By Alfred Taban
If the vote was taken today, there would be a lot of anti Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) vote which would definitely affect the referendum exercise.
Since the Sudan People's liberation Movement (SPLM) dominated GOSS (Government of South Sudan) was formed more than a year ago, basic services have either remained stagnant or have actually deteriorated. Running water is totally lacking, even at the houses of ministers. Electricity is also in very short supply and many businesses and homes rely on expensive generators. Driving on the roads of Juba is a nightmare. Housing is virtually non existent.
Immoral behaviour is on the rise, with drinking places being set up on a daily basis turning the youth into drinking machines. Southern Sudan is now the Zambia of the 80s, turning out a generation of drunkards. We all want freedom but freedom should not lead to chaos and the wastage of our youth.
The future of South Sudan has been placed by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) into the hands of GOSS and other Southern politicians. They can build a strong prosperous south or waste the efforts of those who struggled for a free south.
South Sudanese are no longer accepting the obnoxious position of some GOSS members that "we are still young, only one year old, give us time." There is no more time. GOSS must set its priorities right. It has to make Juba, the capital of South Sudan hospitable. It should begin with water. It should and can dig up the ground around Juba and send clean piped water to almost all homes within a very short time at a reasonable cost. The river Nile runs nearby. The central government was able to lay a 1,600 kilometre oil pipeline within a year, can you not lay ten kilometres of water pipes during that period? The health of the people and their sanitation needs cannot be assured without clean water.
Priority number two should be electricity. I saw some electricity poles and step down transformers being put up in Juba. The process however appears very slow. The immediate electrification of Juba town is a top priority. The development of Juba into a modern town where industralisation and urbanisation is possible cannot take place without this commodity.
Priority number three is roads. Without good roads, movement is nearly impossible. Some of the brand new land cruiser vehicles being driven by top GOSS and SPLM officials are now immobile due to the poor conditions of the roads.
The fourth is housing. Shortly after the Addis Ababa agreement was signed in 1972, the government brought in a Yugoslav company that constructed many houses which became ministries and homes for top officials in the then High Executive Council (HEC). Why has GOSS not started constructing its own houses, instead of easing itself like a rat into houses constructed by another government, during another era?
One argument is that of lack of money. I believe even if the king makers in Khartoum are not sending all the oil money, GOSS can go to the international market and borrow money. Even if that borrowing may be expensive, its rewards would be great because the south would be saved. The lack of facilities and jobs are some of the reasons why the youth are turning to drugs and alcohol due to frustration. Give the people of the south quality life which they struggled for and richly deserve or face a surprise in 2008 and 2011.