By Isaiah Abraham
(Edited and published by Gurtong Trust)-Independence celebrations have come and gone but politics remains. Our people have had their last laugh on July 9 after centuries in the wilderness, though that Day in Juba (July 9) was nearly a disaster (poorly organized), as far as protocol and security were concerned. That was just by the way. We had our freedom celebrated and everything was as conclusive as expected.
I must take this opportunity on the onset to salute President Omar Ahmed Al Basher for keeping his word. Men behave like that!
The South has made it, and our people are still celebrating their life-long victory even to date. It was a dream sought for ages, something someone from the outside thought it was a joke, and won’t be realized. Thanks God and the great people of South Sudan whose resilience never died in the storms of hardship, prosecutions, loneliness, hunger, sword or disease. I’m proud to be identified with these people (South Sudanese), they never surrendered their inalienable right to live in dignity! What a people!
Now that the dust of that achievement has settled, our people are back into internal politics. Politicians have already gone ahead jostling for positions in the new government. Several of them are spending time calling one another for ‘news’. Some of them are sending showers of congratulatory messages through newspapers and local radios to the President and even denying themselves the same credit. The president has become a ‘girl’ everyone would love to have attention. Others have started to talk or greet the very people close to power in Dinka language as if the South belongs to these people.
Generally, each state has floated to the president a list of four to five candidates for ministerial posts in the next government. The environment in Juba is ‘polluted’ by rumours or scare mongers whose earlier messages run like this: ‘Do you know what: Mr./Ms X has been appointed and Mr./Ms Y is axed’. Swindlers are making a kill as they drink or eat from someone else pockets. I have seen big men these days going down, but then they were too expensive to say hi to people they know.
The big man syndrome moreover has resurface, a fertile ground for sycophancy. It is of no use to feign loyalty just to buy a favours for a ministerial position. The struggle for freedom is over, anywhere in the South anyone can food for his/her children, government isn’t the only source of everything.
The point we are making therefore to the head of state, Cde Salva, is simple: please never make representation of our society in your government on the expense of men and women who fought our freedom with their sweats and blood.
Fortunately, people who happened to be in the bush aren’t regular names (black listed in corruption) with the Anti-corruption Unit. In your government generally, there are veritable sharks, leaders that are corrupt to their teeth, that must be phased out and you know them and the public know them too.
Alarmingly though there are people around the President who would want some key SPLM members hang. They are sharp in making up deadly stories to dent reputation of the party hawks for their personal gains. Our leader (Kiir and Machar) must run away from these busy bodies and keep close to these ‘devils’ they know best.
The party called SPLM is crippled by these people (turn coats) because they always believe that if someone outside the box does an activity A, it is naturally going to fail, but if the same activity is done by one of their own it succeeds. We must learn to develop confidence and trust among ourselves and never segregate South Sudanese for no reason at all.
Mr. Amum for example has become the latest victim of theories because some people around you have ganged up to soil him. They have matured plans to humiliate him during the upcoming government formation.
Mr. Amum is an important figure in any government and should not be left out again- remember when the government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) was formed in 2005. He is probably a very frustrated man who is seemingly abandoned by even friends and his boss. I pray that the president persuade him to remain in the executive or the Secretary General post. Oh may Comrade Pagan be retained O God of Southerners!!!
Gier is another as well as Deng Athorbei, Awut, Ann, and many more. These men and women have done so much in their respective ministries and too early to dump them. Recycling could be ok, not dropping.
Mr. President, change and overhaul are done gradually and not through a rush or for the sake of change or overhaul. You need to make a wise decision here sir. Reconcile all Southerners but also charity must begin in your own house first. The likes of Pagan Amum have done so much for the people of the South since the times of their youths at the University of Khartoum and then during Anyanya II integration. No one could wish it away overnight because of alleges of malpractices at the SPLM Secretariat. The said revelation was just a character assassination and can’t be substantiated with facts.
How that huge money could be wired to an individual account without the knowledge of the system. We had a system even during bush live. Nothing of the sort had happened at that time; many of you who are reading here were there during bush administration. The claimer had lied and should apologized! President should have probed and quell it earlier enough!
Figure out Mr. President the situation in 2015: the like of Mr. Amum joining an opposition and you are left with today’s so-called loyalists, people who know nothing about how did people arrive here, what do you think will happen to this party? Your party will disintegrate and end up becoming a tribal party for one ethnic group. You must be careful! President Museveni of Uganda has kept that practice of keeping most of his colleagues from day one in 1981 to date, differences notwithstanding.
The challenge then and still today after independence is whether we can sustain the achievement we have hereto achieved namely the unity of our people and the party that brought freedom to the people. The answer lies in the team you want to recruit to represent South Sudan in next government for four years. The current shape of your cabinet is good, don’t temper much, but there are too many women in each ministries something that must be corrected; women after all spend most of their times in salons and make up places. Most of the time, they are too obsessive, nosy and scoffers. More importantly, empower and work closely with Dr. Machar! God bless South Sudan!
Isaiah Abraham lives in Juba; Isaiah