01/08/2020
The Tragedy Formation of South Sudan' States Governments.
By : Dak Gatkuoth Ger Duoth
International Community, IGAD, Troika and Peace Guarantors, credited the political elites' interests revitalization.
It's unbecoming appointing states' governors before forces unification and graduation. Which forces are the governors going to work with, as the states heads of securities councils before integration of all forces? Are the oppositions' forces abandoned? If the status quo would be enjoyable to governors appointed from President Salva Kiir's side, what a about the governors said to be appointed from oppositions sides? Will the appointed governors from oppositions sides work with current forces in the states they are appointed to?
The political elites also should not confuses duty, honor and country with pride, power and greed, accepting the offer. This is an insult to South Sudanese suffering innocent people. How could the states' governments work with forces under different, certain individuals' commands? This is a mischief. We must be ashame insisting on government that can't be defined, government of no example and no name. The global leadership the political elites have made South Sudan a laughing stock.
It even becomes clear that, the military elites in South Sudan, know only a very little about what's called government. Government never been positions, titles or fighting for luxury life. Government is a stability, security, protection and development. Remember, the resources we need to turn our dreams into reality are within us, merely waiting for the day when we decide to wake up and claims our birthright. And the suffering people in South Sudan never been peace guarantors and IGAD's people.
Imagine last week of 9th July, marked the 9th anniversary of the independence of South Sudan. Ideally, it's a moment for remembrance of past sacrifices and a celebration of achievements. Unfortunately, the anniversary likely has only reminded the people of South Sudan of the sad state of affairs. The wobbling peace agreement, and impunity for crimes against humanity threaten to tear the nation.
During this Covid-19 pandemic, regional competition and the absence of global leadership, South Sudan's tragedy has deepened. The guarantors of the 2018 peace agreement, Uganda and Sudan, apparently have abandoned their roles and the international community appears to equate the slow, selective implementation of the agreement with progress.
The country exists as a sovereign state with a seat at the United Nations, but that is all that its people can celebrate. It does not really exist as an idea with a meaning attached to it. The military elites who said to be the liberators of the country have not presented an idea of South Sudan to the People-a set of principles that define who they are and for what they should aspire. The fragile unity that was maintained during the war of liberation quickly evaporated after the declaration of independence.
In the absence of a covenant to define South Sudan and hold the country together, independence has unleashed forces that howl beneath the ethnic divide, born out of two decades of brutal civil war.
Instead of offering an alternative, hopeful pathway for an inclusive peace with prosperity, South Sudan's political-military elites, exploited ethnic divisions, poverty and ignorance to capture the state and accumulate wealth at the expense of developing the country. The political elites mismanaged public resources and parked the much-needed money in their personal accounts overseas. Hence, the notion of public good turned into an opportunity to pursue self-enrichment.
Consequently, the social and political fabric of the society has weakened, triggering violence. The present ongoing displacement of civilians and raging sexual violence against women and girls, especially Equatoria, Upper Nile and slightly Bahr el Ghazal regions, are manifestations of a country at war with itself. This sad reality testifies to the utterly inhuman behaviors and practices that expose the trouble with the state and with the society as a whole.
The country needs a total break with the current state of its politics. The nation must save itself from destruction and mayhem. Its diverse ethnic groups must think about a new covenant-a covenant on how to get out of the vicious cycle of political violence and build a society that will generate good governance, sustainable developments and insured justice and accountability. It must be predicated on the assumption that the lives and livelihoods of all South Sudanese people, whatever their ethnic or cultural background, are equally valued and cherished.
The new covenant must not be based on the existing peace agreement; it requires a new inclusive political process that is not limited to the political elites, but includes other segments of the society-women, youths, refugees, internal displaced persons and religious entities so that to create a broad consensus on the unanswered questions about the relationship between state and society, including how to govern, how to instill trust and confidence in government, and how to restore law and order and repair fractured communities.
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