, and economically
orientated toward the bulk of Africa south of the Sahara than to the Arab Islamic world. He
further emphasizes that the Souths ethnic communities, split by colonial borders, still
maintain their expanded family interaction. 7 Lokuji concurs with this analysis by arguing
that since independence, the GOS has denied being African, and has tacitly chosen to
portray Sudan as Arab and Muslim, preferring classification as a North African or Arab and
Middle Eastern nation due to its affiliations and associations with Arab Countries. The
redefinition by Khartoum brought a serious conflict of identity and belonging. It is for this
reason that Hiiboro thinks there was no genuine unity between the South and North,
therefore adding, in part, to the necessity for independence.
That is, The Government of the Sudan
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
The Cost of Our Struggle for Independence

While we joyously celebrate this truly historic occasion, we also take time to recall and
contemplate the immense cost that we had had to incur in the course of our liberation
struggle. We genuinely recall that the journey to todays occasion had not been easy at all.
We remember the millions of innocent lives that we had to sadly lose in order that we may be
liberated today. We remember the brothers and sisters who had had to part with certain parts
of their bodies or had them mutilated in the quest for our peace and liberty. We equally
commit to our sacred memory the guiltless women and children who succumbed to death at
the hands of indiscriminate aerial bombings both in the frontlines of and in zones far away
from military combat. All the lost lives are our highly revered heroes and heroines, and are
the most expensive and painful price for our struggle for sovereignty and statehood. We
salute their gallant courage and selfless sacrifices with the greatest manner of respect and
humility.
Apart from costing us our lives, our independence also cost us our property. It led to the
destruction of our farms, our schools, our hospitals and other health facilities, our roads, our
shops, and even more, our livelihoods among others. Over the course of our struggle, we had
to part with our means of living and were but just marginally surviving. As a result, the
quality of our lives deteriorated considerably. Our children had to grow up without proper
education and healthcare; our mothers suffered miserable lives because they could not have
access to or afford better healthcare, and thus we often sadly lost them to high child and
maternal mortality rates.
In the social spectrum, the course of the liberation struggle saw an ever increasing
number of orphans and widows, as were the injured or wounded heroes. Homelessness and
psychological trauma even continued to silently kill us the more. Indeed the whole experience
was not easy at all. However as we enjoy its fruits today, our spirits are exalted for a work
well done and for a revolutionary course of action well led and undertaken. Today is our day;
the South Sudanese day; and the whole world is with us witnessing this festive day as we
make our giant footmark on the inerasable sands of time and history.
Tribute to Khartoum The North

As a tribute to what may now be referred to as North Sudan, I often humbly submit to the
principle that we give Caesar what is Caesars and to Jesus what is Jesuss, i.e., that we treat
each other according to what each one of us truly deserves. It therefore must often be
remembered by all that the maintenance of national unity and cohesion had often been the cry
of the Sudanese people in general and Southerners in particular. Equally, it must often be
recalled that the liberation struggle and the subsequent secession and independence of the
South from the rest of the Sudan were really necessitated by the constant lack of genuine,
peaceful and transparent political will on the side of those who controlled politics and
government in Khartoum in seeking a truly harmonious Sudan that is respective of all its
peoples, cultures and territories.
Even as we South Sudanese celebrate the divorce of the political marriage with the
North, we should be uprightly conscious remembering and holding it as truthful that not all
northern citizens agreed to or approved the policies of underdevelopment, marginalization
and politicking adopted by Khartoum towards the South and other similar regions. We should
be aware that only a sizeable minority in the northern establishment the political and
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
military elites, who could have done things differently for the sake of national unity or
cohesion led the country to this separation. It is them that led to this occurrence; it is them
that are to blame for not being conscious of the genuine and reasonable wishes and
aspirations of marginalized peoples in the Sudan. It is them that Northerners must hold
accountable if they deem it necessary to inquire into what went wrong in the Sudanese
political process that led to this breakup. There has been loss of national pride in the North
over the separation of the South. Indeed people in the North are bitter that the South broke
away. They wished in vain that the South remains part of the Sudan. History will blame or
hold them partly responsible for not having protested against the mistreatment and
marginalization of the South by their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers in
government. They should at least have had a say over the manner in which public affairs
were being run in Khartoum.
However, despite the independence of the South and the several years of military
confrontation, the ordinary citizen in the South is really a friend of their counterpart in the
north it was only the lack of proper oversight by politicians in Khartoum that really
inevitably led to this occurrence. Let our mutual understanding with the ordinary citizen in
the north continue to flourish even when Khartoum decides to stab us on the back. True peace
must be cultivated at all cost for the common good of our peoples.
Diagnosing Our Own System: Substantive Problems of Our Contemporary Polity Challenges of the New Republic
It is no doubt that with the advent of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, a new era
was ushered into the Sudanese political process. Undeniably, that period created a mark on its
own right in the pages of history. It led to the establishment of a semi-autonomous
government in Southern Sudan, a somewhat fifty-fifty share of the oil revenue with the
North, the maintenance of the SPLA as a separate national army of the Sudan, and above all,
the opportunity and right to conduct the referendum on independence among others. Over the
past years of the peace accord, a number of developmental endeavours were conceived,
instituted and implemented by the Government of Southern Sudan under the presidency of
our current leader, General Salva Kiir Mayardit. Considering where we initially started, there
have been considerable advancements in the sectors of education, health, security, trade,
social life, telecommunications, employment, as well as road and air transport among others.
Nonetheless, there are still what I would rather refer to as substantive problems of the
Southern Polity, or now perhaps even most appropriately, challenges of our new republic. In
my humble opinion, these include; but not entirely limited to; the fundamental issues alluded
to below:
First and foremost, there is the substantive grand challenge of bad governance. When the
Government of Southern Sudan was established in 2005, it was highly hoped that governance
in the South would be reformed so that it becomes one that truly mirrors and subsequently
represents the wishes and long-sought-after ambitions of the people of Southern Sudan. The
CPA, the Constitution of the Government of National Unity, the Constitution of the
Government of Southern Sudan and the ten state constitutions of the South all had in their
pronouncements articles and clauses that concern the betterment of governance. Despite these
legal frameworks, however, there have been significant practical shortcomings within our
polity.
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
Our decentralisation policy, for example, has very serious loopholes, as it falls short of
encouraging citizens participation in politics, nor has it led to the establishment of local
governments whose actions mirror the interests of their respective local populations. The
essence of decentralisation in governance is the effective devolution of powers from the
central government to lower level units far away from the centre but closer enough to the
citizenry. It is supposed to encourage democratization within a political system and especially
within the grassroots level. But because up to this day the political leaders at the local level,
namely the boma and payam administrators, the county commissioners, and to certain extent
the state governors are but appointees of the central government, our decentralisation policy
has not achieved its fullest credible meaning. As a result, the institutions of local government
in our polity have remained deconcentrated units of the central government that almost have
nothing similar or related to the notion of decentralization. Of course, an individual reading
this treatise might argue that deconcentration itself is one of the forms or manifestations of
decentralization. But even then, the status of deconcentration as a representative form of
decentralisation has often been disputed as it lacks the inner characteristics of
decentralization. It is to that effect that politicians and academicians alike often regard
devolution (the complete transfer of some political, administrative and fiscal powers from a
central to a lower level government closer to the citizens) as the truest and only representative
form of decentralization. It is this typology that will work in our context. It is this typology
that is enshrined in the spirit of our supreme constitution.
There is ambiguity in our political system, especially when analysed in view of the
federal school of thought. While certain aspects of federalism have been adopted, such as the
division of the country into states headed by governors, it has not positively transformed
governance. While we envy some of its characteristics, we have not yet formally adopted it.
Problems emanating from this critical lack of clarity are most likely to militate against the
reputable working of governance processes in the new republic. The current pseudo-federal
policy is not only ineffective, but also does not represent a federal system in any significant
way. It is not real and it is deceptive. In both classical and modern political thought, a federal
system is one where a sovereign state is divided into semi-autonomous regions (provinces or
states), and each state is constitutionally obliged to establish its own administration without
interference from the national government. Each state administration manages the affairs of
its own territory under the guidance of a state constitution that is legally a part and extension
of the supreme (or national) constitution. Its broad array of duties also includes the
maintenance of law and order in the state by having the state police force responsible to the
state authorities. The military, however, remains under the control and political command of
the national government. In such a system, the state administration comprises all the three
arms of government, namely the executive (headed by a popularly elected but not appointed
governor), the legislature (headed by a state parliamentary speaker) and the judiciary. Here,
the executive branch of the state government comprises all the ministers of the state
ministries. The state legislature, among other duties, is responsible for law and policymaking
in the state and its parliamentarians are directly elected by the voters in their respective
constituencies or electoral colleges. In this system, any popularly elected representative, be
they the governor or state parliamentarian, cannot be removed from office except only by a
vote of no confidence by the legislature of that respective state and not by any member of the
executive in the national government. In other words, not even a popularly elected president
can evict a state governor, parliamentarian or dissolve a state parliament or cabinet. The
jurisdiction of the presidency does not include the removal of popularly elected state
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
representatives. Hence, our national constitution lacks democratic clarity and respect for the
legality of administrative boundaries.
Another governance challenge concerns itself with the lack of willingness to encourage
political pluralism, in enhancing the role and wellbeing of political parties, be they in the
opposition or in government. Despite our desire at all levels for democratic political reforms,
a culture of political pluralism is yet to be cultivated and nurtured. We have not yet
developed the will to accept as normal and healthy the existence, role and active participation
of multiple political parties in our polity, whether those in opposition or aligned to
government.
Secondly, there are also substantive problems within our public service - that sector
which concerns itself with civil governmental employment. I would like to venture into a
brief explanation of how our public service came to be in the condition described above. The
agony, so to speak, started right from the time when the movement formed what were
referred to as the secretariats. These were the ministries performing the duties of public
service during the war. There were secretariats for finance, commerce and supply,
cooperatives and rural development, and so on. The ministers who headed those secretariats
were referred to as commissioners, and were all SPLA military commanders. When they
were appointed by the late Dr John Garang, they had in their utmost discretion the
appointment and management of all their respective secretariats. They solely chose
whosoever were to be undersecretaries, directors and all the other key positions in their
respective ministries. Those who immediately found favour in these lines of appointment
were those closest to the commissioners, and mostly included bodyguards and other closer
military personnel.
But as it was often the case, military commanders usually surrounded themselves with
their own relatives as bodyguards, adjutants, and other military personnel of immediate help.
Thus upon their appointment as commissioners to form the secretariats, these military
officials automatically established a form of public service based almost entirely on tribal and
semi-competent appointments. Because the qualification that really mattered was that of the
military, closeness and relation to the commissioners only, education and other sound
competencies or requirements did not play a part at all. When the peace accord was signed,
the public service workforce that immediately emerged in the Government of Southern Sudan
was but a mere transformation of names from the former secretariats to the current ministries.
Thus, for example, the former Secretariat of Finance and Economic Planning became the
Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the former Secretariat for Cooperatives and
Rural Development became the Ministry of Cooperatives and Rural Development.
Except in the names as I have explained above, the new ministries that emerged in 2005
were an exact maintenance of those same secretariats with roughly the same management
formation and nature. Even though some changes were done to these ministries over the last
six years, not much really transformed. Most of the changes were in the persons holding
ministerial portfolios and, in some few cases, those of undersecretaries. When the GOSS was
formed, the former civil service workforce in the South under Khartoum was dismantled, and
its occupants were demoted, retrenched, or forced by unbearable conditions to resign. It is
with humble respect that I rather beg to say the truth about the unrepresentative nature of our
public service. For when the movement was started on 16 May 1983, most of the members of
the two battalions that initially rebelled comprised mainly of individuals from greater Upper
Nile and Bahr el Ghazal, and were hence not balanced on regional basis. With the concern of
seniority and protocol often high in the military, the same found their silent way into the
political and social sphere of contemporary Southern Sudan. As a resultant effect, the shadow
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
ministries that were formed during the liberation struggle, including the leadership and their
personnel, sadly came to be characterised by this unbalanced aspect, namely the domination
by a particular section of our ethnic diversity. On a rather sad note, the same public service
we have today is an exact replica of those same conditions.
Thirdly, another substantive problem in our contemporary polity is that of insecurity and
the growing culture of impunity among those who consider themselves to be the countrys
nobles. Within the insecurity point of view, there is the problem of the Lords Resistance
Army (LRA), the renegade General George Athors faction and other militias opposing the
government and people of the new republic. On the other hand, the new republic will
continue to face the growing culture of impunity among its elites that is preventing the
Government from upholding the rule of law and the maintenance and furtherance of peace.
The Human Rights Watch has identified inter-communal fighting, abuses by security forces
and weakness in the rule of law as some of the reasons for the growing culture of impunity
within our system. 8
Fourthly, our new republic is also faced with the challenge of gender imbalance and a
culture of low attitude towards women and their role in society. From schools to colleges and
universities; from the police and army to civil service; from politics to international relations
and diplomacy, our women are significantly marginalised.
Sixthly, there is the growing countrywide dependence on foreign food supplies.
Immediately following the signing of the peace agreement, most farmers left cultivation for
better lifestyles in urban centres, leading to decline in domestic food production. In addition,
the return of Sudanese refugees and internally displaced persons back to their areas of origin,
coupled with the large influx of foreigners, further led to food insufficiency. In turn, South
Sudan has become a dependant country on foreign food production even when we have some
of the most fertile and arable lands on planet Earth with sustainable rainfall and other sources
of water all year round.
Seventhly, the challenge of no or poor infrastructure will significantly derail the efficacy
of governance in the new republic. The successful working of any system depends in part on
the health of its constituent parts, inputs and subsystems. The insufficiency of sound
transport, communications, agricultural, educational and other similarly important facilities
will until established negate on the performance and image of our polity.
Eighthly, the Republic of South Sudan is faced with the challenge of instituting
appropriate control mechanisms to combat the seemingly increasing mismanagement of
public resources, the practice that has been responsible for denying the provision of social
services to our impecunious citizenry.
Which Way Forward? Recommendations on Consolidating Peace and Stability in the

New Republic
Recommendation 1: Introduction of Good Governance Practices
The United Nations 9 has identified eight main characteristics of good governance (herein
indicated in italics) which in my humble opinion would be very instrumental in shaping our
newfound republic.
First and foremost, good governance is consensus-oriented. For governance to be
improved in the Republic of South Sudan, our officials must take decisions after they have
10
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
been thoroughly assessed and generally agreed upon by most citizens and stakeholders
concerned. Practically, this means that our executive arm of government must only take
major decisions after they have been debated and passed by parliament, i.e., they should be
taken for implementation after soliciting popular support.
Secondly, good governance is participatory in nature. It involves the participation of
civil society, stakeholders, and even opposition political parties in decision-making. This
means that leaders or political parties do not take decisions alone; but participate together
with all stakeholders in making and implementing decisions. Of important concern are the
citizens, who should participate in public decision making by way of elections, referenda; or
better still, through their representatives in parliament, or in civil society groups.
Thirdly, good governance is bound by the supreme law governing a country that is, it
follows the rule of law. Good governance promotes the observance and respect for legal
jurisdictions. It recognizes and upholds the limits within which administrative processes must
function and beyond which they cannot. It respects peoples civil liberties religion, privacy,
life, etc. - as purely individual matters. In the courts of law, for example, offenders are judged
according to the constitution and not in accordance with any emotional feelings of the jurists
or political influence by those in power. When our new republic practices good governance,
all of us get equal treatment before the law, and elements such as ones tribe, ethnicity,
political affiliation and the likes become permanently absent in influencing the direction of
justice. Indeed good governance within our polity would uphold that, all South Sudanese are
born free and equal in dignity and rights, endowed with reason and conscience andact
towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. 10 Further commentary on this matter is
discussed below in recommendation 4 entitled, Encourage the Rule of Law and the Respect
for Human Rights.
Fourthly, good governance is one that is effective - able to set goals, mission and
objectives and achieve them within meaningful timeframes. This is especially in the area of
service provision to the public, such as education, electricity, healthcare, and security, among
others. In addition, it is efficient - one that minimizes wastage of meagre or scarce resources
for the benefit of the population in its entirety and, therefore, does not encourage a system
that illegally benefits some exclusive few to the detriment of the citizens in general. In
ensuring this noble course, it establishes regulatory frameworks that help monitor loopholes
in the system. Put in another expression, such an administration is one where there is no
corruption, but the existence of pro-poor service delivery. In order for us to effective and
efficient, the Republic of South Sudan must employ individuals with the requisite
qualifications who possess the appropriate ethical standards and background. Until we are
able to establish such a government structure, however, our system would continue to be
highly ineffective, inefficient and; at its best description; a sorrowful collection of
incompetent tribesmen who glorify nepotism and therefore have nothing civil to offer but the
private accumulation of public wealth and power for selfish individual and tribal
gratification.
Fifthly, good governance is characterized by the aspect of accountability. In such a
system, those in power become accountable to the citizens for the decisions, actions and
inactions they take. This generates a sense of responsibility in whosoever participates in the
administration of the country because any defaults will have to be answered, no matter how
long it may take, and no matter how dim the prospects for such a culmination might seem at
the time specific decisions, actions and inactions were done. For governance to be improved
in our newly found republic, our government and its officials alike should have to embrace
this aspect of good governance. Otherwise, the lack of accountability will continue to mean
11
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
that public officials persist to do things as they wish, continuously negating the popular
wishes and aspirations of the citizenry.
Sixthly, good governance is transparent in nature. This means that there is openness in
the making and implementation of policies in favour of the public in general; and so the
government does not hide anything from the citizens; or at least consents to telling the truth
when required to do so. When the new republic practices good governance, then there would
be transparency or honesty in all that it does, whether in entering into contractual obligations
with companies or in the manner in which public resources are used. This way, the South
Sudanese citizen would continuously become more and more aware of the performance of his
government, and would as a result have more say in how the nations affairs should be
managed by those in power. But as with accountability above, one could not certainly assert
that there exists a considerable degree of good governance until and unless there is
transparency in the manner in which government business is conducted.
Seventhly, good governance is responsive in nature. This means that the government
directs its decisions, policies or actions towards the achievement of certain interests or needs
of the public, and not based on the mere private motives of individual public servants. In
other words, good governance exists when the government is able to direct and succeed in its
policies and actions towards solving the problems faced by society or the public in general.
Being responsive in this sense denotes being able to respond to the fundamental needs of the
citizens so that their lives could be improved for the better. Until our public resources and
energies are directed towards the alleviation of poverty among our citizens, and; unless there
is a massive reduction in the embezzlement of public resources for the benefit of everyone in
the country by way of alleviating their anguish and destitution, good governance would be a
distant concept to our polity, deliberately not introduced by our politicians and technocrats
due to personal and sectional conflicts of interests.
Eighthly, any administration exercising good governance is equitable and inclusive in
both its practice and nature. In this endeavour, it observes even-handedness in the provision
of public utilities or services, as well as in the regional provision of appointments,
scholarships and investments, among others. Similarly, such government is also inclusive or
all-encompassing in nature. That is, it tries to bring in all necessary partners for effective
development and administration. It avoids such old-fashioned, absurd and ill-practices as
nepotism and/or favouritism. Such government believes in the spirit of teamwork and
networking, and avoids all sorts of bias regional, religious, political or otherwise that
might potentially jeopardize the success and good name of its operations. The Republic of
South Sudan must very much embrace the characteristics of equity and inclusion if it must
save the countrys already worsening image from further destruction, and indeed enroot and
sustain the very principles upon which the South Sudanese revolution and independence were
essentially promulgated. For the state to treat each citizen with equal concern and respect,
Ronald Dworkin 11 advises us as follows:
Government must treat those whom it governs with concern, that is, as human beings who are
capable of suffering and frustration, and with respect, that is as human beings who are capable
of forming and acting on intelligent conceptions of how their lives should be lived.
Government must not only treat people with concern and respect, but with equal concern and
respect. It must distribute goods or opportunities unequally on the ground that some citizens
are entitled to more because they are worthy of more concern. It must not constrain liberty on
the ground that one citizens conception of the good life is nobler or superior to others.
That is to say, equity, impartiality or fairness!
12
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
Deduced from this analysis, and while drawing inspiration from the tenets of the American
Declaration of Independence, we must wake up to hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
South Sudanese are created equal, that they should all equally share the very same inalienable
rights endowed upon humanity by its sacred Creator, that among these are Justice, Liberty
and Prosperity. That to strengthen these rights, the government must always derive its just
powers from the consent of the South Sudanese masses, that whenever it is seen to be
inadequate in any particular capacity, it is the right of our people to ask those in authority to
modify it, and to institute a version that encompasses all amendments perceived to be
necessary, as to the new nation shall seem most likely to inspire and promote continued
wellbeing and liberty of its citizenry.
Figure showing a Summary Nexus of the Characteristics of Good Governance
Source: UNESCAP
Recommendation 2: Introduce Political Federalism
It is one of South Sudans most significant long-term historical expectations that the country
be made a federal state. In line with this ambition, and to promote genuine democratization,
it is highly recommended that our young nation permanently adopts political federalism. In
my opinion, the current ten states are enough, although should the region of Abyei later be
resolved in South Sudans favour, it may have to be made as the eleventh state. According to
Andreas Fllesdal (2003), 12 federal arrangements are seen as interesting solutions to
accommodate differences among populations divided by ethnic or cultural cleavages yet
seeking a common, often democratic, political order. Federalism will be good for South
Sudan because it will help foster peace, both by preventing war and preventing fears of war.
It will also promote economic development across the country, as the state governments
would have the powers to strategically plan for the growth of their regions, and employing
state resources for the furtherance of priority areas unique to them. Basing on the
philosophical arguments of Fllesdal, the introduction of a federal system would also protect
states against central authorities by securing immunity and non-domination for minority
groups in the country. It will also help maintain national unity or cohesion by bringing onboard minority and/or territorial based groups who might aspire to secede from the country.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia & the Pacific
13
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
Our leaders at all levels must therefore urgently work to achieve this ambition, by
promulgating appropriate constitutional or legal framework to introduce and govern the much
expected federal policy. This requires that the government nullifies the current deceptive
pseudo-federal policy, which purports to take away powers and decision making authority
from Juba to the ten states. The expected federal framework must of necessity avoid
constitutional overlaps, or; put in a different context; prevent or effectively deter deliberate
and non-objective encroachment by the central government in Juba into the reserved affairs
and responsibilities of the states. This requires that there be constitutional clarity in the
boundaries of legal jurisdictions and respect for the existence of the state and central levels of
government. The recent elections, being the first in our country, are a good starting point,
which should in the immediate future be aimed at yielding popularly elected leaders for
popular governance, although it is advisable that county commissioners, including all payam
and boma administrators, be directly elected by the citizens rather than appointed or
disappointed at the mercy of state governors.
Nonetheless, now that the members of our state legislatures and governors are directly
elected by voters, it is no longer within the jurisdiction of the national executive or the
presidency to remove them. Because he no longer appoints them, he should no longer
disappoint them. If at all the removal of any such member becomes necessary, then the state
legislature should be objectively lobbied into considering whether or not to pass a vote of no
confidence against an elected individual. Alternatively, it should be the jurisdiction of the
national legislature to pass a vote of no confidence against a popularly elected state official,
or better still, the president may, but only on the recommendation of the national legislature,
evict any such official on democratically concrete grounds. This way, the constitution would
be able to guard the system and the nation at large from any personal bias against state
officials that might result from the actions of the presidency. Indeed it is one of the most
celebrated and accepted wisdoms of political science and conventional democratic thought
that a president does not have the authority for removing popularly elected state or local
government officials, except by a vote of no confidence in an appropriate legislature attended
by its requisite quorum.
Recommendation 3: Improve the Policy and Practice of Decentralisation

In order to consolidate its decentralisation practice and augment good governance in the
country, the Republic of South Sudan has to meaningfully transfer some of its powers from
the central government to local level governments in the states, counties, payams, bomas and
villages. These powers should include political, administrative and financial roles capable of
transforming South Sudans local governments into institutions that can introduce and sustain
good governance. In order to have a realistic transfer of such powers, there must be legal or
constitutional basis establishing certain specific duties and responsibilities that effectively
lead to clarity in the functions of various levels of government. There must be clarity in what
the central government does and does not do. This should equally be the case with the state
and other lower levels of government. When this is achieved, there would be no or minimal
interference on the work of a particular local government by a superior level. Consequently,
each of the different levels of government would mutually coexist without perceiving another
as a threat or hindrance to its normal functioning and survival.
In addition, the Republic of South Sudan has to improve its decentralisation and local
governance policy by introducing popular elections throughout all the local government
14
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
levels. The current practice of the policy is contrary to the conventional doctrine of
decentralisation and local governance which requires that local people freely elect their
representatives who serve them at various levels. The fact that political leaders at the county,
payam and boma levels are often appointed by state governors most often with significant
influence from the central government in Juba means that our decentralisation policy is not
comprehensive enough. For it denies our citizenry their very right of freely choosing whom
they want to represent them in their local governments. As witnessed in some cases, those
that are appointed as county commissioners are often individuals who have close personal
ties (and perhaps even similar interests) with their respective appointing authorities, without
even being cadres recognized by the local populace as being true champions of their genuine
interests and demands. Whilst in their unpopular tenure of office, such appointees usually
serve the state governors and other superior politicians rather than their local populations.
Their appointing governors and other senior politicians in their immediate association
become their constituencies and beneficiaries much to the exclusion and unjustifiable
detriment of the local masses. Yei River Countys agony under David Lokongas
commissionership following the signing of the Naivasha accord up to the year 2010 is one of
the best case studies eloquently illustrating the need for local decision over local political
leadership in our republic. **
Furthermore, one would like to emphasize, once again, that whatsoever the circumstance
and conflict of interests, our new republic and its administrators in various capacities must
always respect the wishes and aspirations of the citizens. The fulfilment of their interests
must often form the foundation for public decision-making and action. When they make their
choice on whom to lead them, whether in gubernatorial, parliamentary or other elections,
their decision must not be tempered with. It must not be suppressed in favour of personal
interests, connections or propaganda. The supremacy of their choice and interests must be
upheld at all cost, by all means and by all individuals regardless of suppressive forces.
More so, our decentralisation and local governance policy must emerge to encourage
more citizens participation in politics. In addition, it must be able to institute constitutional
term limits for office bearers at the state, county, payam and boma levels so that an interplay
of different actors is achieved and consistently maintained in the administration of public
affairs at all levels. Any seemingly undemocratic aspect of our constitutions that discourages
our democratic ambitions must be reviewed and rectified. Until then, however, the practice
and policy of decentralisation and local governance in our republic would even continue to be
less of a mere shadow of what we actually need and rightly deserve.
Recommendation 4: Encourage the Rule of Law and the Respect for Human Rights
The new Republic of South Sudan is born into an environment highly filled with a culture of
impunity and gross human rights violations. Henceforth, one of its fundamental reforms
would be to augment the respect for the rule of law. It has to specifically focus on getting rid
of the culture of impunity among its security forces, notably the police and the army. In this
same respect, the new republic also has to undo the growing culture of cattle rustling among
its pastoral communities in the greater regions of Upper Nile and Bahr el Ghazal which have
since time immemorial been engaged in deadly illegal exchange of livestock. This practice
**
At one point, Commissioner David Lokonga ordered the unlawful arrest and detention for several days of all
the chiefs in the county. They were only released after mounting pressure on the Central Equatoria State
governor from the youth, the citizens and local opinion makers in Yei.
15
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
has often led to the death of hundreds of innocent civilians, including women and children,
and has sometimes led to massive displacement of communities from their places of usual
residence in the search for harmonious living.
Deducing from this problem as I have explained above, it should be the prerogative of
the new republic in Juba to take into its utmost concern the upholding of the rule of law, the
reduction in the culture of impunity among the armed forces and the overall respect of
peoples human rights across the country. Until we are able to achieve such a peaceful South
Sudan, our post-independence government would still be bearing the same old, odd and ugly
image that has characterized and defined it since the establishment of its former predecessor,
the Government of Southern Sudan. It is therefore very imperative that all those in
government, especially politicians and security officials, take it sacredly upon themselves to
change the way things are handled in this country. Conventional thinking today emphasizes a
very intricate link and interrelatedness between the respect for human rights and
development. It is often not easy for true sustainable development to be taken without the
emphasis for human rights at all levels. For this reason, the way people (both Sudanese and
outsiders) view the prospects for sustainable peace and development in South Sudan would
very much depend on how our new republic refurbishes itself in view of the conventional
wisdom relating to the respect for peoples human rights and civil liberties. It is therefore in
good faith that we beseech President Salva Kiir Mayardit to pledge all his strength and every
power in his office and personality to ensure the attainment of good governance and
democracy in this destitute peace-thirsty young nation whose overly-awaited inaugural birth
we finally celebrate today.
Recommendation 5: Promote Gender Balance and Girl-Child Education
The new republic must emerge to promote the active participation of women in public affairs.
Achieving this will require that we employ both women and men in all sectors of public
service, including the army, the police, the judiciary, the national security service and the
legislature, as well as in entrepreneurship and in education. It also requires the election and/or
appointment of women into political positions: as ministers, as members of parliament, as
state governors, as county commissioners, and as ambassadors, to mention but a few.
Uplifting women in our societies would also primarily entail the promotion of girl-child
education across the new nation in its entirety. It means the enrolment and retention of female
learners at schools and colleges, and the discouragement of forced and early marriages. It
entails preventing, by way of appropriate and enforceable policy frameworks, cultural or
traditional practices and believes that undermine womens progress and participation in
public life. In his take on women emancipation, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem has this to say: 13
Therefore general public education and mass awareness must be sustained at various levels.
This will not just be about laws but also confronting certain received wisdoms, and cultural
and social practices that encourage violence against women and disempower them from
voicing their pain, let alone seeking legal redress.
In the quest to achieve this, the new republic must institute suitable punitive measures against
men and boys who abuse or undermine women and girls. Policies must necessarily encourage
gender-diversity and gender-sensitivity in the home, the school, the church and at the
work place. There must be equality in pay for equal work done irrespective of ones sex. The
government must discourage and punish rape, and enlighten or sensitize communities against
16
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
the abuse of women and girls so that a culture that is positive towards them and their
participation in society is cultivated and maintained throughout the country. The attainment
of such state of social affairs would very much promote the chances of and the call for good
governance in South Sudan, and instil in our populace some of the most fundamental tenets
and roots of democracy.
Now that there is a republic of our own, and management by individuals from within us,
there is an urgent need to help propel the role of our women into greater heights in society.
Until then, the fruits of the peace and independence that we are celebrating today would
mostly be enjoyed by men, much to the impairment of our other highly significant half. If the
current status quo continues, there would not be a meaningful peace of diversity inasmuch as
feminism is concerned.
Recommendation 6: Introduce an Effective Mechanism for Combating Corruption

It is imperative to emphasize and bring to the forefront that President Salva Kiirs postindependence South Sudan would probably be judged more according to how it handles the
mismanagement of public funds and the endemic tribal nepotism in public recruitment than
by any other combination of critical factors in his administration. There is plenty of evidence
suggesting and reinforcing the perception that South Sudans pattern of corruption is
intricately linked to tribal nepotism, favouritism and the likes, so much so that in the words of
the late Nigerian Pan-Africanist Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem (2009), 14 corruption [in our
contemporary polity] is more omnipresent than God. In order to introduce a commendable
policy in our polity as this new nation kicks off, there is an urgent need to dismantle the tribal
linkages and tendencies in public recruitment that have been responsible for promoting
corruption in the public sector. Employees recruited through tribal means may usually tend to
pay allegiance to their appointers rather than to the betterment of the system as a whole.
Such appointment may involve illegal mutual benefits between the appointees and their
appointers. Moreover, tribal or family ties may tend to be stronger than formal work ties,
resulting into lack of accountability by subordinates, as well as lack of appropriate punitive
measures by superordinates on those individuals who commit crimes. This entails that
combating the countrys endemic graft requires an equal and simultaneous fight against
public recruitment based on tribal and/or other non-meritorious lines.
There must be clarity of duties, clarity of accountability, clarity of consequences, as well
as clarity of punishments to deter the embezzlement of public funds. It is also urgently
recommended that there be an introduction of continuous genuine regular audits, monitoring
and evaluation of funds and financial records across all government departments at the
national, state, county, payam and boma levels. For these measures to be effective, there is an
urgent need for high level political and administrative commitment, from as far above as the
President and Vice President, supervised by the Parliament and Judiciary, towards a new and
heated national warfare against graft. To further strengthen this fight, the new nation should
consolidate the establishment of an independent watchdog, in the form and nature of an anticorruption commission, manned by tough and correspondingly independent selfless
individuals to render service in the implementation of anti-corruption policies. These should
be followed by the establishment of special courts in the form of anti-corruption tribunals to
effect this noble course. Preferably, these tribunals should make all investigations and trials
public, and institute tough punitive measures for culprits found to have dipped their hands
into public coffers.
17
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
Recommendation 7: Introduce Wide Ranging Public/Civil Service Reforms

Policy-level
The Republic of South Sudan should promulgate policies that will foster effective and
efficient provision of public services to our destitute and war-ravaged population. The
policies to be embarked on must of necessity be pro-poor, ensure pro-poor budgeting and
involve pro-poor spending of public funds. Putting these in place ensures that policies are
geared towards the achievement of the common good of the ordinary South Sudanese person.
To ensure sustainability of policies, it is also recommended that the government consults
with and involves all necessary stakeholders in the policy-making process. This creates an
avenue for multiple perspectives and ensures conclusions based on informed decisions on
what to be done, when and how about a particular situation and course of action. Once this is
done, there must also be serious and continuous monitoring of the implementation process, in
addition to an objective evaluation of the overall undertaking to ascertain as to whether or not
its initially intended outcomes have been achieved.
Recruitment-level
For us to usher in a truly remarkable transition, it is imperative that we introduce recruitments
and public appointments based on merit in all governmental departments, be they at the
national or state levels. Workers must be employed basing on their set of skills and
competencies derived from their educational and working experiences. There should be
introduced minimum levels of qualifications for all levels of work. This would guard against
the system being misused by unscrupulous individuals for their selfish gains. Those to serve
in higher positions must necessarily be holders of advanced university degrees, in addition to
a well track record of experience at a similar or related level. Putting such measures in place
would ensure that a tendency of recruitment based on tribal or ethnic lines is avoided.
Similarly, these measures would go ahead in further ensuring that administrative positions are
not politicised, adding value to the expected wellbeing of the new republic.
Apart from the positions of ministers and undersecretaries, whose appointments are
often, even though less in the latter, politically motivated, fundamental reforms are urgently
needed to the rest of the positions downwards. In other words, the appointments to the
positions of directors-general, directors, deputy directors, senior inspectors, inspectors, and so
on, including all technical and unclassified staff, have to be reconsidered in view of
professionalism, educational qualification, technical competence, and above all, regional
balance. Until that measure is achieved, our public service workforce would remain
ineffective, inefficient, incompetent and above all, a dramatization of wrongly perceived
selfish ethnic or tribal elitism at such a critical historical moment when our very own republic
needs the cultivation of genuine peace from within the totality of its ethnic diversity.
Establish and Consolidate a Smaller more Technocratic Government

In order to be effective and efficient in the post-conflict reconstruction and development of
the new nation, we should establish and consolidate a smaller government manned by highly
skilled and knowledgeable individuals. It is advisable that recruitment should be done only
18
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
and when necessary. This way, the government would be able to part ways with current
factors such as nepotism, favouritism and corruption - which grossly negate the
establishment of such a system of efficacy. To paraphrase Bill Clinton (1993), 15 a society
prospers when its political and other forces indulge in peaceful competition among
themselves. 16 To uphold such a smaller technocratic government, those in position of
authority should not only respect it, but must themselves be subject to continuous legal
scrutiny to ensure compliance. Failure to ensure such a system would cause us to drift astray,
eroding our resources, fracturing the growth and wellbeing of our yet developing economy
and shake our confidence in working and upholding ourselves as a united people. Like
Clinton said, we have to face hard truths and take strong steps.
Recommendation 8: Encourage Political Pluralism and Build Capacity of Parties

To set a commendable momentum for the way forward, it is urgently recommended that the
government discourages unhealthy political dominance by any party or individual, and
promote a more cohesive and more participatory political system. All political parties, and
especially any that comes to power, must not unfairly dominate others to the detriment of the
nation. Our parliamentarians should create constitutional provisions deterring individual
dominance of any political process, whether within a political party or in the broader context
of the South Sudanese political system. Accordingly, all constitutional post holders should
desist from the issuance of illegal non-constitutional decrees. Family and/or other completely
private matters must not be settled by way of a public political process. In other words, those
in positions of power must not use any political process or activity to derail those perceived
or seen to be opposing them or enemies in private circles. For the good of the South
Sudanese society in general, there should be capacity building of opposition political parties,
the citizenry in its important totality, including, most importantly, civil society groups.
While congratulating the leadership of Southern Sudan for the successful conduct of the
referendum on self-determination, the Washington-based Human Rights Watch also had a
clear message to us concerning governance. It said:
Sudanese leaders deserve congratulations for a peaceful referendum but now they need to
cement this process. South Sudan should move quickly to show its commitment to democratic
governance, transparency, and human rights. 17
Meanwhile, the International Crisis Group (ICG) 18 gave us South Sudanese yet another
brilliant peaceful advice. It hinted that critical decisions taken now and immediately after
independence would define the health and trajectory of democracy in the worlds newest
state. It emphasized that the degree to which the Souths ruling SPLM allows an opening of
political space in which a vibrant multi-party system can grow and the will to undertake
democratic reform within the SPLM, as intra-party politics continue to dominate the political
arena in the near term [or future] would shape the coming post-independence transition
period more than any other. The ICG further stressed that:
embracing [political] pluralism now both inside and outside the [SPLM] party would lay a
foundation for stability in the long term. Failing on either front would risk recreating the kind
of overly centralised, authoritarian and ultimately unstable state South Sudan has finally
managed to escape.
19
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
It further warned that:

the SPLM must recognize that meaningful opposition participation including in defining the
transition and in a broad-based government is not a threat to its power but an investment in
stability and legitimate rule. A politics of exclusion may in the long run undermine the very
power some party hardliners are trying to consolidate.
Recommendation 9: Introduce a Sound Land Ownership and Distribution Policy

As things currently stand, there is a tendency by almost all local communities across the
country to deny land to individuals from other communities, probably for possible fear of
assimilation and a perceived sense of tit-for-tat for inability to acquire land from other
communities. This has led to untold discrimination in the distribution and acquisition of land,
especially residential plots, in urban centres. The prevailing status quo means that only rich
people are able to access land, in addition to people of status in society, such as high ranking
government officials. It is therefore highly recommended that the countrys law makers
introduce a sound land ownership and distribution policy that encourages fairness and
transparency, access to all, including the poor and destitute in society, and do away with the
prevailing nepotism in its distribution and access.
Recommendation 10: Improve Agriculture and Food Security

South Sudan is often not only described as an agriculturally fertile land, but also as having
the capabilities of being the breadbasket of Africa in addition to being a future area of great
economic importance for Africa. 19 With the vast array of arable land, agriculture can serve as
the economical backbone of this young nation and help us avoid our absolute dependence on
oil. It is important that the government encourage investment in this sector. It should promote
both small-scale and large-scale farmers to cultivate crops, with produce sufficient enough to
cater for local consumption and the export of surplus produce. In doing this, the new republic
must introduce modern agricultural techniques and promote the establishment of credit
schemes for farmers at convincing and affordable terms.
Recommendation 11: Build Physical Infrastructure

Physical infrastructure, such as roads, airports, classrooms, hospital wards,
telecommunications facilities etc., plays a pivotal role in the economic development of a
country. Roads help ease the movement of not only people but also goods and services.
Classrooms provide an environment for learners to be educated. Hospital wards and other
medical buildings help facilitate the treatment of patients. In short, good physical
infrastructure helps propel a countrys progress into further heights. Although the country is
still young and therefore starting from scratch, particular efforts must be exerted onto the
building and improvement of road networks to ensure food security. Connections to the
village, boma, payam and county levels would be appropriate, as is the need for schools and
health centres in the immediate and medium terms.
20
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
Recommendation 12: Introduce a Sound Foreign Relations and Diplomacy Policy

Our movement, the SPLM/A, was able to start and steadily grow from a humble beginning to
its revolutionary glory thanks, in part, to the employment of steady diplomatic efforts. Not
only was it able to gunner the region and the wider international community, but also
individual donors, aid agencies, activists and academicians, such as Professor Eric Reeves,
among others. But our sound diplomatic efforts seemed to have immediately dwindled with
the signing of the CPA in 2005. Internal development and administrative efforts seemed to
have drifted away our anxiety from diplomacy, so that one would probably be right in saying
that our foreign relations policy was better and healthier during the liberation struggle than at
the present moment.
It is imperative to survey the terrain of our contemporary diplomacy and revitalize our
foreign policy for better recognition, association and cooperation within the regional and
wider international communities, primarily ensuring better representation and
communication, which; according to Geoffrey Allen Pigman (2010); are some of the
interlocking central functions of diplomacy. 20 The young nation should be able to use the
tools and opportunities of diplomacy to seek and acquire much needed foreign investment in
the country in order to boost the young but promising economy. Important focus must
necessarily be placed and/or directed on the Republic of the Sudan, the Peoples Republic of
China, the sisterly countries of the East African region, Ethiopia, Djibouti, the United States,
the European Union, as well as the United Nations amongst others. Although we have been at
odds with Khartoum, although we have annulled our marriage with the Sudan, it is a critical
neighbour with whom we deserve and should have good relations. For whether we like it or
not; whether we admit it or take it otherwise; the Sudan shall always be our neighbour, and
shall always be within this relatively same geographical region, in this relatively same geopolitical context.
Lessons for Africa and Other Similar Scenarios

At its best, the split of what was once the mighty Sudan has been the resultant effect of
draconian and unscrupulous policies - of segregation and discrimination among others - by
successive regimes in Khartoum. Not only has this significantly militated against the
Sudanese economy, it has also reduced national pride amongst that countrys nationals. For
other countries with relatively the same problems to avoid the occurrence of such split, it is
important for their governments to critically examine their policies, especially in view of true,
genuine and therefore not superficial national unity and identity. The treatment of all peoples
and regions as equal and constituent ingredients of a countrys citizenry is gravely important.
With advances in technology and communications, with increasing migration and
movement of people from one place to another, and with progresses in literacy across the
African continent, more and more marginalized peoples are opening up their eyes, and
therefore becoming aware of their rights and duties be they human or civic in nature. If they
are not truly integrated into their respective national systems and institutions, attempting to
secede may not be a distant decision for them to undertake should prominent individuals
volunteer to provide leadership. Important lessons had therefore better been learned from the
Sudanese experience.
The remaining Sudan must of practical painful necessity revisit its policies towards its
regions of Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile to avoid the manner as it did towards
21
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
Southern Sudan. Nigeria should take conciliatory policies towards its region of Biafra and
other northern states, as should Kenya towards Mombasa, Uganda towards its northern and
West Nile regions, Ethiopia towards Ogaden, Morocco towards Western Sahara, China
towards Tibet, and Spain towards Catalonia among others. If any serious lesson must be
learned from the painful balkanization of the Sudan, it is that states must treat their integral
regions and peoples equally, that government, including its formation and functions, must
necessarily be based on the genuine and free consent of the citizenry, that the State must at its
best be secular, that there be an equitable distribution of resources, that there be uniformity in
the provision of infrastructure soft or physically and above all, that the poor man may be
able to find true solace in the work of his government and governors.
Conclusion
The nation whose creation we celebrate today is born out of a long and protracted
revolutionary struggle. Todays celebration is the culmination of very many long years of
hard-work, brought about by a remarkable multiplicity of actors, and not by the work of a
single individual or ethnic group. Our honest tribute must first and foremost be addressed to
the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to East Africa, to the United
States of America and indeed to the wider international community at large for helping us
reach thus far. Efforts must now be strategically focused by our leadership at various levels
on rebuilding and consolidating national unity or cohesion. There should be no unfair
dominance of public affairs and resources by any particular section of the countrys diverse
ethnic composition. We must realize that our better future lies on our ability and willingness
to work together and foster better ties together. We should immediately embark on building a
culture of political pluralism, avoid unfair political and ethnic dominance, and encourage true
and genuine democratic reforms for the collective good of everyone in this newly found state.
The Government should focus on soliciting and promoting foreign investment, especially
in the exploration of natural resources. It should fight the endemic graft taking place in the
public service, and improve the economy, build roads, schools, hospitals and other
infrastructural facilities.
The SPLM and our political leaders should open up the political space for appropriate
participation and competition with other political parties, and promote the respect for
peoples human rights and civil liberties, including the freedom of expression and
association, and promote the rule of law in the country.
This way, we would be able to improve the livelihood of the common man. But, unless
these substantive reforms are made, the independence being celebrated today would be
meaningless for the vast majority of our masses. Our lengthy journey to independence does
not end here with todays festivities. It ends somewhere in the common mans being able to
have a better standard of living. It ends somewhere in our childrens being educated and the
youths being able to secure for themselves better jobs. It ends somewhere in the retardation
of the high child and maternal mortality rates. It ends somewhere in our being able to institute
and promote democracy. It ends somewhere in our being able to freely and willingly change
governments without resorting to war or violence should the citizenry deem it so.
22
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
References
1
Excerpt from the United States Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Igga, W. (2008): Southern Sudan: Battles Fought and the Secrecy of Diplomacy, 2nd Ed.,
Roberts and Brothers, Kampala, Uganda.
3
Nyaba, P. A. (2000): The Politics of Liberation in South Sudan: An Insiders View, 2nd Ed.,
Fountain Publishers, Kampala, Uganda
4
Lokuji, A. S., Beyond the North-South Dichotomy in Sudan, in Understanding Obstacles

to Peace: Actors, Interests and Strategies in Africas Great Lakes Region (2011):
International Development Research Centre, Ottawa.
5
Article 21 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
Article 18 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
Hiiboro, K.E. (2008): Human Rights, the Church and Post-War Sudan, Paulines
Publications Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
8
The Human Rights Watch: South Sudan: Improve Accountability for Security Force Abuses,
8th February 2011.
9
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
A paraphrase of Article (1) of The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
for more information visit: www.un.org/humanrights
10
11
Dworkin, R. (1977): Taking Rights Seriously, Harvard University Press, in Hiiboro, K.E.
(2008): Human Rights, the Church and Post-War Sudan; Paulines Publications Africa,
Nairobi, Kenya
12
Fllesdal, Andreas, "Federalism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2003

Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
<http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/federalism/>.
13
Abdul-Raheem, T. (12 March 2009): Ending violence against women, Pambazuka Press.
14
Abdul-Raheem. T. (19 March 2009): Corrupt leaders are mass murderers, Pambazuka
Press.
15
A paraphrase from a portion of President Bill Clintons First Inaugural Address, 20

January 1993
16
A paraphrase from a portion of President Bill Clintons First Inaugural Address, 20

January 1993
23
Laguya Kenyi Lupai
17
The Human Rights Watch: South Sudan: Improve Accountability for Security Force
Abuses, 8th February 2011.
18
International Crisis Group: Politics and Transition in the New South Sudan, Africa Report
No. 172, April 4th, 2011
19
See, for example, the public comments made by the then U.S. Special Envoy to the Sudan,
Andrew Natsios, published on the digital Sudan Tribune Website on 14 February 2007 titled:
South Sudan a potential breadbasket for Africa US envoy
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article20272 as accessed on 14 February 2007.
20
Pigman, G. A. (2010): Contemporary Diplomacy: Representation and Communication in a

Globalized World, Polity Press, Cambridge.
24

Sudan - The Lengthy Journey To The Southern Independence

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Sudan - The Lengthy Journey To The Southern Independence

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern

Paper Presented By:

On the Occasion of:

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Laguya J.S. Kenyi Lupai, 2011

Comments and/or inquiries may be directed to: laguyalo@yahoo.com

This paper is presented under the auspices of:

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Introduction and Significance of this Day

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

The Multiplicity of Actors in the Quest for our Independence

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

An Overview of the Reasons leading to the Struggle for Our Independence

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

That is, The Government of the Sudan

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

The Cost of Our Struggle for Independence

Tribute to Khartoum The North

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Which Way Forward? Recommendations on Consolidating Peace and Stability in the

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

That is to say, equity, impartiality or fairness!

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Recommendation 3: Improve the Policy and Practice of Decentralisation

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Recommendation 6: Introduce an Effective Mechanism for Combating Corruption

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Recommendation 7: Introduce Wide Ranging Public/Civil Service Reforms

Establish and Consolidate a Smaller more Technocratic Government

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

Recommendation 8: Encourage Political Pluralism and Build Capacity of Parties

Sudan: The Lengthy Journey to the Southern Independence

Laguya Kenyi Lupai

It further warned that:

Recommendation 9: Introduce a Sound Land Ownership and Distribution Policy